Massive waves greeted Hampton Lifeguard Association swimmers on their first day at the 2025 International Surf Rescue Challenge in New Zealand. Four East Hampton lifeguards were invited to participate in the international competition over Thanksgiving break as part of the United States Lifesaving Association Youth National Team: Gemma Garbuio, Liam Knight, Daisy Pitches, and Dylan Zucker. They faced currents so wild, some of the opening day’s ocean events were canceled.
“Day one we had a really big day with the waves. It was about 10 feet. We haven’t really dealt with those conditions, so it was really hard to do and we had to learn while we did it,” Pitches said. “It was scary, but I was also excited to do it because I’ve never been in something like that so I kind of let it go with the flow.”
Pitches did more than go with the flow. She earned a seventh-place finish. “I was really proud of how I did in that. That was one of the hardest swims I’ve ever done, the size of the waves and the currents and all that.”
The rest of the competition was less harrowing, and fun for both the lifeguards and their families to watch. “It was inspiring, and I think a lot of the youth team came away very motivated and inspired by what they saw,” said Angelika Cruz, Pitches’s mother and the assistant coach for the Y.M.C.A. East Hampton RECenter Hurricanes swim team.
Knight expected the Australians and New Zealanders to be the best of the bunch — and they met his expectations, taking first and second place over all. “It was pretty intense because they train year round for it, especially Australia,” Knight said. “It’s one of their main sports, so [we were] going against guys who do that year round and are training so much for it. It’s really hard to go against them.”
Cruz was in agreement. “I have to say, the Australians, I knew they were good, but to see the best of the best, it was absolutely impressive, and I was so proud of how many of our team members could hang with them and stay within reach of them.”
Knight not only kept up with the competition, he was able to get ahead of them in the 4-by-90-meter beach relay. “I got the baton in third and I got us in first place during the relay when I ran. And we ended up finishing fourth over all.”
Garbuio and Zucker also posted several impressive finishes. Garbuio took sixth place in the youth female beach flags and sixth place in the beach sprint. Zucker finished ninth in the youth male surf race and joined Knight and Pitches for a sixth-place finish in mixed surf teams.
The under-19 Americans finished their trip in fourth place, but Pitches said the best part of the experience was getting to know lifeguards from across America and the world. “I didn’t know any of my roommates, so it was really fun to make new friends and learn about how they do stuff and just be able to compete together.”
It was a New Zealand experience that four teenage lifeguards from New York will never forget.
