Hermosa Beach, Calif. (Aug. 1, 2016) — The United States Lifesaving Association (USLA) National Lifeguard Championships will be held in Hermosa Beach, Calif., with more than 1,000 lifeguards and junior lifeguards from across the country competing for individual and team honors, Wednesday, August 10 through Saturday, August 13.
Professional Lifeguards ranging in age from 16 to 80 and Junior Lifeguards from ages nine to 15 will compete in water and beach course events that challenge their lifesaving skills in myriad events from surf swims to beach runs; paddleboards to surf boats. A few of the highlights include the Landline Rescue Relay, Ironman and Ironwoman events, Beach Flags and the 4×100 relay, a shuttle-run-style competition that is called “the fastest event on sand.”
“The USLA is proud to bring together the cream of the crop in lifesaving for what promises to be an exciting National Championship event in Hermosa Beach,” said Ed Zebrowski, Lifesaving Sport Chair for the USLA. “It’s an action packed four days where beach visitors and lifeguards alike can enjoy a myriad of expert skills – skills that save lives year-round in our waters nationwide. These lifeguards are dedicated in their training, not just for the competition but to also be able to protect and serve their fellow beach-goers.”
Competitors at Nationals will be chasing the 2015 defending champions from LA County. The LA County Surf Life Saving Association captured the overall title last August in Daytona Beach, Fla. LA County has won the title every year since 1970 with five exceptions, Monmouth County (N.J.) has won twice and California State has won three times.
Admission is free for the annual competition, which will take place at Hermosa Beach (1300 The Strand). All competitions begin at 8 a.m. and run until the end of the day. The USLA and the Los Angeles County Lifeguard Association (LACOLA) are coordinating the competition. This is the third time LACOLA has hosted the event.
The men and women will compete over three days from Thursday, Aug. 11 to Saturday, Aug. 13 in various events. The Junior Guards are participants in programs conducted by local lifeguard agencies affiliated with the USLA and represent the future lifeguards for cities and counties. The Junior Lifeguard competition as well as the Under-19 competition will take place on Wednesday, Aug. 10.
The Junior Lifeguard competition will involve three divisions – A Division for 14 and 15 year-olds, B Division for 12 and 13 year-olds and the C Division for 9 through 11 years of age. The Under-19 competition will be comprised of both junior and professional lifeguards ages 16 through 18.
The 2016 USLA National Lifeguard Championships will be livestreamed on www.usla.org.
About USLA
The United States Lifesaving Association is America’s nonprofit professional association of beach lifeguards and open water rescuers. USLA works to reduce the incidence of death and injury in the aquatic environment through public education, national lifeguard standards, training programs, promotion of high levels of lifeguard readiness, and other means. Lifeguard competition in the U.S. owes its heritage to the Surf Lifesaving competitions in Australia. The first National Lifeguard Competition under the USLA banner was held in San Diego in August of 1980, bringing members of the various chapters from around the nation to compete. There are now more than 100 chapters of USLA, each affiliated with local lifesaving services and beach patrols, and composed of employees of these organizations. For more information, please visit www.uslanationals.org.
Swimming new release is courtesy of USLA.