Albany Surf Life Saving Club’s Mahayla Smithers wins 2024 Nipper of the Year at Surf Life Saving WA awards

Flying the flag for Albany Surf Life Saving Club, Mahayla Smithers has been crowned the 2024 Nipper of the Year at Surf Life Saving WA’s annual Nipper and Youth awards in Perth on Saturday. The pennant is awarded to the most outstanding nipper club achiever (under-10-13) as nominated by their parent club to recognise their achievements and growth in surf lifesaving skills, including beach safety awareness, lifesaving sport skills and sun safety. Smithers was awarded the top gong after showcasing exemplary surf awareness, understanding various beach and surf conditions and competently navigating them consistently. She actively engages in safety discussions, promotes SunSmart practices and said safety at the beach is important for all beachgoers to understand. “Everyone needs to be safe at the beach because there are a lot of dangers,” the 12-year-old said. “(Sun safety is important) because you can get burnt easily and get skin cancer. “Yes (I was surprised to win) but it’s really cool to win.” ASLSC under-13 points champion said her passion for surf sport and hanging out with friends draws her to surf lifesaving and hopes to one day be a professional lifeguard. “I love hanging out with my friends at the beach and doing surf lifesaving games in the water,” Smithers said. “Next year I’m looking forward to using the bigger boards and learning how to patrol the beach correctly.” Her mum Anna Emery said her daughter’s diligence and willingness to learn has set her up for success, despite battling ongoing injuries. “She has trained so hard at all the surf sport skills and is always eager to learn new things,” Emery said. “She had injury two knee injuries last season which set her back a bit and she missed a few weeks. “She is still working through them but although she missed a few weeks here and there, she still got out there and still turns up and watches her nipper group compete and cheers them on” Three other ASLSC members were nominated for awards on the night. Hamish Bowls was nominated for the Youth Club Achiever award, William Schupp was a finalist for the under-14-15 Lifesaver of the Year and Leisel Freebury received a gold level in the Youth Leaders Program.