They’re called Nippers, but the 6 through 8-year-olds in East Hampton Town’s youngest water safety program looked like full-blown lifeguards during a recent session at Gin Beach in Montauk, where they learned about sun protection and saving lives.
“It’s pretty much a pre-entry to junior lifeguards. They do water events, distance swims, and while they’re doing all of these events and games they’re also learning about water safety,” said Nick Lombardo, a town lifeguard who coordinates the Nippers program at Gin Beach along with James Kissane. “Today, for example, we did our yearly sunblock talk — the John Wayne talk — about skin cancer, sunblock, and how to protect yourself in the sun.”
Wearing brand new “Block the Blaze” hats from the John Wayne Cancer Foundation, and wielding SPF 50 sunblock sticks, the kids explained the importance of wearing sunscreen.
“You should put sunscreen on two to four times a day to not get sun cancer,” said 6-year-old Cassidy Reich.
At just 6, they’re already learning how to rescue a swimmer in distress with a red lifeguard torpedo buoy, use a paddleboard, and sprint in the sand.
“Beach flags is their favorite. Everyone loves it,” said Lombardo. “They line up on the ground, we put up one flag less than the number of people that are there, and then it’s a running game. We blow the whistle and they have to sprint to grab that flag. You go down by one every single time until there’s one person left.”
Beach flags is a big event at the junior lifeguard tournament, which the Nippers will mimic with their own competition — the 10th annual Nipper Tournament — on July 27 and 28 at Albert’s Landing and Atlantic Avenue Beach in Amagansett. The Montauk and Amagansett Nippers will go head-to-head in groups based on skill level, competing for prizes, ribbons, and medals.
Paddleboarding is another event that’s a crowd favorite. “We swam to the yellow buoy,” Lucie Jamet, 6, said. “I forgot how to move on the paddleboard and then I got it and actually went back around.”
Other Nippers loved the torp rescue.
“You get to learn new things that you don’t know,” said 8-year-old Madison Watts. “Torp rescue is when you rescue a person who is pretending to drown.”
“I like saving people,” Lillian White, 8, said. “The victims go out and the rescuers have to help them and bring them back to shore.”
Eight-year-old Sage Burkle said she loves swimming. Her mother, Kalie, a physical education teacher and coach at the Montauk School, loves the safety instruction.
“My daughter loves coming to meet new kids who are here. She also loves going into the water and having fun and trying new events that she sees the lifeguards do,” Coach Burkle said.
“I was a lifeguard at Indian Wells for 10 years and I was a junior lifeguard instructor. In Montauk, we have one side ocean and one side bay, so all of the kids should be out there learning how to be safe in the water at all times.”
“I also taught junior lifeguards for like 10 years,” said Brynn Maguire, whose 7-year-old son, Finnlay Egee, is a Nipper. “I think it’s so important for kids who are out here and who are around the water all the time to be water-aware, especially if you’re taking your kids to the beach and they are getting older and going off with their friends. You just want to have that peace of mind that if they get in trouble in the water, they know how to get out of it.”
Lombardo says it’s all about building confidence, especially in deeper waters where the kids’ feet can’t touch the bottom.
“For me, the biggest thing is that they are comfortable in the water, not necessarily that they’re the best swimmers, but that they know if they’re in trouble, how to call a lifeguard, or they know how to lie on their backs and float if they fall in a pool or find themselves without someone watching them in the water and need help. After they leave this program, we want parents to know their kids are safe in the water even if they might look away for a second.”
