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Surf City 2016 Yearbook

 


You can download a high resolution photo with names here.  Password is Collette's last name.

 

2016 Surf City Beach Patrol season statistics:
Total Rescues � 109
Missing Persons Recovered by the Patrol � 12
First Aid Responses/EMS Response � 13
Total Estimated Beach Population � 210,600
Average Water Temperature � 68.3 degrees Fahrenheit
Green Flags - 69 days
Green over Yellow Flags (Limited Bathing) - 15 days
Yellow Flags (Restricted Bathing) - 1 days
Red Flags (No Bathing) - 3 days

Another beautiful summer in Surf City.  We've been lucky the past few years becasue there have been very few days when the ocean wasn't warm enough for swimming and training.  Good news for the guards because they really, really don't like to swim in the bay;)  While the numbers of total rescues was not as high as some years I think the guards will vouch for me when I say that many of these rescues were more serious than the "preventative action" type of rescues of previous years.  The waves, current, and sandbars created some very treacherous conditions on our South beaches which resulted in bathers moving into distress in what seemed like the blink of an eye.

This year we welcomed a bunch of new and talented guards to the Surf City family.  Our super talented 5th street Lifeguards-In-Training Pat H., Julia R., and Charlie O.  Swimming phenom Maria N.  Our newest ace paddler/surfer Scott M.  Trackstar Sean H.  Rower/swimmer Patrick L., and a triumpherate of swimming prowess Niel G., Libby O., and Kortney B.  As I expected all of our newest recruits turned out to be fantastic lifeguards!

When the guys and gals weren't protecting the Surf City beaches we had lots of fun off-duty with activities such as the Pirate Ship boatride, which kicked off the season, "Bring your best dish" dinner, and of course the culminating event of the summer the lifeguad banquet.  While the team is still quite young and developing we had a nice 2nd place finish at our Epic lifeguard tournament as well as the women coming in 2nd out of 6 teams at the inaugural Long Beach Township Women's tournament.

 

Notable Tournment Performances:
Chad Wiley put in a very gutsy performance at our Epic tournament submitting the very competitive field in the grueling run/swim event coming in 1st place.  Jenn Welc and Conner McMenamin also put on an amazing show with a 1st place finish in the stand drag/row event at this year's Epic.

16 year old Julia Rothstein came in 1st place at the Long Beach Township women's tournament beating some competitors who may have been nearly twice her age!  Meanwhile her older sister Lauren and fellow competitor Kortney Betz won the paddleboard rescue event in this tournament.  While on the subject of the LBT Women's tournament I should mention Jenn Welc's 2nd place finish in the Singles Row, Hannah Nicks and Libby Opfer's 2nd place finish in the Buoy Rescue, and of course a VERY gutsy performance from Beth Hartney in the Women's Iron Man.

Another one of our standout 16 year old lifeguards, Patric Hyland came in 2nd place in the super competitive Beach Flags event at the Seaside Park Lifeguard Tournament.  This is the best male finish we've ever had at this tournament.  Kudos to Pat!  I know some of the competitors in that even were twice your age as well!

And of course I must mention yet ANOTHER 1st place finish in the Women's Row in the LBI Championship for Jenn Welc and Collette Pretre.  More on this below...

Finally, Hannah, Kortney, Libby, and Morgan came in 2nd at the Island Beach Women's Tournament Swim Relay.

 

2016 

   

     
Jenn and Collette after winning the Women's Doubles Row in 2002... and then in 2016!

  

 

 

 

Surf City's Dominance of the Women's Doubles Row at the LBI Tournament over the last 15 years:
Over the last 15 years the Surf City Women have won the Doubles Row in the Island Tournament 9 out of 15 times.  That's really remarkable.  And during those years there were three 2nd place finishes and one 3rd.  So Surf City women on the podium 13 out of 15 years in this event!  I've gotta do the stats.  So when Jenn rows this race she has won 9/14 times meaning when her boat is launched there is a 64% chance it's coming back in 1st place.  And there is an 87% chance the Surf City boat is going to place in the top three.

Jenn Welc has rowed bow in all 9 of those victories with four different partners, three wins with Collette, two with Collette's sister Alyssa, one with Caitlin Hahn, and three with Brittany Histing.  An impressive run for the Surf City women in the boat to say the least.


Monday July 11, 2016 � Surf City Epic

 

Once again the ocean threatened the Epic with giant waves on Saturday just two days before the event.  But the wind calmed down and by Monday the surf was no more than 2�.   But the wind chop would make for a challenging night for the boards and boats.

 

Chad and Conner J. were up first as is always the case in the Epic Run-Swim.  Chad had an outstanding performance coming in 1st overall in a very competitive field.  Conner J. also did very well coming in 6th place.  After the cross country scores were tallied Surf City took 2nd in this event.

 

Meanwhile on the paddle course Scott, Julia, Emily, and Mitchell were battling with the paddlers from Long Beach Township, Ship Bottom, Harvey Cedars, Beach Haven, Barnegat Light, and Island Beach State Park.  After it was all over Surf City ended up with a 5th place finish in this event.

 

This year the Surf Dash would consist of three male and three female competitors in one �Epic� relay race.  Pat L., Chad, Conner J., Emily, Kortney, and Hannah came away with a 4th place finish for Surf City.

 

Next up was the Mixed Doubles Row with stand drag.  Conner M. started the event with a strong stand drag but lost some time standing the stand upright before handing off to Jenn.  That was my fault as I was creating the rules right up until the start of the tournament and didn�t tell Conner the latest rule revision!  Nevertheless Jenn had a great run with the stand and the Surf City duo got out in the boat just ahead of the second place boat and never looked back, controlling the row from start to finish and bringing home a 1st place finish for Surf City.

 

The final event was the Iron Man medley with rookie lifeguard Charlie taking on the run duties in a very strong field and getting Chad into the water in a very respectable 2nd place.  Chad had a great swim against a strong field and maintained his position in the field getting Scott in the water for the paddle leg of the race in 2nd place.  Scott had a great paddle and got Jenn and Beth launched in 2nd place as well.  They hung on and finished the race in 2nd place for Surf City.  The run is often overlooked in these IM Medley races but Charlie�s 2nd place in the run was instrumental in our 2nd place finish in this event.

 

When the scores were totaled Harvey Cedars had won the 11th annual Epic tournament with 38 points, Surf City in 2nd with 25 points, LBT in 3rd with 19 points, Ship Bottom in 4th with 17 points, Barnegat Light in 5th with 9 points, Island Beach State Park in 6th with 4 points, and Beach Haven in 7th with 3 points.  Another successful and fun Epic tournament!

 

Wednesday July 13, 2016 � Long Beach Township Women�s Tournament

2016 would start a new trend on Long Beach Island with the expertly run Long Beach Township Women�s Tournament.  The women were super excited for this tournament and had a great run at it.

 

Emily swam the line out in what looked to me to be 1st to the buoy but there was some confusion and the pulling team of LC and Breana lost a few seconds before getting the pull started and finished the event in 3rd place.

 

The next three events, Mile Row, 1500� Paddle, and 1000� swim would be run simultaneously to save time and make for a more exciting tournament.  Caitlin and Collette had a very good row for their first time rowing the Mile and came away with a 3rd place finish.  Lauren R. finished 5th in the 1500� paddle and Hannah finished with a razor close 3rd place in the 1000� swim. 

 

The next two events 4x1000� paddle and Mile run would also be run concurrently.  The team of Beth, Emily, Lauren, and Alexis finished 5th in the Paddle Relay while rookie lifeguard Julia put on a brilliant performance in the Mile run not only winning the event in a field of women who were undoubtedly much older than her.

 

 

Hannah and Libby put on a great show in the Buoy Rescue with a strong 2nd place finish while Lauren R. and Kortney brought home another 1st place finish for Surf City in the Paddleboard Pick-Up.  It was definitely a team effort with �Koko� getting to the buoy either 1st or very close to it while Lauren had a fantastic paddle assuring their 1st place finish.

 

 

The final event of the night was the Iron Woman with Beth H. taking on this rigorous duty.  At this point Surf City was tied for second with Brigantine in the tournament, each having earned 47 points.  Beth put in a gutsy performance finishing 5th which was very important for the team because the Brigantine competitor came in behind her thus Beth�s performance assured a 2nd place team place for Surf City.  Harvey Cedars won the tournament with Brigantine coming in 3rd.  Well done ladies!

 

 

Monday July 18, 2016 � Seaside Park Lifeguard Tournament

 

Time for the first off-island tournament the always a good time Seaside Park Tournament.  Alexis was up first in the beach flags and after getting through a few rounds she grabbed the middle of the hose and another competitor put her hand on the top of the flag.  For some reason the person with their hand on the top of the hose wins so Alexis was out and had to settle for a still respectable 4th place.  1st year lifeguard Pat H. did a fantastic job against a field of much older competitors coming in a very close 2nd place in the flags!

 

The next event was the Iron Man Medley.  Apparently Seaside Park has a very fast runner this year so they stretched the normal � mile run in the medley into over a mile.  Their runner came in first by probably nearly two minutes giving them a first place in this event.  Charlie came in fourth in the run, Chad held 4th in the swim, Mitchell held for in the paddle, and Conner M. and I finished up the event in 4th for the team.  Pat L. and I were up next in the 1000� Doubles row.  Pat did fine for her first rowing race and we came in 5th place.

 

All the while the weather had been threatening.  In fact the tournament was postponed for 30 minutes due to rain.  Now the swimmers for the swim relay were at the buoys and the lightning strikes started to become more regular so it was decided to finish the tournament up the following day.  But then the following day Seaside Park called and said that only a few teams would be able to make it so the tournament would be cancelled.  Oh well, there�s always next year�

 

 

Monday August 1, 2016 � Ship Bottom Lifeguard Tournament    

 

Moderate shore break, moderate to strong NE wind, and lots of chop.  Not great conditions for a tournament.  15 teams from Sea Girt to Brigantine.

 

Pat L., Conner J., and Chad up first in the surf dash.  They swam well but the competition was fierce so they ended finishing up in the bottom half of the pack.  Pat L. and Conner M would take on the 1000� Doubles row and also finished up in the back end of the back.  Chad and Mitchell had a similar finish in the paddle rescue.  Our boat relay wasn�t really ready for the shore break.  I know the guys were happy about it but I was concerned for their safety and pulled up from the row relay.  The paddle relay was next and Mitchell, Max, Scott, and Pat H. did a nice job finishing up in the middle of the pack.  The final event was the Iron Man medley.  Sean ran against a blistering field and got Chad into the water in about 10th place.  Chad tagged Scott for the paddle and then Scott tagged Pat L. and Conner M for the row and the boys finished up around where Sean started it.  It was a lot of fun watching the competition and valuable experience for our young competitors.

 

 

 

Long Beach Island Lifeguard Championship � August 5 and 6, 2016

 

Here we are once again at the Long Beach Island Lifeguard Tournament.  Beach Haven has again decided not to attend so there are only five teams competing.  The surf was pretty big with chest high sets rolling through and lots of wind chop.  Pat L. and I started things off with the Mile row.  We had some problems on the launch and rowing into the wind and came in fourth.  Lauren R. competed in the Women�s 1500 paddleboard while Libby and Conner J. represented Surf City in the Buoy Rescue.

 

Mitchell, Charlie, Max, and Scott were Surf City�s 4x1000� paddle relay team and they hung on to 3rd place for a while but slipped back for a 4th place finish.  Jenn and Collette were up next in the women�s Doubles row and while I would honestly expect them to be at the front of the pack in any conditions, the rough conditions almost guarantee a great performance from them as they have no problem rowing in challenging conditions.  By the time they got to the buoy they probably had a 15 second lead and the race was pretty much over.  The result was yet another 1st place finish for Jenn and Collette in the Women�s Doubles Row.

 

Chad and I were up next in the Boat Rescue and Chad had a nice swim getting to the buoy around 3rd place which is where I think I got there in the boat.  We had a good row in and it came down to a running race for 2nd place.  When it was all over we ended up in 3rd place.

 

Unfortunately while we had some guys who were willing to compete in the Iron Man I decided we�d scratch the event as I was concerned with putting novice rowers in the boat in these conditions; Not only for their safety but for fear of them obstructing the other competitors on the course.  Beth was up next in the new Iron Woman event and performed admirably coming in 4th place.  The row relay was postponed until the following night because it was dark out by this point.

 

The second night of the tournament started off with the Boat Relay.  Conner M. and Max were leg 1, Pat L. and Chad leg 2, and Charlie and I were leg 3.  Not much to say here� we finished it!  Chad was up next in the Line Pull with Ryan and Conner J. pulling.  Chad got out to the buoy in 3rd place and the boys pulled him back to the beach in 3rd place. 

 

Pat L. and Conner M. were our crew for the 1000� Doubles row while CJ stepped up and took on the Men�s 1000� swim.  Meanwhile Hannah swam the Women�s 1000� swim and came away with a very close 4th place finish.

 

Pat H. and Kortney finished 4th in the Paddle Pick-Up while Conner M. rowed the Singles and unfortunately turned the buoy the wrong direction.  Jenn and Max rowed the Mixed Doubles and Scott competed in the 2000' Paddleboard in a stacked field and came away with a respectable 4th place finish.  Beth, Emily, Julia, and Lauren R. had a good start in the Women�s Paddle Relay but the field eventually got away from them.  Finally Morgan, Koko, and Libby represented Surf City in the final event of the tournament the Surf Dash.

 

 

Harvey Cedars Cutter�s Cup � Thursday August 11, 2016

 

This year the first event in the Cutter�s Cup was the Iron Man Medley.  Sean was to be our runner and did a nice job getting Neil into the water in about 5th or 6th place.  Scott paddled and Pat and I rowed.  I believe we finished in 7th place out of 8 teams.  Max, Pat H., Scott, and Charlie were our paddle team in the 4x500� Paddle Relay. 

Heartbreakingly Neil re-injured his foot in the IM Medley swim so Pat H. jumped in to take his place with Pat L., Conner J., and Chad in the 4x500� Swim Relay.  The wind was pretty strong and I was concerned with our boat interfering with Harvey Cedars who was in the lane next to us so I decided to scratch the boat relay.

 

Pat L. picked up Conner J. in the Buoy Rescue portion of the Rescue Relay while Pat H. once again stepped up to fill in for Neil in the Paddle Rescue with Scott paddling out to pick him up.  Chad and I finished up the Boat Rescue portion of the event and we ended up in 6th place in this event.

 

The always exciting final event of the night was the block pull with Scott, Pat L., CJ, Max, Charlie, and Pat H. doing a really nice job and coming in 5th place.