MOSSEL BAY NEWS - The Mossel Bay Surf Lifesaving Club (MBSLC) held its annual Nipper prize giving on Sunday, 22 April.

The girl and boy Nippers of the Year were announced: Chané Reinecke and Rocco Calitz. They received trophies and certificates.

Certificates were also awarded to Nippers who won medals at the National Surf Lifesaving Championships in Port Elizabeth this month and Nippers who passed their Level 1, 2 or 3 tests, which are official Lifesaving South Africa qualifications.

Besides these there were accolades which warmed the hearts of all at the prize giving, such as ones for bravery and perseverance.

The lifesaving club season is from September to April each year - the summer months.

Nipper officer Wade Shaw said lifesavers were needed in many places: on the beach, at swimming pools, on luxury yachts and at resorts.

"You get a special adrenaline rush when you save a life." Wade said it was the rush that enabled you to do extraordinary things - jump over a high wall and so forth. "It's not that you want to save a life to get that rush, but that rush is there. Perhaps no one will know you have saved a life, but as you walk home from the beach you know it yourself."

He said the ocean was "God's gift to us to enjoy" and 100% of the time - no 98% to be totally truthful - he prayed before entering the sea, because it was a "wilderness".

He commended the Nippers who attended the national championships for their bravery because the swells were large and there were cross currents and heavy winds.

The MBSLC thanks Dirk Steyn and Oom Chris of the Diaz Water Park for their generosity in making the facility available for the prize giving.

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