STARFISH Nippers is a new program designed for those with special needs or disabilities and will be available this upcoming season for the first time with the Inverloch Surf Life Saving Club (ISLSC). 
The program provides a safe and inclusive beach experience for children with a disability aged from five to 18 years old and runs alongside the annual Nippers program. 
It is modified and tailored to the individuals and involves games, running, beach flags, wading, swimming, and board exercises, in a supported environment. 
“To ensure the program suits each participant, we work on adapting the program to each individual's needs and requirements,” Holly said. 
This gives children with a disability an opportunity to develop essential water safety skills, gain confidence in the ocean environment, and learn basic surf life- saving techniques. 
Physical activity, teamwork, and a sense of community within the surf life-saving culture are a few of the other benefits. 
Inverloch has been hosting Disabled Surfing Victoria’s events for a number of years and consequently identified a huge need for the program, first developed by Anglesea SLSC in 2011. 
“It has been a goal of ours to get the program up and running and this season with the hard work of our volunteers, we have been able to get the program off the ground.” Said Holly  
Starfish nippers uses the clubs regular lifesaving equipment, such as boards and tubes and will incorporate extra items such as beach toys and musical instruments. 
The club are also seeking funding to purchase more specialised equipment similar to the beach accessible wheelchair. 
The instructor-to-participant ratio for Starfish Nippers is 2:1, so the number of volunteers will dictate the number of participants that can be involved. 
“As a club we aim to facilitate as many nippers in our programs as possible, no one should be denied water safety education and awareness,” Holly said.  
“Starfish Nippers is one step towards our goal of creating accessible pathways through lifesaving,” Holly said.  
For more information, to enrol or volunteer go to: https://islsc.org.au/lifesaving/education/starfish-nippers.