Junior Lifeguards Compete at Will Rogers State Beach

By SUE PASCOE Palisadian-Post Contributor A field of nearly 600 youngsters from Zuma, Venice, Santa Monica, and Will Rogers State Beaches participated in a Junior Lifeguards Sectional competition last Friday morning at Tower 15 on Will Roger’s State Beach. Friday’s competition included individual events like running and swimming and relays. Group C, consisting of 9- to 11-year-olds, started the morning with a half-mile sprint on the sand. They were followed by Group B, the 12- to 13-year-olds, who did a three-quarters-of-a-mile sprint, and then Group A (14- to 17-year-olds) who ran a mile. Runs were followed by each group doing a buoy swim of about 400 yards. As Group A started the flag run, Group C did the paddleboard relay. Kyle Daniels, head of the L.A. County Junior Lifeguard program explained that the paddleboard relay, because of the nature of the boards and the surf, is a cross between a water rodeo and a foot race. At the start, the first paddle boarder drags the board to the water, navigates through the breaking waves out onto the ocean, paddles around the buoy, paddles back, riding the waves, drags the board across the sand, and hands it off to the next person on the relay. The flag race involved people laying face down in the sand, looking the opposite direction from where rubber sticks, much like pieces of chopped hoses were placed about 50 feet away. There were always fewer flags than contestants. A ‘heads up’ command was given, then ‘heads down’ and then a whistle was blown. The contestants jumped to their feet, spun around and sprinted to the flags, dove and grabbed them. As well as teaching CPR and rescue techniques, the program builds confidence in campers’ ability to swim in the ocean. This is the 44th year of the program, continuous with the exception of a short hiatus during World War II. The program has not changed in all these years with the exception of changing from red uniforms to blue. ‘The crowning moment of the program is when these Junior Lifeguards graduate into lifeguards,’ Daniels said. ‘Many of our college kids who lifeguard during the summer started out as Junior Lifeguards.’ The goal of the program is to train children and teenagers ages 9 to 17 in beach and ocean safety. The regimen the campers go through in the five weeks is patterned after the same program that regular L.A. County Lifeguards undertake. No one is allowed to sign-up unless they qualify with a timed swim. Group C candidates must swim 100 yards in 1:50 or less. The program also has a limited number of spaces at each beach. Northern beaches used Friday as a warm-up for next week’s regional competition at Dockweiller Beach, which is expected to draw 2,400 Junior Lifeguards from all over Southern California. The state competition will be in Long Beach on July 23.