Day One of the Nipper Champs started bright and early with marshalling for the 1km run. Georgia, Charlotte, Poppy, Elijah, Jack, Greg and Henry gave their best on the soft sand at Trigg before Poppy, Maggie and Elijah battled it out in the flags arena. Poppy and Maggie both made it through to the finals, unfortunately getting knocked out in 8th at the change to the finals flag pit.
Charlotte and Poppy contested the sprints – Poppy taking an admirable 6th in her Ull final.
Day 2 commenced with the 2km run for Rosie, Billy and Malachi. Ocean conditions on Sunday were fantastic, unfortunately a rogue Albany bug was taking its toll – wiping Zach out of the competition and impacting the performance of other team members.
Georgia, Elijah, Jack, Kate and Malachai tackled the iron events, Poppy, Jack, Elijah, Molly, Kate and Malachai took to the water in the board race and we had board rescue teams in U13 Male and U12 female arenas. In the surf race Jack made it to the finals, finishing in the second of the pack.
On day 3 our numbers were boosted with the addition of Skye, Harper, Nicolette and Nate for the team events. Some serious shuffling ensured we fielded teams as best we could, with our kids seriously stepping up to the challenges!
The U11 girls and U12 girls both made the final of the board relay, and the U12 made the final of the Cameron.
Although we had very few runs in final races, the finishes in the semis were tight and our Albany crew can hold their heads high, mixing it with the best Nippers in the state. Congratulations to our competitors – you showed up when it was difficult, said yes to the challenges and supported your teammates over three long days. You can all be proud of your achievements.
And huge thank you goes out to the parents, grandparents and siblings who got you there, supported you on the beach, and helped marshal all the kids for their events.
We are looking forward to a bigger and better team in 2026!
Full results can be found here
Gallery here
These events are proudly supported by Healthway promoting the Fuel to Go & Play message.