As the Laguna Madre area continues to have more days filled with warm and sunny weather, this means summer is fast-approaching.
While residents and visitors enjoy their vacations spent on the beaches of South Padre Island, a team of lifeguards are stationed nearby alert and ready to help keep them safe.
The Cameron County Beach Patrol is gearing up for its ninth season of monitoring the ocean waves and protecting beachgoers.
According to Cameron County Beach Patrol Chief Art Hurtado, the patrol is currently in the process of hiring new employees for the summer lifeguarding season.
Hurtado said training involves a mix of classroom and outdoor lifeguarding skills, certifications in medical courses and CPR that lifeguards need to to pass, as well as fundamentals about lifeguarding information and the ocean environment.
The physical activities with training involves athleticism, rescues, swimming and how to handle the water and beach environment.
Hurtado said the beach patrol tries to teach lifeguards not only about professionalism, but also how to be courteous and obtain skills they can use elsewhere.
“I feel like a teacher. I see the kids come in and grow as adults,” Hurtado said. “For most of them, this will be their first job ever so we kind of set the bar for them with the future expectations for the jobs they’re going to have.”
Hurtado said the beach patrol application period is still open, however, they are receiving a lot of applications so he advises people who are interested to put in applications early.
According to Hurtado, the beach patrol should have their final select of lifeguards in a few weeks by about mid-May.
From what Hurtado has seen so far, he said it’s been unseasonably busy this year.
“This is not normal for this time of year even for regular years,” he said. “If that’s an indication of what the summer is going to be, it should be a pretty busy summer.”
Hurtado said he advises beachgoers to pay attention to flag systems placed on the beach.
“We do try to keep them updated for the current conditions,” he said. “If they have any questions, they can contact us by phone or if they’re here on the beach already and they see a lifeguard, we ask that they do approach them and ask them for information. That’s what they’re here for.”
For more information about applying to become a lifeguard with the Cameron County Beach Patrol, contact [email protected] or apply directly on the County’s website.
