Rockaway Takes on Women’s Lifeguard Competition

By Kailey Aiken

Last Wednesday, a group of Rockaway Beach lifeguards spent their RDO (Regular Day Off) in Lido Beach to compete in the Town of Hempstead All Women’s Lifeguard Competition.

Nine teams of female lifeguards from across Long Island entered the competition, all the way from the Hamptons to our crew from Rockaway. It was so nice to see the appreciation TOH (Town of Hempstead) has for their lifeguards, especially female lifeguards, and so refreshing to experience the camaraderie between the girls from our own team and beyond.

We competed in all 11 events, winning the distance mile and taking second place in the surfboard rescue event. We were also the only team to have three competitors advance into the final twelve for beach flags. While we didn’t make the podium in other events, we definitely held our own for a group with very little preparation for this sort of competition. Overall, we had a lot of fun learning the ropes of the competition events, and I think we surprised ourselves with how capable we were.

We were lucky enough to have TOH and other lifeguard agencies lend us some equipment since we were not allowed to use our own. Girls from Smith Point even helped show us how to use the line and bucket we were given to use as a reel.

Don’t get me wrong, the competition was intense — but once an event ended, it was more about supporting and lifting each other up than tearing each other down. Without the kindness and welcoming nature of the other teams, especially TOH, this day would not have been possible for us.

Unlike our other competitors, our team was organized completely by college-age girls with some help from a few dedicated parents. Win or lose, it made me proud to be a part of a team put together in so little time with so few resources. Working together with the girls from different shacks across Rockaway was such a nice bonding experience for us, and I hope we can grow the team in the future.

It’s a shame Rockaway Beach lifeguards haven’t had the chance to compete in more competitions like this in the past. Many of the teams we competed against take part in multiple competitions throughout the summer along the East Coast. It’s such a smart and effective way to keep lifeguards in shape and push us to perfect ocean skills that easily translate into lifesaving skills.

This year was definitely a bit of a “trial run” for us, but I am confident we can put an even stronger team together next year and walk into the competition with a much better idea of what we will be facing. Hopefully, in the years to come, both male and female lifeguards from

Rockaway will have a chance to get involved in lifeguard competitions — they’re a lot of fun!