Junior lifeguards learn ocean safety — and life saving

By Catherine E. Toth
Advertiser Staff Writer

Eli Blanchard has learned a lot about ocean safety from the city's annual Junior Lifeguard Program.

Bethany Hamilton, 13, of Kaua'i, foreground, and Kehau Crawford, 14, of the Big Island bring in the first leg of a girls paddleboard relay during the Junior Lifeguard State Championships at Ala Moana beach. Hamilton's team won the event. The Big Island took third.

Brooke Dawson, 14, of the North Shore starts the first leg of a paddleboard relay. Her team took second in the event. Yesterday's championships also included a 1,000-meter swim, beach flags, run-swim-run and 200-meter swim. Photos by Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser

When he and his friend, fellow junior lifeguard Pat Savage, went to Waimea Bay last month to train for free diving, the 17-year-old found himself applying exactly what he had learned to a real-life situation.

Both teens dove to the bottom of the bay, sticking their hands in the sand to keep from surfacing. They were trying to hold their breath for as long as they could, training their lungs for free diving.

"He usually holds his breath longer than me," Blanchard said yesterday. "But he was down there a long time."

That's when Blanchard dove down and saw his friend still underwater, his body limp. Savage had passed out.

Remembering what he learned in the Junior Lifeguard Program, he quickly pulled Savage to shore with the help of another swimmer and started doing chest compressions. By the second one, Savage started to breathe.

"If I didn't take the program, I don't know if I could've done that," Blanchard said.

Learning how to help others in precarious situations is exactly the goal of the Junior Lifeguard Program, which teaches teens basic ocean survival skills. More than 1,000 teens ages 13 to 17 participated this summer across the state.

"We want them to know how to help someone in the water, and, of course, help themselves, too," said Mark Cunningham, program coordinator and training lieutenant for Ocean Safety and Lifeguard Services.

Blanchard was one of about 300 teenagers who participated in the 2003 Junior Lifeguard State Championships yesterday at Ala Moana Beach Park. The event was composed of five skills tests: 1,000-meter swim, beach flags, run-swim-run, paddleboard relay and 200-meter swim.

Anyone who completed the one-week Junior Lifeguard course this summer could participate in any event. Some competed in one, some in several. And others just sat on the beach and cheered.

There weren't any trophies or sponsorship contracts in the end. But the real reward was seeing their hard work during the summer pay off in a win for their team — or just the satisfaction of making it to the finish line.

"There's not so much a team award as it is just bragging rights," Cunningham said.

The weeklong course, organized by the Ocean Safety and Lifeguard Services Division and the Hawaiian Lifeguard Association and led by veteran lifeguards, is designed to teach teens about water safety, rescue techniques, first aid and CPR. A big emphasis is on honing water skills, which include swimming and paddleboarding.

The championships are a culmination of what they have learned, a chance for these teens to test their skills against others from across the state.

"This is what keeps me coming back," said Christina Delima, 15, from Kihei, Maui, who placed third in beach flags and fourth in the 1,000-meter beach run. "It's testing our skills to see how we come out in the end."

Delima feels more confident in the water after having been in the program for three years. She's more cautious and watchful when she bodyboards at Ma'alaea and Olowalu on Maui. Now she wants to be a lifeguard after she graduates from Baldwin High School.

Delima pulled a fellow paddler to safety two years ago when the teenager couldn't complete a warm-up swim.

"I like to help people," Delima said. "And I want to help people get more educated about the water."

All five districts on O'ahu — Ala Moana Beach, Kalama Beach, Poka'i Bay, Waimanalo and 'Ehukai — were represented yesterday, along with programs from Maui, Kaua'i and the Big Island.

While each district has slightly different programs, tailored to each beach's personality, all of them focus on the same basic concepts of ocean safety.

"I'm just stoked to be working with the kids," said 13-year veteran lifeguard Johnny Angel from the 'Ehukai program. "It's neat to pass on our knowledge to them."

Participation in the Junior Lifeguard Program has grown every year since its inception 11 years ago. There were more than 500 teens this year on O'ahu alone.

"It's from just the popularity of surfing," Cunningham said, adding interest among girls seemed to grow soon after the release of "Blue Crush," the Hawai'i-based surf movie centering around young female surfers.

This year nearly half of the teens who completed the course and competed in the championships were female.

That growth mirrors a national trend: Participation of girls and women who surf has jumped 120 percent over the past three years, according to recent estimates by the United States Surfing Federation. Today, females make up between 12 percent and 17 percent of all surfers. And that number is rising.

Bianca Salazar has been in the program for three years. The 17-year-old graduate of Kaiser High School comes back every year because she feels strongly about learning how to be safe in the water.

"Water safety is so important if you swim or surf," said Salazar, who regularly surfs at Concessions and Ala Moana Bowls. "And it's important especially if you live in Hawai'i."

Like Delima, Salazar wants to be a lifeguard. The competition, among other things, is good practice for her in preparation for that.

"It's fun to watch everyone else and see how good everyone else is," said Salazar, who finished third in the 1,000-meter run. "Everyone is so fit. It shows there's going to be a lot of good lifeguards someday. I hope I'm one of them."

For lifeguard competition results, see For the Record.

Reach Catherine E. Toth at 535-8103 or ctoth@honoluluadvertiser.com.