I remember the lecture clearly enough to willfully disobey. “Never wear your guard uniform off duty. Tax payers don’t want to see you using their money get drinks at the bar.” Back in 2012, contentious debates roared among beach advocates and fiscal conservatives. The City now has a severe lifeguard shortage. Beaches haven’t been staffed in years. This summer I’ve been known to wear my guard shorts as a not-so-subtle excuse to start blabbing about the past. Plus, they have great pockets!
My favorite element of the Beach Guard Life was the Rescue Board. These look like small foam surfboards, but their designed specifically to get a (hopefully hypothetical) unconscious beachgoer onto the board in two relatively easy flips. Practicing that technique was mandatory, with planned and unplanned tests. Pretending these small boards were Stand Up Paddleboards was entirely optional. In fact, I never knew anyone else to try – but without question that’s how I developed my love for SUPs.
We trained hard and played harder. On duty, guards would invent quests for themselves and each other. A fan favorite was getting ducks in a bucket, carefully. After hours guard parties had something for everyone. There was the Hoedown Hootenanny at the barn, Skippy fueled campus shindigs, and an infamous camping trip at Devil’s Lake. Most memorable were the ABC (Anything But Clothes) nights. Some went as trees, whereas my move was Waffle Crisp boxes and paper plates.
Since my main goal with this blog is lifeguard education, I’ll leave you on an instructional note.
Whistle Blowing 101
- Firmly grasp the whistle with your teeth
- Apply gentle pressure with your tongue
- Blow hard and long, until desired results