Coaster Photos
Several towns participated in the lifeguard tournament held in Asbury Park last week including Allenhurst (above) and Asbury Park lifeguards below.
By WILLIAM CLARK
Asbury Park hosted its first lifeguard tournament in several decades.
Beach Safety Supervisor Joe Bongiovanni said that the city lifeguard squad has participated in events that neighboring towns have put on, but have not put on one themselves since the 1980’s.
Lifeguards from Asbury Park Avon, Allenhurst, Ocean Grove, Seven Presidents, and Sea Bright took to the Ocean over two days. Participants raced in skills necessary for lifeguarding such as swimming, rowing, paddling and rowing.
Asbury Park took first place overall.
Bongiovanni said the tournaments and the preparation that go into them are good ways for lifeguards to stay in shape and hone their skills. Lifeguards from Bongiovanni’s squad have participated in events that other shore towns have facilitated and pushed for Asbury Park to put one on themselves.
Bongiovanni said years ago, Ocean Grove was the first to put on the skills competition. Its growth in popularity saw more and more towns along the ocean put on their own tournaments. Bongiovanni said all the tournaments reached a saturation point. Now, towns tend to host competitions every other year.
“There were so many it was hard for everyone to compete in them,” he said.
The camaraderie is not only felt amongst lifeguards in their own squad. Participants get a chance to interact with lifeguards from other towns and have some fun competing at the same time.
Bongiovanni said the Asbury Park squad has had some impressive finishes considering their numbers are smaller than some of the more decorated beach units. Towns like Belmar have almost twice the amount of guards to choose from. With larger numbers comes a greater disparity in athletic prowess, Bongiovanni said.
The longtime Asbury Park employee also said that lifeguards from the area participate in a yearly national tournament. Bongiovanni said although participants from California have historically dominated the events, East Coast lifeguards have been catching up in recent years.
A team from Monmouth County took the top spot in the 2023 competition in Virginia Beach.
To sharpen their skills, lifeguards from the area will continue to swim and paddle in the Atlantic Ocean, hoping to edge out neighboring towns.
Next year another town will host and then in two years Asbury Park will have a chance to defend their title. Bongiovanni said this win may be the beginning of a strong program in years to come.
“Hopefully it puts a little fire under the kids to work harder next year,” he said.
