SOUTH PADRE ISLAND — While beachgoers are at play, lifeguards are often stationed nearby ready to protect and help with anything as minor as providing first aid to a wound to rescuing swimmers from strong rip currents.
Hundreds of lifeguards from around the country are putting their skills to the test this week while competing in the 2021 Jersey Mike’s United States Lifesaving Association (USLA) National Lifeguard Championships.
The USLA National Lifeguard Championships began in 1980. Aside from last summer, the competition has taken place every year.
This is the first time the USLA National Lifeguard Championships has been held on South Padre Island. The four-day competition began on Wednesday and ends Saturday.
SPI Convention and Visitors Bureau Director Ed Caum said the city is pleased to have the competition on the Island.
“We’re happy to have them here. We hope they decide to come back,” Caum said. “They always have a competition on the east coast and west coast. We want to become their Gulf Coast destination so that every third year we’d have a chance to have them here on South Padre Island.”
Close to 400 professional lifeguards from across the country ranging from 16 to 80 and junior lifeguards from ages 9 to 15 are competing in water and beach course events individually and in teams.
From surf swims and beach runs to utilizing paddle-boards and surfboards, lifeguards have been competing in a variety of events that organizers say challenges their life saving skills.
Local competitors
Lifeguards from the City of South Padre Island and the Cameron County Beach Patrol are competing in the USLA National Lifeguard Championships.
The Cameron County Beach Patrol has 15 competing lifeguards this summer. This is the group’s fifth year competing.
Cameron County Beach Patrol Chief Art Hurtado placed third in his first event on Thursday. The event was an elimination-style sprint called the beach flags.
“We’ve participated in other states, but it means a lot that we can actually finally have it home for the first time ever,” Hurtado said. “We’ve put in a lot of effort. We have the most guards participating of any year for nationals so I’m pretty happy about it.”
Cameron County Beach Patrol lifeguard Daniela Chapa has been a competitive swimmer for eight years and is competing in the USLA National Lifeguard Championships for her first time this summer.
After hearing about ocean lifeguarding from others, she felt inspired to pursue it and fell in love with the profession.
“This is my first time competing, which is why I wanted to branch out and see how the events are and see which ones I’m better at for the coming years,” Chapa said. “I’m really happy to be with my teammates competing together. It’s been a really awesome time.”
Hurtado said he feels proud of his team.
“Everyone is here in good spirits and are happy to compete,” he said. “We already have some people advancing to the finals in some events that they’ve never finaled in before so they’ve worked really hard and it’s starting to show.”
SPI Fire Chief Jim Pigg said the competition is going extremely well.
“We’ve got a team of about 28 people that are in our lifeguard association,” Pigg said. “We have about eight of those competing and the rest are helping on a day to day basis with the logistics, transporting equipment and setting up courses and flag lines so it’s very much a team effort.”
The event kicked off on Wednesday with the National Junior Lifeguard Championships, which featured junior guard programs from every coast in the U.S.
City of South Padre Island lifeguard Melia Gore was a winner in the rescue race girls under 19 competition.
“The athletes were up, excited and having a great time,” USLA Vice-President and Media Relations Chair Tom Gill said. “The Junior Guards Championships ran flawlessly. For a group hosting their first national championships, it just can’t be run any better than this.”
The majority of the National Lifeguard Championships will take place behind the Isla Grand Beach Resort.
A beach flags event will be contested tonight at Clayton’s Beach Bar and Grill in front of what event organizers say is sure to be a boisterous crowd. There is no admission fee for this annual competition.
“Come on down,” Gill said. “We want everybody to come watch and appreciate the really high level of athleticism of these first responders — people that are out saving lives and helping people on beaches around the country every day.”
For more information about the 2021 Jersey Mike’s USLA National Lifeguard Championships, visit www.usla.org.
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