Rehoboth Beach Patrol to host lifesaving championships July 9
The Rehoboth Beach Patrol will host the United States Lifesaving Association’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Lifesaving Championships starting at 8 a.m., Wednesday, July 9, on the beach in front of the patrol’s newly constructed headquarters at Baltimore Avenue.
This will be the 29th consecutive year Rehoboth has hosted this event, which showcases the skills necessary to be an ocean lifeguard. The public is welcome to observe the competitions.
“We’re excited to have the USLA Mid-Atlantics back on Rehoboth Beach,” said RBP Capt. Jeff Giles. “We welcome everyone to come watch and support our guards.”
Some 300 lifeguards representing squads from New York to Virginia will compete for the opportunity to qualify for the national championships.
Events include the 90-meter sprint, 2K beach run, 4-by-90 soft-sand beach relay, 400-meter surf swim, swimmer rescue race, landline rescue race, paddleboard rescue race, run-swim-run, surf dash and beach flags.
The U.S. Lifesaving Association is a nonprofit professional association of beach lifeguards and open-water rescuers. The USLA works to reduce the incidence of death and injury in the aquatic environment through public education, national lifesaving standards, training programs and promotion of high levels of lifeguard readiness. For details, go to usla.org.
In another chance to see the patrol in action, the 48th annual Rehoboth Beach Patrol Lifeguard Olympics will take place beginning at 4 p.m., Thursday, July 24, bringing together regional lifeguards to compete in various races for bragging rights.
At 4 p.m., Monday, July 28, junior guards from across Sussex County and Ocean City, Md., will compete in running, swimming and paddleboard races. Both competitions will take place on the beach at Baltimore Avenue.
Established in 1921, the Rehoboth Beach Patrol is considered one of the nation's leading lifesaving agencies, with more than 100 years of excellence in safety and lifesaving competition as well as a 700-member alumni association prepared to guide the RBP to continued excellence.
