USLA Lifeguard Championships Underway in Virginia

The United States Lifesaving Association (USLA) National Lifeguard Championships kicked off the first day of professional competition on Thursday. The USLA crowned age group champions in the Surf Boat Race, Surf Ski Race, American Ironwoman, American Ironman and Beach Flags events. Preliminary and semifinal rounds were also run for a variety of Open events.

At the Jersey Mike’s 2018 USLA National Lifeguard Championships, professional lifeguards from 60 USLA chapters around the country are competing for individual and team honors in water and beach course events that challenge their lifesaving skills. After day one of competition, LA County Surf Life Saving Association leads all competitors with 151 team points. Monmouth County (N.J.) currently ranks second with 142 points and Miami Beach (Fla.) follows in third with 37. Fort Lauderdale Ocean Rescue (Fla.) leads the B Division (chapters with 100 lifeguards or less) with 38 points.

Age group champions for each of Thursday’s USLA National Lifeguard Championships events follow:

SURF BOAT RACE: Two-person surf boat teams row around the three outside buoy courses returning to shore where one member disembarks from the boat and runs up to touch the line. Once across the touchline, the member can return to their surf boat for a second lap, repeating the touch line run. At the finish of the third lap, one member must leave the boat and run up and across the finish line. Three lap races are approximately 2,000 meters with each lap approximately 665 meters.

Men’s 30-34

1. Boki Corsovic & Jose Bolivar – Hollywood Beach, Fla.

Women’s 30-34

1. Jillian Kenney & Jennifer Noonan – Fort Lauderdale Ocean Rescue, Fla.

Men’s 35-39

1. Danny Repass & Patrick Clemens – Boca Raton, Fla./Deerfield Beach, Fla.

Men’s 40-44

1. Jack Green & Mike Barrows – Monmouth County, N.J.

Women’s 40-44

1. Desi Stoyanova & Cindy Fajardo – Miami Beach, Fla./Sussex County, Del.

Men’s 45-49

1. Chris Hoch & Paul Elyseev – Monmouth County, N.J.

Women’s 45-49

1. Sherri Griffith & Shelley Griffith – Boca Raton, Fla.

Men’s 50-54

1. Jack Luka & David Griffith – Boca Raton, Fla./Sussex County, Del.

Women’s 50-54

1. Annabel Ingall & Janet Carbin – Monmouth County, N.J.

Men’s 55-59

1. William George & Tom Greenwald – Monmouth County, N.J.

Men’s 60-64

1. John Kenny & Bert Soden – Outer Banks, N.C./Miami Beach, Fla.

Men’s 65-69

1. James Simonelli & Rick Stimpson – Monmouth County, N.J.

Men’s 70+

1. Joel Gitelson & Ed Heinrich – LA County Surf Life Saving Assoc., Calif.

SURF SKI: Competitors steady their skis in line in knee-deep water about 1.5 meters apart. Competitors must obey directions from the starter or check starter concerning ski alignment at the start. On the starting signal, competitors paddle their skis around the apex course marked by three red buoys in a clockwise direction and return to finish when any part of the ski crosses the in-water finish line – ridden, gripped or carried by the competitor. Competitors may lose contact with their ski without necessarily being disqualified.

Men’s 30-34

1. Nathan Humberston – Monmouth County, N.J.

Women’s 30-34

1. Kim Robertson – Palm Beach County, Fla.

Men’s 35-39

1. Brian Murphy – LA County Surf Life Saving Assoc., Calif.

Women’s 35-39

1. Tandis Morgan – LA County Surf Life Saving Assoc., Calif.

Men’s 40-44

1. Phill Lloyd – Outer Banks, N.C.

Women’s 40-44

1. Jennifer Noonan – Fort Lauderdale Ocean Rescue, Fla.

Men’s 45-49

1. Cris Dobrosielski – California State Lifeguard Assoc., Calif.

Women’s 45-49

1. Sherri Griffith – Boca Raton, Fla.

Men’s 50-54

1. Patrick Hemmens – California State Lifeguard Association, Calif.

Women’s 50-54

1. Chris Linkletter – LA County Surf Life Saving Assoc., Calif.

Men’s 55-59

1. Jay Butki – LA County Surf Life Saving Association, Calif.

Women’s 55-59

1.    Ann Finley – LA County Surf Life Saving Assoc., Calif.

Men’s 60-64

1. John Skudin – Long Beach, N.Y.

Women’s 65-69

1. Susan Wallis – Jax Beach, Fla.

Men’s 65-69

1. Eldin Onsgard – LA County Surf Life Saving Assoc., Calif.

Men’s 70+

1. Joel Gitelson – LA County Surf Life Saving Assoc., Calif.

BEACH FLAGS: From a prone starting position on the beach, competitors rise, turn and race to obtain a baton (beach flag) buried upright in the sand approximately 20 meters away. Since there are always fewer batons than competitors, those who fail to obtain a baton are eliminated.

Men’s 30-34

1. Maurice Peacock – Wrightsville Beach, N.C.

Women’s 30-34

1. Brianne Costello – Smith Point, N.Y.

Men’s 35-39

1. DJ Volosevich – Long Beach, N.Y.

Women’s 35-39

1. Sylvia Wolff – Outer Banks, N.C.

Men’s 40-44

1. David Cartlidge – LA County Surf Life Saving Assoc., Calif.

Women’s 40-44

1. Naomi Greca – Monmouth County, N.J.

Men’s 45-49

1. Rian Klenke – Boca Raton, Fla.

Women’s 45-49

1. Robyn Skove – Hollywood Beach, Fla.

Men’s 50-54

1. Mark Racioppi – Monmouth County, N.J.

Women’s 50-54

1. Lisa George – Monmouth County, N.J.

Men’s 55-59

1. John Gepp – Monmouth County, N.J.

Women’s 55-59

1. Ann Finley – LA County Surf Life Saving Assoc., Calif.

Men’s 60-64

1. Larry Russell – Palm Beach County, Fla.

Women’s 60-64

1. Susan Wallis – Jax Beach, Fla.

Men’s 65-69

1. Eldin Onsgard – LA County Surf Life Saving Assoc., Calif.

Women’s 65-69

1. Susan Wallis – Jax Beach, Fla.

Men’s 70+

1. Ed Heinrich – LA County Surf Life Saving Assoc., Calif.

AMERICAN IRONMAN: Competitors cover a 1400 m (approx.) course that includes a swim leg, a board leg, a solo surfboat leg, and a beach sprint finish. Conditions of racing each leg are as generally required for the individual conditions of that discipline including the rules governing the component disciplines: surfboats, board races, surf races, beach sprints. The sequence of legs shall be determined by draw at the commencement of each competition at least one hour prior to the race. The same ballot shall determine the order of legs for the Ironman and Taplin Relay. If the surf boat leg is first, competitors will start with a typical Surfboat start with a handler.

Men’s 30-34

1. Jeff Hart – LA County Surf Life Saving Assoc., Calif.

Men’s 35-39

1. Jeff Lombardo – LA County Surf Life Saving Assoc., Calif.

Men’s 40-44

1. Tyler Morgan – LA County Surf Life Saving Assoc., Calif.

Men’s 45-49

1. Wade Rickerson – Fort Lauderdale Ocean Rescue, Fla.

Men’s 50-54

1. Mel Solberg – LA County Surf Life Saving Assoc., Calif.

Men’s 55-59

1. Roland Woolson – Monmouth County, N.J.

Men’s 60-64

1. John Skudin – Long Beach, N.Y.

Men’s 65-69

1. Eldin Onsgard – LA County Surf Life Saving Assoc., Calif.

Men’s 70+

1. Joel Gitelson – LA County Surf Life Saving Assoc., Calif.

AMERICAN IRONWOMAN: Competitors cover a 950-meter (approx.) course that includes a swim leg, a board leg, and a beach sprint finish. SWIM clockwise around the two center swim flag buoys (red to green/yellow). Competitors will BOARD paddle clockwise around the swim flag buoys and the black/white buoys. The start will be at the left end of the course facing down the beach. The competitors will RUN down the beach 100 meters to a flag in the middle of the course. After rounding the center flag, the competitors enter the water for the swim.

Women’s 30-34

1. Tiffany LaCasse-Johnson – Palm Beach County, Fla.

Women’s 40-44

1. Jennifer Noonan – Fort Lauderdale Ocean Rescue, Fla.

Women’s 45-49

1. Sherri Griffith – Boca Raton, Fla.

Women’s 50-54

1. Chris Linkletter – LA County Surf Life Saving Assoc., Calif.

Women’s 55-59

1. Janet Carbin – Monmouth County, N.J.

Hosted by the Virginia Beach Lifeguard Association in conjunction with the city of Virginia Beach, the Jersey Mike’s USLA National Lifeguard Championships continue Friday at 8 a.m. ET between 27th and 30th street on the Virginia Beach oceanfront.

From Thursday to Saturday, professional lifeguards from a number of USLA chapters across the country will compete for individual and team honors in water and beach course events that challenge their lifesaving skills including surf swims, beach runs, paddleboard races, landline rescue relays, a taplin relay, board rescue races, beach flags, and Ironman and Ironwoman races.

Admission to the USLA National Lifeguard Championships in Virginia Beach is free of charge.

For more information on the USLA National Lifeguard Championships and full results from today’s National Lifeguard Championships, visit www.usla.org/nationals.

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.

Swim news courtesy of USLA.