The basement meeting room at the Montauk Library was crowded on Tuesday as participants in East Hampton Town’s junior lifeguard program, which teaches children ages 9 to 15 the importance of water safety and ocean awareness, were celebrated by the town board.
“Our season has been an amazing season,” said John Ryan Jr., the town’s chief lifeguard. “I should say thank you just as much to the instructors that work with these young individuals that come into the junior program with a little bit of concern but willing to give it a try and build their confidence. It’s because of those instructors working with them that they come in and they’re ready to do it.”
One of the program’s participants of each age, 9 through 15, was recognized on Tuesday, and Mr. Ryan said that their names would be submitted to the United States Lifesaving Association “in hopes that they recognize these individuals as shining stars of our community and the Hampton Lifeguard Association.” The Hampton Lifeguard Association, which includes guards from Southampton Town, took more than 60 junior and professional guards to the United States Lifesaving Association’s national tournament in California last week, which is covered separately in this issue.
Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez read proclamations congratulating Aydin Khan, 9; Lexi Ap Simon, 10; Isabela Morocho, 11; Evelyn Sanders, 12; Isla Mazzola, 13; Wesley Bull, 14, and Ariel Ruggiero, 15, who is part of the cadet program. “We’re all really proud of you,” the supervisor said, “and thank you for your excellence and your teamwork and your compassion for each other.”
“I am honored to receive this award,” Lexi said, “and I know I could have never done it without the help of my amazing lifeguards. The lifeguard program is a highlight of my year.”
Also at the meeting, Ariel and Orson O’Brien, another junior lifeguard cadet, spoke to the board and audience about sun safety and an initiative called Block the Blaze. The sun’s ultraviolet rays “can damage our skin in ways we don’t always notice right away,” said Orson. “Protecting ourselves isn’t just for the beach. It’s for every sunny day.”
Earlier in the summer, said Ariel, the Junior Lifeguard program distributed hats and sunblock provided by the John Wayne Cancer Foundation. “This organization gave five simple tips to stay safe in the sun.” Those, the boys said, are to apply sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or higher and reapply it every two hours or after being in the water and drying off; wear a hat, especially a wide-brimmed hat; wear sunglasses to protect the eyes from harmful UV rays and prevent long-term eye damage (and do not look directly into the sun); cover up with protective clothing, such as lightweight, light-colored long-sleeve shirts, and to seek shade, especially between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
Following these steps, said Ariel, does more than help prevent sunburn. “It lowers the risk of skin cancer and keeps your skin healthy for the future.”
The town offers free sunblock at every beach, Mr. Ryan said, usually located behind the lifeguard stand.
T.J. Calabrese, who is vice president of the Hampton Lifeguard Association, then spoke about the town’s Beach Guardian water safety training program, which he described as similar to the junior lifeguard program but for adults.
A pilot program started a month ago, he said, with parents of Junior Lifeguard participants asked to join. “The next morning we had a line of 45 people signing up,” he said. “The mission of this program is to enhance water competency and promote responsible behavior around the water.”
Basic swimming and water safety skills are covered, along with hands-only CPR. “We are teaching individuals to recognize and understand rip currents, and knowing how to respond to these hazards,” he said. Knowing one’s limitations is paramount, he added, citing as an example a person attempting to rescue a swimmer in distress. “We don’t want someone to go in the water who is not confident and capable of the task that’s put before them. They’re better off calling 911, yelling for help, for somebody around them to go who may be more qualified to get into the water. That’s why we always say swim in front of a lifeguard.”
Confidence building is also a goal of the program, as is having fun. “The activities are going to mirror what we do in junior lifeguarding,” he said. “We’re going to do buoy swims. We’re going to have rescue board training. We’re going to teach these adults to paddle a paddleboard. We’re going to teach them how to read the ocean. What is a sweep? How to identify rip currents — all these things we do for the 9-through-15-year-olds.”
“You know, a lot of these parents are so amazed at their kids,” he said. “They want to share in that knowledge.”