Lifeguards test their skills in paddleboard series
For Fort Lauderdale Ocean Rescue lifeguard Blake Kammener, any training exercise or competitive challenge is welcome if it will help save lives.
To that end, local lifeguards participate in a series of races involving running, swimming, paddling and surf skiing throughout the year at 12 sites in Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties.
One of those sites is Pompano Beach, the most recent venue for the 16th annual 2-Mile Paddleboard Series that attracted 15 lifeguards representing fire-rescue departments in Pompano, Deerfield Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, Boca Raton, Palm Beach County and Miami Beach.
Competitors paddled out 650 meters to a set of buoys. They then completed two laps before sprinting up the beach to the finish line. Kammener took first place, followed by Kevin Jones (Palm Beach County) and Deerfield Beach lifeguard Konnor Katzmark.
“You are just a little more fit at the end of these competitions, and that leaves you in a better position to save lives,” Kammener said. “The quicker you can get to a victim, the better chance they have of living. Adding a couple of seconds to go out and rescue someone is what this is all about.”
Lesley Shahan, of Pompano Beach, was the lone female competitor. The 25-year-old has been a lifeguard for seven years and is a product of the Pompano Beach Junior Lifeguard Program.
“I’ve been around the water since (my childhood), and I love these different training events,” Shahan said. “We do some training every morning between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. … You get to come out here and train with different guards, and it’s all a friendly competition. I love working out and it is hard, but it makes you a better lifeguard.”
Pompano Beach Lt. Tom O’Neil, race director, said the series is much more than athletic competition.
“These timed races are organized training sessions that attract lifeguards up and down the coast to compete against each other,” O’Neil said. “This is for camaraderie, training and having a good time.”