Jr. Lifeguards look for 6th state title

NAWILIWILI — Wednesday was the final practice for the Kaua‘i Island Champion Junior Lifeguards at Kalapaki Beach.

On Aug. 8, 30 of the Kaua‘i Island Champion Junior Lifeguards will board a flight to O‘ahu where they will attempt to defend their five-time state title at the Ala Moana Beach Park during the state championships.

School starts for many of the students starting next Monday so Wednesday marked the final practice for the Kaua‘i champions, said Eugene Ancheta, a Kaua‘i Ocean Safety Bureau coach.

“We’ll try to get some of the kids together before we leave, but today is the last practice,” Ancheta said.

Since earning the island championships earlier in the month, the competitiors have been meeting at Kalapaki Beach on Wednesdays in preparation for the state meet, Ancheta said.

“Some of the kids work, others have school, but for the most part, a lot of them have been coming out,” Ancheta said. “We just do what we can.”

To get to the island championships, youth aged between 13-17 years old enrolled in one of five sites around the island between June 15 and ending July 10.

During the week-long classes, the youth experienced hands-on learning, drug awareness, rescue skills, cardio-pulmonary resuscitation, first aid, teamwork, problem solving, ocean awareness and beach hazards. These skills were taught by instructors from the ocean safety bureau, many of whom will accompany the contingent to O‘ahu.

Ancheta said the Kaua‘i Junior Lifeguards are the current state champions and have been holding the title for the past five years, straight.

“We want to make it No. 6,” the veteran lifeguard said. “Kaua‘i gets to host the state championships in 2010.”

The Kaua‘i Junior Lifeguard program is sponsored in part by the County of Kaua‘i, the Hawaiian Lifeguard Association and numerous other community sponsors that care about the future of Kaua‘i’s youth.