On July 25, women representing several area Jersey coast towns will compete in the annual OCBP Women’s Lifeguard Races.
Beaches, races and women. The perfect combination of these three things is coming to Ocean City for the annual Ocean City Beach Patrol Women’s Lifeguard invitational races.
Some of the best lady lifeguards in southern New Jersey will demonstrate their speed and competitiveness on Wednesday, July 25, at the 34th Street beach.
“The races are really cool, it’s a really big South Jersey culture thing,” says Ocean City’s No. 1 women’s swimmer and paddle boarder, Erin Curry.
During the Longport Women’s Lifeguard Invitational earlier this month, Curry raced a back-to-back swim and paddleboard event without any break in between. She won both of her events and helped the Ocean City Beach Patrol win the team title for the third year consecutively.
She describes the experience as “all adrenaline.”
“Not many other people from other states really understand what South Jersey lifeguard races are like, but it’s really interesting and they’re intense!” she says, standing on the 1st Street beach, drying off after a late afternoon swim.
Curry, a Linwood native who graduated from Mainland Regional High School in 2011 and now attends Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., is just one of the many enthusiastic and pumped-up challengers to contend in the annual summer tradition.
“It’s really all for bragging rights,” says Curry. “Who has the best patrol, the best athletes, the best competitors; it’s a lot of fun to be a part of.”
In southern New Jersey, races are ongoing throughout the summer. There are men’s races such as the Atlantic City Classics and the Margate Memorials as well as women’s races such as the Longport Invitational.
Rachel Boudare, from New Castle, Del., is a junior at the University of Delaware and will be spending next week participating in her fifth annual OCBP women’s invitational competition.
“At the lifeguard competitions [there are] about five different events,” says Boudare. “There’s the double rowing, which I participate in, there’s singles rowing, which is one person, and there’s a box swim, a paddle board and a surf dash team.”
Every summer, in-city competitions are held and the best athletes from the Ocean City Beach Patrol try out. The person who wins gets to represent Ocean City in the out of town races.
“I think my favorite aspect is when everyone comes together from the beach patrol and just cheers on everyone,” says Boudare.
Almost every morning, this young lifeguard sets out on the bay and practices rowing with her partner. Then, during the day during workout hour, while she is at work, she will practice rowing in the ocean in order to get herself prepared and fit for the upcoming competition on July 25.
For Boudare, lifeguard races are “one of the most exciting” and unique things that there is to participate in.
“You can watch and it’s always a good time and a fun thing to do,” she adds.
Women representing the 15 beach patrols on the southern New Jersey coast will hit the sand and the waves, competing in the annual invitational race. The event starts at 6:15pm with participating beach patrols from Ventnor, Atlantic City, Margate, Longport, Cape May, Sea Isle, Upper Township, Avalon, Cape May Point, Wildwood, Wildwood Crest, North Wildwood and Stone Harbor.
The Ocean City Beach Patrol invites local communities to drop in on the races and cheer on their beach towns’ squad.
OCEAN CITY EVENTS 2012
Thursday, July 19
The Fabulous Grease Band
Music Pier, Moorlyn Terrace and Boardwalk. Tickets $20. 7pm. 628-2476.
Fri. July 20 & Sat. July 21
Ocean City High School Craft Fair
Music Pier, Moorlyn Terrace and Boardwalk. Free. 9am-3pm. 399-1136.
Saturday, July 21
33rd Annual T. John Carey Master’s Swim
Beach Patrol Station, 34th Street and the beach. One-Mile Open Ocean Swim, sponsored by the Ocean City Lifeguard Associations. Registration between 3-6pm. The race will start at 6:30pm. 525-9000.
Summer Festival of Fine Arts & Crafts
Carey Stadium and Civic Center, 6th St. and Boardwalk. Over 250 juried crafters, artists, photographers and gourmet food specialists. Free. 10am-5pm. 1-800-822-4112.
From lifeguard races, the completion of the Ocean City-Somers Point Bridge, sand sculpting contests and a themed boat parade, everyone has their favorite summer memory.
Signaling the end of the 2012 summer season, the South Jersey Lifeguard Championships will commence on the 34th street beach in Ocean City on Friday, Aug. 10.
It's that time again. It rolls around every summer when the dog days descend upon us and those of us who live on the barrier islands actually have to turn our air-conditioners on. Break out the stor...
Have you traveled somewhere and wanted a memento of your vacation, or, have you patronized a business that offered a souvenir shirt or cap from your visit? Souvenir clothing has become big business ...
They will gather on the second weekend of August as they always do and spin yarns about the sun and the surf in America's Greatest Family Resort. Their thoughts will drift to the camaraderie on the ...
AS WE BID ADIEU TO 2005, it's time to reflect on what was and what could be as we look ahead to 2006. From boxing to baseball to college basketball, Atlantic City had a decent year in the special spo...
"We can be heroes just for one day." - David Bowie IT WAS ALMOST SURREAL ON THE Ocean City beach last Friday night. On a makeshift road that led to the beach in front of 34th Street, there sat at least $10 million worth of television production equipment that chronicled the OCBP's victory in the South Jersey championship for a national audience on ESPN. Guess what all you other beach patrols? The OCBP is baaaacccck. ESPN's "50 States in 50 Days" had landed in Ocean City and the Ocean City Beach Patrol was not about to let any of the other South Jersey beach patrols upstage it. However, the night really wasn't about the South Jersey lifeguard races. Instead it was about the exposure Ocean City received on ESPN, which went live during the races. And the segment ESPN put together ran again and again on SportsCenter late that night and the next morning. I know because I had about 20 current Ocean City lifeguards huddled in my living room watching the coverage last Friday night, their pride almost exceeding their suntans and their washboard stomachs. Can anybody come up with a price tag on the amount of advertising OC got from ESPN's coverage of...
IT'S OFFICIAL, PEOPLE. On the night of Aug. 12, an ESPN production truck will set up shop on the 34th Street Beach for the South Jersey Lifeguard Championships as part of its "50 States in 50 Days" summer feature on SportsCenter. That means the lifeguards of summer are going national as the Ocean City Beach Patrol seeks to defend its South Jersey title on the beaches of America's Greatest Family Resort. It's not everyday ESPN sets up shop in Ocean City; in fact it has never happened before. Heather Roche, the assignment editor for the 50/50 gig, confirmed that Ocean City and the South Jerseys are on the map for New Jersey on Aug 12. And there is a great chance that some of the events in the South Jerseys will be aired live because they will be taking place right in the ESPN SportsCenter time frame. With all that is going on in this state it is quite an honor that the South Jerseys have been chosen for the national stage of what has been an intriguing "50 States in 50 Days" project. "We have five production trucks around the country and when one is breaking down another one is setting up," Roche...
Article:
Fast & Furious 6: A Need for Speed
Article:
Carvey’s World
Article:
The Wrecking Crüe
Article:
Robin Leach to
Make Millionaires in Atlantic City
Article:
At Last!
Article:
Let’s Get the Parties Started!
Article:
Unlock the Ocean!
Article:
Big Laughs on Tap in Atlantic City
Share this Story: