Competition to save lives

By Kam Davis

After a hard season of keeping the beaches of St. Johns County safe, the St. Augustine Lifesaving Association decided to hold its first-ever rescue board surf competition.

Being one of the more densely populated tourist areas in Florida, St. Augustine gets its fair share of visitors who do not have much experience in the ocean, and having little to no knowledge of how the ocean works can lead to unseen outcomes that no one can predict.

The patrol called it their “End of Summer Surf Comp” and the goal of the competition was for the guards to be able to show off the skills they have been working on all summer.

“All summer these guards are in the water either rescuing someone or training to get better, and I know these guys worked their butts off, so they deserve to have some fun now that we’re at the end,” captain Jessica Earl said.

St. Johns County’s beaches had one of their most dangerous summers in 2023, caused by the constant changes of sandbars which resulted in new rip currents opening up in new spots all along the beach.

The openness of the competitions allowed for the guards to have fun and be creative in the water, which resulted in “tandem” board riding, where two people catch a wave on the same board, handstand on the board while going down the line and even adding in a surprise for all the spectators.

The ocean is constantly moving and things can go south fast for swimmers who are not very strong, so it is crucial for the guards to be able to make swift decisions to go out and help however they can.

These skills are used daily to help guards safely and efficiently get out into the water to rescue a victim.

The competitions help push lifeguards to gain more skills and push them to be better than those around them.

“There are two beginning heats with five or six people in each, then we will have the semis that will have six people, and then lastly the finals that will involve three of the guards that stood out the most,” Earl said.

The lifeguards were being judged on the control of their boards while on the waves and all-around skill on the board while riding the wave.

Lifeguards had their work cut out for them this summer, including when 21-year-old man Gerson Rodriguez, drowned after getting sucked into a rip current after having a wave crash over his head. He was finally found an hour later, according to News4Jax.

These skills are used daily to help guards safely and efficiently get out into the water to rescue a victim.

The competitions help push lifeguards to gain more skills and push them to be better than those around them.

“There are two beginning heats with five or six people in each, then we will have the semis that will have six people, and then lastly the finals that will involve three of the guards that stood out the most,” Earl said.

When Jessica brought her dog, Luna, out on a rescue board, even though she only caught one wave, she was the only one to score a perfect 10 on a wave.

Not everyone was involved in the surf competition.  Some of the guards were under the tent judging the surfers. Everyone else not competing was in the water catching boards in case anyone lost theirs as well as preventing them from hitting the rocks that were next to the pier.

“The number of guards here is not even close to the number of our full patrol,” first-year guard, Nick Damuth said.  “We work very close with St. Johns Fire Rescue and patrol all 42 miles of the beach in St. Johns County so to make sure everyone is safe we have upwards of 75 guards on our patrol.”

The St. Augustine Lifesaving Association has a mix of guards sitting in towers or stands and trucks constantly patrolling to back up the ones sitting in the stands. They also ensure that everyone is safe on the beaches that are not guarded.  

The finals featured three of the best surfers of the day, Walter Kennedy, Alex Gonzalez and Ty Collins. These surfers did not disappoint. 

These were the contestants who were showing the most skill and control on the board, riding down the lines and doing the most headstands all night.

The finals lead to all three competitors pulling every trick out of the bag adding 360-degree turns, catching the wave with the fin first and other tricks to grab the judge’s eyes.  

When the final 15-minute heat had ended, the three surfers lined up and waited to hear the final standings.

Captain Earl read aloud the standings, “In third place, we have Walter Kennedy, second place goes to Ty Collins, and in first place, we have Alex Gonzalez.”