Surf
City Beach Patrol
Home
Surf City Beach FAQ
Lifeguard Tryout FAQ
Yearbooks
Hall-Of-Fame
Lifeguard-In-Training
Surf City 2025 Yearbook
2025
Surf City Beach Patrol Season Statistics:
Total Rescues – 62
Missing Persons Recovered by the Patrol – 11
First Aid Responses w/EMS – 12
Total Estimated Beach Population – 200,500
Average Water Temperature – 70.3 degrees Fahrenheit
Green Flags - 40 days
Yellow Flags (Limited Bathing) - 33 days
Red Flags (No Bathing) - 7 day
2025 Summer Overview
The water temperature in 2024 was freezing cold all summer. Honestly it was terrible. The big question for 2025 was if the water would be at more normal, warmer temps for 2025? It was! In fact, it was super "swimmable" just about every day of the summer with an average temperature of a balmy 70.3 degrees.
We welcomed nine LITs onto the patrol from the graduating class of 2024. Chris A., Maddie D., Dominic M. Natalie M., Max B., Ryan N., Brayden P., Jayden T., and Maria V. In addition, recent LIT grad Hannah T. worked the last few weeks. We also had some great non-LIT new guards with Julia S., and Cody G as well as Jake L. coming on late in this season to help us through those last few weeks. All of the new guards did a fine job and hope are looking forward to the 2026 season.
The water conditions were a bit rougher and more "rippy" than 2024 as can be seen from the 32 days of yellow "limited bathing" flag days and 7 red flag days but the crew did a great job keeping all of the beach patrons safe.
It was successful and busy year for the patrol when it came to competitions as we attended a record breaking 18 events!!! Highlights included winning our Epic tournament as well as the Seaside Park and Ortley tournaments. The women won the Long Beach Township Women's tournament and tied for first place at the Ship Bottom Mermaid Classic. We also had a nice showing at the first annual Beach Haven Queens Bay Classic 3 mile row, winning both the open and womens division. Other strong finishes included a third at Diamond beach, Brigantine, and Ship Bottom, as well as a hard fought second place at our own island tournament, which was neck-and-neck through most of the two night affair.
Beach Patrol Events
Diamond Beach -
Saturday
June 21, 2025 (1st comp)
3rd Place Surf City Team
3rd Place Open Swim - Dean
3rd Place Women's Paddle - Pepper
2nd Place Paddle Rescue - Killian/Jack
3rd Place Doubles Row Relay - Zach/Mark/Shane
2nd Place Row Out/Swim In - Dean/Zach
1st Annual Beach Haven
Queen's Bay Classic 3 mile bay row/paddle - Tuesday June 24, 2025 (2nd comp)
1st Place Women's Row - Pepper/Haley
1st Place Open Row - Zach/Mark
19th Annual Surf City Epic Tournament –
Monday June 30, 2025
(3rd comp)
1st Place Epic Run-Swim - Darren
and Hannah
2nd Place Surf Dash - Dean/Brooke/Shane/Pepper
2nd Place - Paddle Relay - Allie/Pepper/Ashton/Killian
1st Place Mixed Doubles Row - Zach and Pepper
3rd Place IM Medley - Hannah/Lucas (run), Dean (swim), Ryan (paddle),
Pepper/Haley (row)
4th/11 Place Surf City Team
3rd Place Rescue Relay - Shane/Johnny (buoy rescue), Ashton/Kieran (paddle
rescue), George/Mark (boat rescue)
1st Place Boat Swim - Pepper (rower)/Dean (swimmer)
3rd Place IM Medley - George (run), Dean (swim), Ashton (paddle), Jack/Mark
(row)
Lavallette 6-Guard – Thursday July
10, 2025 (5th comp)
2nd Place Row-Out/Swim-In -
Zach/Dean
2nd Place Swim Relay - Johnny/George/Shane/Dean
2nd Place Beach Flags - Lucas
1st Place Medley - Lucas (run), Darren (swim), Ryan (paddle), Row
(Shane/Pepper)
2nd Place Doubles Row - Zach/Mark
2nd Place Swim Relay - Shane, Dean, Brooke, Pepper
2nd Place Paddle Pick-Up - Ashton/Killian
1st Place Paddle Relay -
1st Place Run Relay - Ryan, Lucas, Kieran, Olivia, Natalie, Mike
Brigantine – Tuesday July 22, 2025 (10th comp)
3rd Place Surf City Team
1st Plae Iron Man Medley - Zach/Mark (row), Dean (swim), Ryan (paddle)
1st Place Rescue Relay - George/Darren (Buoy Rescue), Ashton/Killian (Paddle
Rescue), Zach/Pepper (rowers) and Johnny (victim) (Boat Rescue)
3rd Place Paddle Relay - Ashton, Killian, Ryan, Pepper
1st Place Swim Relay - Dean, Darren, Shane, Johnny
1st Place Paddle Relay - Ashton, Killian, Kieran, Ryan
2nd Place Boat Swim - Zach/Shane
1st Place Surf Medley - Dean (swim), Killian (paddle), Shane/Kieran (row)
2nd Place Doubles Row - Zach/Mark
2nd Place Line Pull - Shane (swimmer), Maddie (victim), Ryan/Lucas (pullers)
1st Place Overall! - Dean (by over a minute)
1st Place Age Group - Pepper
3rd Place Age Group - Nicole
1st Place Age Group - Johnny
1st Place Age Group - Mark
3rd Place Surf City Team
1st Place Paddle Pick-Up - Ashton/Killian
2nd Place Paddle Relay - Ashton, Killian, Kieran, Ryan
1st Place (tie)
1st Place Doubles Row - Pepper/Bridget
2nd Place Swim Relay - Julia, Allie, Brooke, Pepper
3rd Place Run Relay - Olivia, Natalie, Haley, Morgan
Long Beach Township
Women's Tournament - Wednesday July 30, 2025 (15th comp)
1st Place Mile Row - Haley/Bridget
1st Place Paddle Relay - Haley/Allie/Pepper/Morgan
2nd Place Rescue Relay - Julia/Brooke (buoy rescue), Allie/Haley (paddle
rescue), Pepper/Bridget (boat rescue)
1st Place Iron Woman - Pepper
1st Place Mile Row - Zach/Mark
2nd Place Women's Paddle - Pepper
2nd Place Buoy Rescue - Johnny/George
1st Place Paddle Relay - Ashton/Killian/Kieran/Ryan
2nd Place Boat Rescue - Dean/Jack
2nd Place Iron Man - Shane
1st Place Line-Pull - Johnny, Kieran/Lucas
1st Place Doubles Row - Zach/Mark
1st Place Open Swim - Darren
3rd Place Women's Swim - Brooke
1st Place Paddle Rescue - Ashton/Killian
3rd Place Women's Paddle Relay - Haley/Allie/Olivia/Morgan
1st Place Surf Dash - Brooke/George/Dean
2nd Place Boat Swim - Dean/Zach
1st Place Paddle Relay - Ashton/Killian/Kieran/Ryan
2nd Place Rescue Relay -
3rd Place Paddle Relay - Haley/Olivia/Allie/Pepper
2nd Place Doubles Row - Pepper/Haley
2025
Diamond Beach - Saturday June 21, 2025
Here we go again, heading down, all the way down, the parkway to Diamond Beach for the third year. One of these years we’ll go there “full strength,” but not this year. Pepper was unfortunately really sick all week and had just returned to work the day before the tournament but would still compete, Ashton is still not guarding, and Darren is on his yearly family weekend and couldn’t make it. But we still had a strong team and were excited to have some fun at Diamond Beach. Right off the bat I have to say it was SO nice driving down with the new truck… A/C, power windows at toll booths, and cruise control!
First event was a
row relay of sort with one rower having to stay in the boat after rowing long
apex course, probably 1/3 of a mile if I had to guess.
Eight teams this year including Sea Girt, Harvey Cedars, Diamond Beach,
Wildwood Crest, North Wildwood and a few others I don’t remember.
Common course rows are always difficult from a navigation standpoint
because you have to balance finding the best “line” with avoiding
collisions/tie-ups.
We got off to a
decent start but tied up around the buoy for a bit, got under way and were able
to get to the beach in 1st with Diamond Beach close behind.
They had obviously practiced the transition because they smoked us on
turning the boat getting in the new rower and launching the boat!
Shane jumped in and we were off.
As we came into the apex Wildwood Crest was a bit behind but on the inside.
I yelled to them “we’ll give you the inside lane around the buoy!”
Nice of me right?
I thought
so but they still went wide and collided with us!
Nuts.
After getting away from
them we headed for shore and Shane was keen on our line so while a bunch of
boats missed the first apex buoy, we got around it.
Third place finish in the first race.
Killian and Ryan
paddled the open in tough field and finished mid pack.
Next up with Dean and Kieran in the open swim.
The field was fast but Dean came away with a third-place finish.
Next up was Pepper in the women’s paddle.
Even though it was her first time on a race board since last year she
paddled well and was closing in on second place as the women approached shore.
Unfortunately, the second-place paddler caught a runner and she did not
and would have to settle for third place this year.
Great result for just coming off bad illness.
Brooke went after it in the women’s swim and finished up a solid 6th
place in a field of about 15 women.
Next up was Zach
and Dean in the Row-Out/Swim-In.
It
was super choppy and Dean has some problems keeping a smooth stroke but once he
got in the water, he quickly started hunting down the field and they came away
with a 2nd place finish.
The final event was Killian and Jack in the Paddle Pick-Up.
They put in a solid performance and came away with another 3rd
place finish for Surf City.
After
the points were totaled, we once again ended up in 3rd place over all
in the Diamond Beach tournament for the third year in a row.
Dean and Killian
entered the 10’6” paddleboard division, Haley and Pepper in the women’s boat and
Zach and myself in the open division for the boats.
Hot but good water.
Congrats
to Dean on winning his division as well as Haley and Pepper on winning the
womens doubles boat division.
Zach and I also won the open Van Duyne class.
Fun race.
18th Annual Surf City Epic Tournament – Monday June 30, 2025
Of course, the weather had to be threatening all day.
Is the Epic on or is if off?
I’m getting phone calls and texts all day.
I decide we’re going and I got lucky because the weather held
out.
Dean, Brooke, Pepper, and Shane
started us off with the Surf Dash and Dean’s morning swims paid off as he exited
the water first and tagged his sister Brooke who also had a great swim.
Three women tagged their teammates at about the same time but Pepper was
able to regain a small lead for Surf City as Shane entered the water with the
Harvey Cedars competitor in hot pursuit!
It was going to be exciting.
Shane held him off around the buoys and I could see
both swimmers looking for a wave.
They both got on the same
wave!
It was going to be a foot race
to the finish.
Shane is very tough to beat out of the water.
He always "finds a way" and he finished in 1st place!
This is Dean, right?
Next up was LIT Hannah T. and Darren A. in the tournament’s
namesake event the “Epic” Run-Swim.
Darren entered the water in third place and was just able to out hustle the
other competitors across the line for a first place finish!
Another super exciting finish.
Hannah was 5th overall in the run and held her position
through the swim!
Another 1st
place finish for Surf City.
The paddle relay was next with Ashton starting it out.
Ashton just got to the beach a few days ago so he had a rough time and
finished up toward the end of the pack.
Allie was next and had a solid paddle.
Pepper passed a few competitors and Killian finished it up for a solid
3rd place finish in the paddle relay.
Pepper and Zach up next in the mixed boat push row.
Big waves flooded a lot of boats on the way out and I know the SC boat
was fully loaded with water by the way it was sitting in the water.
Zach and Pepper persevered and it came down to a 3 boat race at the end.
Always stay with the boat!
That’s what Pepper did and the result was a 2nd place finish that
would have been 3rd
or worse if she had jumped early.
The final event was the IM Medley. The running team of Hannah and Lucas put some good distance on the field in the 800 relay run and Dean opened it up some more in the swim. Ryan got on the board and did his best to hold of the BL paddler. Pepper and Haley got flooded on the way out in the boat (again!) but kept the pressure on the oars for a third place finish. First place for the team at the Surf City Epic in 2025!
Lots of teams this year. 11 including the Harvey Cedars B team. Teams included Sea Girt, Diamond Beach, Island Beach, and Lavallette along with the LBI teams. Right off the bat the first pick of the sticks was challenging for Surf City. Swim relay was Shane, Mark, Pepper, Ashton. Ashton and I did our best to hold on but we ended up just out of the points in 6th place. The paddle relay team of George, Johnny, Dean, and Kieran had an even tougher time coming in 9th place. The first pick of the sticks was not good for Surf City.
The Rescue Relay/Boat Swim picks were more favorable for
us.
In the Rescue Relay Shane and
Johnny in the buoy rescue, Kieran and Ashton in the Paddle Rescue, and Mark and
George in the Boat Rescue.
I thought
this was a winning team but we came in 3rd, strong teams out there
I guess.
But not strong enough for Pepper and Dean in the Boat Swim.
They had a great row and once Dean started swimming it was over.
He came in first place “by a mile” as they say.
The final picks were also challenging. Johnny in the singles row, again! How does that happen both times he’s in the tournament. Kieran and Ashton in the doubles boat. Unfortunately no points in those events but kudos to Johnny especially for making it out, finding the buoy in the fog, and making it back to the beach safely. The IM Medley was George running, Dean swimming, Shane paddling and Pepper/Mark rowing. 4th place finish in this one. When the points were totaled we ended up in 4th place, just 2 points out of 3rd. Great tournament.
Lavallette 6-Guard – Thursday July 10, 20
In terms of pure
talent, this is the most challenging tournament we attend.
Very few teams will even send a team.
This year the competing teams were Lavallette, Harvey Cedars, Brigantine,
Island Beach, Ship Bottom, Surf City, and Ortley.
This year our 6 guard team would consist of Zach, Shane, Kieran, Dean,
Johnny, and George.
First event was
the Rescue Relay with Shane picking up Johnny in the Buoy Rescue, Kieran picking
up Dean in the Paddle Rescue, and Zach picking up George in the Boat Rescue.
This is an incredibly strong team and the finish was close with the Surf
City team coming in 4th place.
Next up was Shane
and Kieren in the Line-Pull and it was another tight grouping for places 1
through 4 and we picked up another 4th place.
Dean and Zach in the Boat Swim was a very strong team and this was
another close race with Surf City coming in 2nd.
I personally don’t like this race because the race itself is not
“self-enforcing.”
What I mean by
that is it is hard to control when swimmers jump from the boat and jumping 10
feet early means you have to swim 10 feet less, plus the time you "saved" by not
rowing all of the way to the buoy.
I don’t like this event.
The IM Medley was
next with Dean swimming, Shane paddling, and Zach and Kieran rowing.
Another 4th place finish in a tightly grouped 1st
through 4th field.
No
love for Surf City in the Paddle Relay for Shane, Zach, Kieran, and Dean.
I believe they beat one team for a 6th place finish.
The Swim Relay was one of the highlights for Surf City.
Before the event, Joe from Lavallette told me 3 of their 4 swimmers go
under 1:40 in the 200 free and the 4th isn’t far behind.
That’s fast.
But the team of
Johnny, George, Shane, and Dean were right with Lavallette to the end and
finished 2nd!
Great
performance.
The Boat Relay was
last.
We focused on bringing
swimmers and paddlers so no points for SC in this one.
Overall Surf City
came in 4th, but more importantly scored 14 points, which is probably
more than we’ve scored in this tournament in the last few years.
Well done guys.
28 teams from various parts of the East Coast plus a
dedicated “pro” surfing team sponsored by Jetty.
The level of competition was to say the least “extremely high.”
This year there were three rounds to determine the 8 teams that would go
to the finals.
No bonus event for
the chance for a few teams to get to the finals.
The events were Run Relay, Swim Relay, and Paddle Relay.
All “M” course, long and brutal with long run/dolphin diving through the
shallows.
Team 1 for Surf City consisted of Dean, Shane, and Brooke.
They finished 10/28 in the Run, 6/28 in the Swim, and 15/28 in the
Paddle.
Team 2 for Surf City was
Keiran, Allie, and Ashton.
They
finished 23/28 in the Run, 24/28 in the Swim, and 16/28 in the Paddle.
I don’t even know how they computed points for teams to go to the final
round, which consisted of a Buoy Rescue and Paddle Rescue with active victims
and using the same person as the Rescuer for each part of the event.
Unfortunately, neither of our teams made the finals
but they did put in a good showing for Surf City.
Harvey Cedars "Battle of the Braids - Tuesday July 15, 2025
The women’s version of the Meltdown!
First up were Pepper and Bridget in the doubles row.
Clean row for Surf City but a strong Ship Bottom
crew made it interesting.
First place for Surf City in the opening event.
Laura, Olivia, and Brooke up next in the common course swim.
5th place for Brooke.
Allie and Natalie drew the common course paddle duties and both performed
well with Allie snagging 5th place.
After the next “pick of the sticks” it would be Bridget running, Allie swimming, and Olivia paddling in the Iron Woman Medley. Another solid performance and a 5th place finish, which by the way earns 1 point. The final event was the rescue relay with active victims. Laura was the buoy rescue victim with Brooke being the rescuer and they hung in there in 4th or 5th place. Pepper was the victim in the paddle rescue with Natalie being the rescuer. Another great performance here with the result being a 3rd place finish in the Rescue Relay. 4th place overall team finish out of 9 teams for Surf City!
Barnegat Light Young Gunz – Thursday July 17, 2025
Unfortunately, only
5 of our “Young Gunz,” all women, attended this year.
Natalie, Madeline, Olivia, Maria, and Allie.
All performed well, represented Surf City, and gained invaluable
tournament experience.
Thanks!
In addition, Olivia made the finals in the women’s paddle and Natalie
came in 4th in the Iron Woman.
Next year this tournament will be mandatory for all first year guards and the 2025 first year guards who didn’t attend this year. It's a great opportunity for "low stress" competition and a great time.
Seaside Park Lifeguard Tournament – Monday July 21, 2025
This one was a barn burner!
I knew we were coming in with a strong team but I also knew Island Beach
was also going to be very strong.
First up was Olivia and Lucas in the flags.
Unfortunately Olivia didn’t make it to the points but Lucas was on fire
and made it all the way to the finals and finished in 2nd place!
As they say, there is “little rest for the weary” and Lucas was up again
in the 800 (actually more like 1200) run in the IM medley.
Solid effort here getting Darren into the water in third.
Darren had a good swim and got Ryan (on the board) into the water in
second place.
Shane and Pepper were
the last leg of the event in the boat and were able to make the pass and finish
in 1st for Surf City.
What a great team effort on this one.
Zach and I next in the Doubles row.
Solid row but Island Beach got us and we had to settle for 2nd
place.
Shane, Pepper, Brooke, and
Pepper in the swim relay in another really exciting race and another 2nd
place.
Ashton and Killian next in
the Paddle Pick-Up.
Another close
race but unfortunately the SC duo paddled a little too far South on the way back
to shore and that cost them precious seconds.
It also didn’t help that Island Beach was using a Bark board on this one.
Boat relay next.
Zach and I along with Shane and Kieran handed the boat to George and
Luke, who was competing in his first tournament.
They did a solid job considering Luke's experience and
we finished in 4th
place in the Boat Relay.
Ryan, Pepper, Ashton, and
Killian up next in the paddle relay.
It could NOT have been any closer between us and
Cedars!
In reality, I’m pretty sure we won as the flags should have gone up when
the complete board passed the line and Killian shot the board across the line
while the HC paddler ran it across.
But the SSP official called it a tie for 1st place and we split the
points.
So at this point it’s Surf City with 43 points and Island
Beach with 42 points.
As if often
the case, the tournament would come down to the run relay.
Ryan, Lucas, Kieran, Olivia, Natalie, and Mike did not disappoint with a
blisteringly fast and technically sound run and a first place for Surf City both in this
event and the tournament!
This
victory was a true team effort with 17 Surf City lifeguards on the competition
team.
Brigantine – Tuesday July 22, 2025
I've been meaning to get the team to this tournament for years. I don't remember after which tournament it was last year but we were eating at some restaurant I don't remember and the Brigantine teams was at the next table. I asked their Captain, Kip if we could get an invite. He said, "sure." I said, "Great! See you next year!"
Our Paddle Relay team was Ashton, Killian, Ryan, and Pepper and they had a solid performance with a third place finish for Surf City to start the tournament. We were out of the points in the Boat Relay but back in the points for a 4th in the swim relay consisting of Dean, Johnny, Darren, and Shane. I'm writing this in February, but that is a seriously strong swim relay. We must have got a bad lane or something for them to come in 4th? We've been strong in the Iron Man Relay all summer and the team didn't disappoint here with a first place finish. this was run in a strange order with Zach and I rowing first, then Dean swimming, and finally Ryan paddling.
The final event was the Rescue Relay. Darren and George took care of the Buoy Rescue duties and they came in with the lead teams. As usual, Ashton and Killian opened up a sizeable lead for us during their leg of the Paddle Pick-Up and Zach and Pepper brought it home for a first place with Jack as the boat rescue victim. We made some tactical errors in this tournament as would be expected when coming a tournament for the first time, but we were still finished 3rd overall, and only 2 points out of first place!
It didn’t start well.
Ryan, Lucas, Kieran, Johnny, Dean, and Mike were out in front as expected
in the run relay but something went amiss on the last hand-off from Dean to Mike
and the buoy was dropped.
Usually
this is the end for a run relay but somehow Mike recovered for a 4th
place finish. That is amazing.
Boat Relay, big shore
break, Zach/Mark, Shane/Kieran, George/Wade… I should have tilled... we came in a few
lanes South.. 5th place.
Swim Relay Dean, Darren, Shane, Johnny… beautiful
performance and a 1st place finish.
Paddle Relay Ashton, Kieran, Ryan, and Killian and another perfect
performance for 1st palce.
Zach and Dean in the Boat Swim.
I still hate this “jump when you want event.”
2nd place.
Surf Medley, Darren, Killian, Shane/Kieran… it came down to
the row and Shane/Kieran pulled it off for a super exciting 1st place
finish.
Zach and I in the Doubles
Row, 2nd place.
Line-Pull
with Shane, Maddie D., Ryan B., and Lucas for a close 2nd place
finish.
At the end of the night it was a 1st place team finish for Surf City with 39 points, 2nd place team with 31 points! As LL would say "Don't call it a comeback!" I just dated myself there.
Barnegat Light 1 Mile Ocean Swim - Saturday July 26, 2025
Big turnout for “Team Kolman”
from Surf City this year. I know Mark was smiling down at us.
Off the top of my head I remember Collette, Ryan, Laura, Allie, Pepper (1st
place age group, 4th overall female), Dean (1st overall by
a minute!), Brooke (1st place age group, 5th overall
female), Darren (5th overall), Morgan, Steph, Haley, Sydney, Zach,
Jack, Cody, Nicole (3rd place age group), Johnny, Mark (1st
in age group) and Meg swimming.
For
the first time in a quite a few years I swam it as well and managed to win my
age group as well.
12 teams this year. It’s nearly impossible to not only set the buoys evenly across such a large number of lanes, which Ship Bottom did quite well, but the fact that the sand bars aren’t even always leads to one end of the course having an advantage. This year the South lanes had the sandbar and we were of course in a North lane, lane 3. Ocean City, in lane 1 only scored 5 points. That tells you how much of a disadvantage the North end lanes were at. Outside of us, finishing in 3rd place overall, the winning teams were all in the South teams.
Our Swim relay
of Darren, Shane, Johnny, and George were up first and couldn’t overcome the
South ends ability to do so much more running on the bars and they finished in 6th
place, just out of the points.
1000’
Doubles row next.
Zach and I had a
good row but again sandbar came into play and we finished in 4th
place.
Paddle Pick-Up, same as always. Ashton and Killian destroying the field by a good 20 seconds for 1st place. Boat relay started off well with Zach and I handing the boat off to Shane and Kieran in 2nd, they handed off to George and Luke in 2nd but they slipped back out out of the points to around 8th place. Paddle relay of Ashton, Kieran, Ryan, and Killian was again fire even with the lack of a sandbar and they finished in 2nd place. The final event was the IM Medley. Lucas had a fantastic run, getting Darren into the water in first place, Ryan had a good paddle, and then Zach and I rowed it in for a 5th place finish. Especially considering our lane assignment, we did very well finishing third overall in this one.
3rd Annual Ship Bottom "Mermaid Classic" - Tuesday July 29, 2025
Ship Bottom can really bring the teams.
I have never been to a women’s tournament with 11 teams.
Well done Ship Bottom.
Pepper
and Bridget up first in the 1000’ Doubles Row.
This turned out to be a close race among one team North of us and a
couple South in the “nice” sandbar lanes.
Pepper and Bridget caught a nice runner and rode it straight to shore for
the win!
Brooke, Allie, Julia, and
Pepper did a superb job in the swim relay and finished in 2nd place.
Next up Haley, Morgan, Allie, and Olivia in the Paddle Relay. It was another solid performance and a 4th place finish. Olivia ran in the IM Medley with Brooke swimming, Allie paddling, and Pepper and Haley rowing. Brooke got in the water in the middle of the pack but fought back a few places. When it was all over Surf City finished in 4th place in this one. The final event was the run relay consisting of Olivia, Natalie, Haley, and Morgan and they finished in 3rd place. When the points were tallied Surf City and Brigantine were tied with 19 points each but 1st place was given to Brigantine because both teams has one 1st place finish but Brigantine had two 2nd place finishes. I call this a tie for first place!
Long Beach Township Women's Tournament - Wednesday July 30, 2025
Brooke, Meg, and Morgan open up the tournament with the grueling Line-Pull event. Good performance here with a 3rd to start the night for Surf City. Haley and Bridget had a super “gutsy” performance in the Mile Row! I rarely get to watch this one and it didn’t disappoint. Harvey Cedars out strong pulling away from the field during the “into the wind” portion of the row. But I noticed they seemed to be slowing during the half a mile stretch with the wind. Haley and Bridget were closing the gap. After turning the second mile mark into the wind the HC team came to nearly a dead stop. Haley and Bridget cruised past them and on to a 1st place finish in the Mile Row. Well done ladies!
Natalie took on the Mile run duties and finished up in 5th
while Haley, Allie, Pepper, and Morgan competed in the 4x1000’ Paddle Relay.
They all paddled really well but Pepper paddled a blistering 3rd
leg to move the team from third into first place, which Morgan held to the
finish!
I didn’t see the Rescue Relay but I know
we came in 2nd place.
Brooke rescue Julia in the Buoy Rescue, Haley rescued Allie in the Paddle
Rescue, and Bridget rescued Pepper in the Boat Rescue.
Note that all of the victims had to swim to the marks.
2nd place finish for Surf City in this one!
I got back to the beach as Pepper was finishing up the Iron Woman, she
had a commanding lead.
Another 1st
place finish.
The final
event was Brooke, Julia, and Allie in the Surf Dash.
This was Julia’s first tournament and she had some trouble finding the
buoy on her leg and the trio finished in 5th place.
As I always tell everyone, every new swimmer misses the mark at least
once.
It’s a learning process.
Final result? 1st place for the Surf City women at the Long Beach Township Women’s Tournament!
Okay, let’s talk about the “Big Show,” the LBI lifeguard
championship.
The ocean was
beautiful all week for the tournament, I tried to convince the other teams to
run it Wednesday and Thursday and postpone tournaments scheduled for those days
because ANY other tournament is much easier to run than our Island Monstrosity.
But no one voted to run early.
The Surf kicked up as predicted and we had to postpone two days.
Truth be told the waves were still too big to run on Sunday/Monday but we
were outvoted and the tournament was on.
Enough of the scheduling backstory…
First event Mile Row. Zach and I got pretty banged up on the way out but didn’t get appreciable water in the boat. I don’t know when the last time or if we ever turned North but we did this year and only BL was ahead of us. We had closed the lane gap by the first mile turn but I told Zach to stay wide at the turn because I predicted they would plant the turn, if we stayed behind them, we’d “T-bone” them. We rowed wide and got by them a few minutes later. But a strong team from LBT also got by them. It was closer that we would have liked but we were able to secure the 1st place in the Mile for the team.
Meanwhile Pepper was battling it out in the fiercely competitive Women’s Paddle event. Since I was rowing the Mile during this one didn't see it, but I do know that Pepper came in 2nd place. From the look of these pictures it looks like it was an incredibly close and exciting race!
Johnny had a fin issue at the start of the Buoy Rescue and got in the water in last place. Unbelievably, and to the credit of both Johnny and George they fought their way back to 2nd place.
Paddle Relay next and our guys have been on fire in this
one all summer.
Ashton out first and
pretty much a dead heat with HC.
Kieran gets the board and continues the battle… small bump… can’t he get it?
He pushes HARD and is the only competitor to get on it!
This is BIG in an already close race.
Killian heads out with a lead, Ryan on the way back with the lead… 1st
place Surf City in the Paddle Relay!
Haley and Bridget up next in the Women’s Doubles Row.
There was some confusion at the start of the race and unfortunately they
turned the buoy the wrong way.
As I
wrote above this was the first time in I don’t know how many years we were
turning South-to-North.
This was a
heartbreak because they rowed a good race.
The Boat Rescue was next and Dean is first to the mark by a handful of seconds.
Jack rows a good line to the
mark, just one slight “wiggle.”
But
on the way back they rowed too far South and had to settle for 2nd
place.
Shane up next in the Iron Man. He enters the water in third place after the run but got out of water first after the swim. Gets in the boat in second place and is rowing well. Unfortunately, a large shore break wave rolls up on him at the worst possible moment and flips the boat! Shane still manages to get across the line in 2nd place but gets banged up. Luckily he's okay.
Pepper enters the water I think in fourth after the run in the Iron Woman event but gets out of the water in second place after the swim portion of the event. A flawless paddle and row later and Pepper finishes the IW in 2nd place. You would think that two 1st place finishes and 5 2nd place finishes would put us in a team first place, right? But no, we were still a few points behind the really strong team from HC.
With Shane healing up we move Johnny into the Line Pull
race.
Since the tournament was
postponed Ryan was unable to pull line.
Tough break for him since no one on the East coast has been training as
hard as him for the line pull!
So it
would be veteran puller Kieran and newcomer Lucas to the line pull event.
Johnny had a furious swim and touched the mark in first place!
It was on!
Kieran and Lucas
were perfect on the pull, never dropping the line or stumbling… 1st
place finish line pull for Surf City!
Zach and I up next in the 1000’ Doubles Row. Lots of surf… the launch team was perfect and we got out clean and fast. It was over before it started and another 1st place finish for Surf City! Just a little drama on the way to the beach as we hooked into a shore break that required me "dragging" the boat in to keep us relatively straight.
The Open and Women’s swim were next with Darren and Brooke being our
competitors.
Brooke had a great swim and finished up 3rd
in an extremely fast field of female swimmers.
On the open side Darren was battle with the HC and BL swimmers on the way
back to shore.
He put on a burst of
speed, pulled away a bit and caught a runner… 1st place in the Open
swim for Surf City since Alan Bakes won it in 2007!
I wish I had something exciting to write about Ashton and Killian once again handling the field in the Paddle Rescue. I mean it's always fun to watch their precision and speed but the result was never in doubt. It was kind of close among the top three teams during the paddle to the mark, but once Killian got on the board they walked away from the field for another Surf City 1st place finish.
Because Shane was out we had to move George into the Surf
Dash and out of the Singles row.
This meant that we had no one to row the Singles.
I asked Luke if he would consider going back-to-back and row the Singles
and then the Mixed with Bridget in the very next event.
He didn’t hesitate, “of course” he said.
There was significant surf, especially for a first year rower but Luke
got out and back without incident and scored a point for the team.
Luke and Bridget did better in the Mixed Doubles coming in 4th
place.
Ryan once again handled the
Open Paddle for Surf City and while he brought up the rear in the race, only
about 20 seconds separated first from last in this one.
It’s a wicked fast field, every one of them.
Haley, Allie, Olivia, and Morgan up next in the 4x500’
Women’s Paddleboard race.
This was a
great performance as each women paddled really well in challenging surf and
finished in a solid 3rd place.
This team is going to be even more formidable next year.
Since the final team standings were set at this point, due to the large
surf and shore break it was decided to cancel the Boat Relay and move onto the
Surf Dash.
Brooke was up first in a first leg I believe that mostly
consisted of men and came out in third place.
George had a great swim and dropped into a shore break BOMB!
He tagged Dean just behind the HC swimmer.
But alas, there was no denying this Surf Dash team a victory as Dean
hawked down the HC swimmer and sprinted across the finish in 1st
place.
First Surf City Surf Dash 1st
place since 2008!
What an exciting
end to the 2025 Island Tournament.
When it was all said and done the team finished in second place with 99 points,
only 15 points behind the first-place team!
Sunday August 3, 2025 - Squad Photo and Breakfast at the Garrison's
Thank you to the Garrisons for again hosting a delicious breakfast after the squad photo!
Here we go… event #16 for SCBP.
First event Zach and I in the Double Rows.
Surf is pumping and one wave “pumps” right into our boat off the launch.
Lots of water in the boat, make the best of it.
I think we finished 4th or 5th.
Darren, Shane, Dean, and Brooke in the swim relay came in around
mid-pack, hard to tell because there was no scoreboard at this tournament.
Somehow with all of the waves on this particular evening there was
nothing for Shane or Brooke on their swim to the beach!
Zach and Dean up next in yet another boat swim.
Dean out of the boat in third I think… reeling in… now passing the other
swimmers.
But wait!
A wave kind of breaking on Dean but in perfect formation for the 2nd
place swimmer, he catches it and beat Dean out.
2nd place for Dean and Zach.
But the Paddle Relay team, consisting of Ashton, Kieran, Ryan, and
Killian, has been on fire recently and continued their burn tonight with another
convincing 1st place finish!
Final event is the Rescue Relay, our specialty.
Darren, Ryan, and Kieren take on the Line-Pull portion of the event and
get Ashton in the water in the top 3 for the Paddle Rescue.
Ashton and Killian do their thing and get back to the beach about 15
seconds ahead of second place.
Should be an easy row for me and Zach to pick up Luke, right?
Uh, maybe not.
All goes well
to the buoy, Luke is in, we’re happily rowing to shore with a big lead.
But then a big wave.
I go to
the back, Zach goes to my seat… the wave just kind of “plops” on us and fill the
boat with water, like totally.
Then
it turns sideways and the next waves rolls it over, nice and easy.
No one hurt but, in the time, it took Luke to swim to shore we lost the
lead but still finished in 2nd place.
End result was a 3rd place for the team at
Island Beach State Park in 2025.
Lavaladies – Thursday August 7, 20
The final competition of the summer was "Lavaladies" of course held by the Lavallette Beach Patrol. This was our 18th competition for the summer! You can't say we didn't get out there and compete!
The Rescue Relay was first with Brooke swimming out to rescue Julia in the Buoy Rescue event. Then Olivia rescued Allie on the board and finally Syndey rescued Pepper in the boat.
