NAWILIWILI — Kalani Vierra of the county’s Ocean Safety Bureau said his daughters may be tandem surf champions, but they still need to learn water safety.
Two of his daughters are enrolled at the final Kaua‘i Junior Lifeguard program 2010 which opened Monday and runs through Friday afternoon at Kalapaki Beach.
“We have about 52 students enrolled in the Kalapaki session,” said Eugene Ancheta, a Junior Lifeguard instructor. “Some of them are from other sites and are just here gearing up for the Kaua‘i championships this Saturday. Otherwise, we have about 37 first-time students who are here.”
Vierra said through the five sites that participated in the 2010 Kaua‘i Junior Lifeguard program, there are about 200 students participating.
Saturday marks the end of the 2010 program when the Kaua‘i championships take place at the Hanalei Pavilion with the first events scheduled to start at 9 a.m. Ancheta said registration for participants will start at 8 a.m.
Vierra said winners and leaders of the various events will be selected to form a Kaua‘i island team. Kaua‘i is a six-time defending state champion.
The state finals are Aug. 14 at Kalapaki Beach. This falls the day after the 2010 State of Hawai‘i Ocean Safety and Drowning Prevention Conference.
Vierra noted that because the event is on Kaua‘i and there are no travel expenses involved, the Ocean Safety Bureau may field two teams for this year’s state finals, allowing more of the youth to be involved at the state level.
Youth ages 13 to 17 were eligible to participate in the Kaua‘i Junior Lifeguard program. During the week-long program, students receive hands-on learning on drug awareness, rescue skills, cardio-pulmonary resuscitation, first aid, teamwork, problem solving, ocean awareness and beach hazards under the supervision of ocean safety instructors.
Competitive events that make up the Kaua‘i and state finals were derived from these learning sessions and some of the requirements certified water safety officers need to fulfill.
As an example, Vierra noted Beach Balls. This event involves competitors laying on the beach with their backs to the water while an instructor throws tennis balls into the ocean — one fewer than the number of participants — and at a signal, swimmers rush into the water, locate them and retrieve them for the instructor.
“This is how they respond to a person in distress,” Vierra said. “They need to get in the water, locate the person needing help, and get them back to safety.”
The program is sponsored in part by the County of Kaua‘i, the Kaua‘i Lifeguard Association, the Hawaiian Lifeguard Association, and numerous generous community sponsors that care about ocean safety, drowning prevention and Kaua‘i’s youth.
For more information, call 241-4984.
