Courtesy: United States Lifesaving Association (USLA)
South Padre Island, Texas (August 5, 2021) — The National Lifeguard Championships of the United States Lifesaving Association (USLA) kicked off its first day of professional competition on Thursday. USLA won Open Champions in the Board Relay and Run-Swim-Run, as well as Age Group Champions in the Surf Boat Race, Surf Ski Race, Beach Flag, American Ironwoman and American Ironman events. Qualifying and semi-final rounds were also run at various open events.
- Click here for full results
The 2021 USLA National Lifeguard Championships in Jersey Mike will see professional lifeguards from the USLA program from all coasts of the United States compete for individual and team honors in water and beach course events that challenge their lifesaving skills.
After the first day of competition, the Los Angeles County Surf Life Saving Association (California) won the Howard Lee National Championship Trophy Race with 337.5 overall points. The battle for second place was fierce, with Lispark (NY) and Sussex County (NJ) tied for second on 108 points, with Monmouth County (NJ) just one point behind on 107. Wrightsville Beach (North Carolina) leads his B division. (Lifeguards under his 200th chapter) he has 26 points.
The Open and Age Group champions for each event of Thursday’s USLA National Lifeguard Championship are:
Surf boat racing: A 2-person surf boat team paddles the 3 outer buoy courses back to shore, with one member getting out of the boat to touch the line. Once the touchline is crossed, the member may return to the surfboat to do two laps of her and repeat the touchline run. At the end of the third lap, one member must leave the boat and run across the finish line. A three-lap race is approximately 2,000 meters, with each lap approximately 665 meters.
Men’s 30-34
- Chris Hock & Kevin Jones – Fort Lauderdale Ocean Rescue, FL/Boca Raton
Women’s 30-34
- Kellyn Baconcini & Alexandre O’Connor – Fort Lauderdale, Florida Ocean Rescue
Men’s 35-39
- Hunter Hay & Tyler Morgan – LA County Surf Life Saving Assoc., California
Men’s 40-44
- Jack Green & David Griffiths – Monmouth/Sussex County, New Jersey
Men’s 45-49
- Jose Rene Abasolo & James Goldsmith – LA County Surf Life Saving Assoc., CA.
Women’s 45-49
- Jo Wagenhals & Cindy Fajardo – Pompano Beach, Florida/Sussex County, New Jersey
Men’s 50-54
- John Cullen & Paul Elyseev – Monmouth County, New Jersey
Women’s 50-54
- Sherry Griffiths & Sherry Griffiths – Boca Raton, Florida
Men’s 60-64
- John Gepp & Meryl Riley – Fort Lauderdale Ocean Rescue, FL/Los Angeles County Surf Lifesaving Association, CA
Men’s 70+
- Joel Gitelson & John Matesich – Los Angeles County Surf Lifesaving Association, California
board relay: Three competitors each paddle a 400m course. This is the first time the event has become an official scoring relay at his USLA Nationals.
women’s open
- Coral Kemp, Holly Maine, Kelsey Cummings – LA County Surf Life Saving Assoc., California
- Harry Peterson (Palm Beach County), April O’Gorman (Volusia Surf), Casey Francis (Fort Lauderdale)
- Sophia Swanson, Bella Tarbet, Kiley Kaiser – Hampton, New York Lifeguard Association
men’s open
- Brian Murphy, Jake Miller, Shane Gallas – LA County Surf Life Saving Assoc., California
- Zane Booth (Santa Barbara Lifeguard), James Bray & Ben Brewer (California Lifeguard Association)
- Peter Ebert, Pat Kilgallen, Thomas O’Neill – Riis Park, NY
Surf ski: Competitors line up their skis in knee-deep water about 1.5 meters apart. Competitors must follow the Starter’s instructions or check with the Starter regarding ski alignment at the start. At the signal to start, the competitor clockwise he paddles his skis around the apex course marked with three red buoys, allowing the competitor to ride, hold or carry any part of the ski. Underwater Finish Return to the finish when his line is crossed. Competitors may lose contact with their skis without necessarily being disqualified.
Men’s 30-34
- Tim Burdiak – LA County Surf Life Saving Assoc., California
Women’s 30-34
- Kellyn Baconcini – Hollywood Beach, Florida
Men’s 35-39
- Chase Robertson – Palm Beach County, Florida
Women’s 35-39
- Kimberly Robertson – Palm Beach County, Florida
Men’s 40-44
- Tyler Morgan – Los Angeles County Surf Lifesaving Association, California
Women’s 40-44
- Tandis Morgan – LA County Surf Life Saving Assoc., California
Women’s 45-49
- Cindy Fajardo – Sussex County, New Jersey
Men’s 50-54
- Sean Turner – Boca Raton, Florida
Women’s 50-54
- Sherry Griffiths – Boca Raton, Florida
Men’s 55-59
- Patrick Hemmens – California Lifeguard Association, California
Women’s 55-59
- Christine Linkletter – LA County Surf Life Saving Assoc., California
Men’s 60-64
- Merrill Riley – Surf Lifesaving Association of Los Angeles County, California
Men’s 65-69
- Mark Montgomery – LA County Surf Life Saving Assoc., California
Men’s 70+
- Joel Gitelson – LA County Surf Life Saving Assoc., California
Run-Swim-Run: From the starting line, the competitors run around the spinning flag, enter the water and swim around the buoys. Competitors swim back to the beach and run around the turning her flag again before running to the finish line.
open mens:
- Thomas O’Neill – Reese Park, New York
- Ben Brewer – California Lifeguard Association, CA.
- Pat Kilgallen – Reese Park, New York
open women:
- Kelsey Cummings – LA County Surf Life Saving Assoc., California
- Harry Peterson – Palm Beach County, Florida
- Casey Francis – Fort Lauderdale Ocean Rescue, Florida.
Age Group: 30-34 years old
Male: Drew Modrov – Riis Park, NY
Female: Maureen Abeita – Destin, Florida
Age Group: 35-39 years old
Male: Stephen Swenson – Monmouth County, New Jersey
Woman: Tiffany LaCasse – Palm Beach County, Florida
Age Group: 40-44 years old
Male: Jeff Monroe – LA County Surf Life Saving Assoc., California.
Female: Rebecca Thomas – California State Lifeguard Assoc., California.
Age Group: 45-49
Male: Alan Holt – Volusia Surf Lifesaving Association, Florida.
Female: Cindy Fajardo – Sussex County, New Jersey
Age Group: 50-54 years old
MEN: Sean Turner – Boca Raton, Florida
Female: Michelle Davidson – Monmouth County, New Jersey
Age group: 55-59 years old
Male: Randall Eickhoff – California State Lifeguard Assoc., California.
Female: Christopher Linkletter – LA County Surf Life Saving Assoc., CA.
Age group: 60-64 years old
Male: Merrill Riley – LA County Surf Life Saving Assoc., CA.
Age Group: 65-69
Male: Mark Montgomery – LA County Surf Life Saving Assoc., California.
Age Group: 70+
Male: Joel Gitelson – Los Angeles County Surf Lifesaving Association, CA.
beach flag: Competitors rise from a prone starting position on the beach, turn, and race for a baton (beach flag) buried upright in the sand about 20 meters away. Since there are always fewer batons than competitors, those who fail to obtain the baton are eliminated.
Men’s 30-34
- Ryan Fullerton – South Padre Island, Texas
Women’s 30-34
- Jacquelyn Emmert – Galveston Lifesaving Society, Texas
Men’s 35-39
- Maurice Peacock – Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina
Women’s 35-39
- Tiffany LaCasse – Palm Beach County, Florida
Men’s 40-44
- Sean Knight – Hampton, New York Lifeguard Association
Women’s 40-44
- Tandis Morgan – LA County Surf Life Saving Assoc., California
Men’s 45-49
- Jose Rene Abasolo – LA County Surf Life Saving Assoc., CA.
Women’s 45-49
- Christina Weeks – Carolina Beach, North Carolina
Men’s 50-54
- Ross O’Neal – Monmouth County, New Jersey
Women’s 50-54
- Ellen Faustine – California Lifeguard Association, California
Men’s 55-59
- Steve Kirkland – LA County Surf Life Saving Assoc., California
Women’s 55-59
- Ann Finley – LA County Surf Life Saving Assoc., California
Men’s 60-64
- John Gepp – Ocean Rescue, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Men’s 65-69
- Mark Montgomery & Dale Adama – LA County Surf Life Saving Assoc./California State Lifeguard Assoc., California.
Men’s 70+
- Joel Gitelson – LA County Surf Life Saving Assoc., California
America’s Iron Man: Competitors will cover approximately 1400m of course including a swim leg, board leg, solo surfboard leg and beach sprint finish. The race conditions for each leg are those generally required for that discipline’s individual conditions, including the rules governing component disciplines such as Surfboat, Board Race, Surf Race, Beach Sprint. The order of the legs shall be determined by drawing lots at the start of each competition and at least one hour before the race. The same vote shall determine the order of the Ironman and Taplin Relay legs. If the surfboard leg is first, the competitor will start with the handler on his normal surfboard start.
Men’s 30-34
- Jack Gramlich – Monmouth County, New Jersey
Men’s 35-39
- Hunter Hay – LA County Surf Life Saving Assoc., California
Men’s 40-44
- Jack Green – Monmouth County, New Jersey
Men’s 45-49
- Fintan McCormac – Hampton Lifeguard Association, New York
Men’s 50-54
- Jose Bolivar – Hollywood Beach, Florida
Men’s 55-59
- Bruce Wilkie – Hollywood Beach, Florida
Men’s 60-64
- Merrill Riley – Surf Lifesaving Association of Los Angeles County, California
Men’s 65-69
- Dale Adama – California Lifeguard Association, California
Men’s 70+
- Joel Gitelson – LA County Surf Life Saving Assoc., California
America’s Iron Woman: Competitors will cover approximately 950 meters of course including swimlegs, boardlegs and a beach sprint finish. In the middle she swims clockwise around two swimming flag buoys (red to green/yellow). Competitors row clockwise around the swim flag buoy and the black/white buoy. The start is on the left end of the course overlooking the coast. Competitors run 100 meters down the beach to the flag in the middle of the course. After rounding the center flag, competitors enter the water for a swim.
Women’s 30-34
- Alexander O’Connor – Ocean Rescue, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Women’s 35-39
- Tiffany LaCasse – Palm Beach County, Florida
Women’s 45-49
- Jo Wagenhals – Pompano Beach, Florida
Women’s 50-54
- Sherry Griffiths – Boca Raton, Florida
Coordinated by the USLA and the Padre Beach Rescue Association (PBRA), Jersey Mike’s USLA National Lifeguard Championship takes place Friday at 7:00 am behind the beachfront Isla Grand Resort on South Padre Island.
Beach Flags, the marquee event of the week, will be contested under the lights at Clayton’s Beach Bar tomorrow night at 8pm.
From Thursday through Saturday, professional lifeguards from many USLA chapters across the country will compete individually in water and beach course events that challenge lifesaving skills such as surf swims, beach runs, paddleboard races, landline rescue relays and taplins. and compete for team honors. Relays, board rescue races, beach flags, ironman and ironwoman races.
Admission to the USLA National Lifeguard Championships on South Padre Island is free.
For more information on the USLA National Lifeguard Championships and full results from today’s National Lifeguard Championships, visit www.usla.org/nationals.
