WAILUA — For young people 13 to 17 years old, there is still time to get into the Junior Lifeguard program, said a spokesperson from the Kaua‘i Fire Department. Applications are available at all the lifeguard stations on the island,
WAILUA — For young people 13 to 17 years old, there is still time to get into the Junior Lifeguard program, said a spokesperson from the Kaua‘i Fire Department.
Applications are available at all the lifeguard stations on the island, or at the Kaua‘i Fire Department offices that only this week moved to the first floor of the Hale Pumehana building at the corner of Hardy and Aikahi streets in Lihu‘e.
The completed applications need to be filed at the fire department office prior to the start of the week’s class.
As an example, if a student wishes to enroll in the Hanalei or Po‘ipu site, the application must be in the fire department office no later than June 22.
The first set of classes started Monday at the Lydgate Park and the Salt Pond park with classes scheduled for Hanalei and Po‘ipu from June 22-26.
A final week is scheduled for Kalapaki Beach July 6-10 with the Kaua‘i Championships taking place July 11 at Kalapaki Beach.
The state championship is scheduled for July 25.
“We are state champions for the past five years,” said Eugene Ancheta, a water safety instructor. “If we can win this, it will be our sixth straight state title. But we’re going to need a lot of young guns stepping up because we lost some solid athletes last year.”
The group of 13 young people listened intently, and some of the first-year students quickly raised their hands in commitment to becoming an all-around athlete.
Ancheta told the group that not everyone is strong in everything — some are better at swimming, some are good in paddleboard and others do good in running events.
Unfortunately, nature forced some modification in the Lydgate presentation as the presence of man-of-war jellyfish meant all beach activity was curtailed, said Kaipo Jaquias, another of the instructors.
“We let them swim in the tidal ponds,” Ancheta said. “Tomorrow, we do the flags and other beach activity.”
Instead, the group concentrated on the beach guide and other water safety instruction, enjoying the shade of one of the small Lydgate Park pavilions.
During the week, other areas junior lifeguards work through include drug awareness, rescue skills, cardio-pulmonary resuscitation, first aid, building teamwork, problem solving, ocean awareness and beach hazards.
Junior lifeguards must bring their own lunch, sunscreen and a towel during the training week.
Classes meet from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Mondays through Fridays.
For more information, contact the Ocean Safety Bureau at 241-4980.
The Junior Lifeguard program is sponsored in part by the County of Kaua‘i, the Hawaiian Lifeguard Association and numerous other sponsors who care about the future of Kaua‘i’s youth.
