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Dewey Beach Patrol hosts annual junior lifeguard program

August 11, 2021

The Dewey Beach Patrol, under the guidance of Capt. Todd Fritchman, hosts a junior lifeguard program every summer for kids ages 6 and up on Tuesdays and Thursdays throughout July.

The program usually ends with a competition in Rehoboth for all junior lifeguards from patrols in the area, but this year they decided to just do an internal one.

The instructors at Dewey Beach Patrol work hard to meet all learning styles and teach children the importance of mental and physical well-being. They teach the children not only about lifeguarding and staying safe on the beach, but also taking care of the environment.

Every session starts out with a meeting inside Dewey Beach Patrol headquarters, where the children are taught a mini lesson; it could cover CPR, rip currents, lifeguard signals, health, environmental hazards or other topics.

Next, they do warm-ups on the beach before breaking into age groups for physical workouts. Most days, there are three stations that kids participate in over the course of an hour. These include things like running races, paddleboarding, surf dash, beach flags, relay races, tug of war and practice rescues.

Dewey held its internal competition Aug. 5, and there were two age groups – 9 and under, and 10 and over. The events included a four-person relay race, tug of war and beach flags. 

 

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