Summer is half-way over now with most junior lifeguard programs entering their fifth week, or starting their second secession of their programs. The water has warmed-up (hovering around 70 degrees) in Huntington Beach, and there’s been plenty of surf, so we decided to check-in with our 2013 junior lifeguard scholarship winner Lauren Schlick.

During week one of the Huntington Beach Jr. Guard Program Lauren decided she wanted to tryout for an elite group in the “A” division known as “Safety Aides”. The Safety Aide group functions as an appendage of the Jr. lifeguard instructor, a sort of “helping hand” out in the water or on the beach. Safety Aides allow the JG instructor to safely supervise a larger area, provide more encouragement to his/her fellow junior lifeguards, and a quicker response time should an emergency arise. Safety Aides are identified by pink surf caps (similar to ISLA’s training course participants), but utilize yellow buoys to distinguish them selves from professional lifeguards.

The first week of the JG program was the tryout stage for Lauren. Schlick had to compete with over 100 junior guard applicants for acceptance into the Safety Aide group, by completing a series of physical events and quizzes.

ISLA would like to congratulate Lauren for reaching her goal, and spending the summer mentoring and providing encouragement to younger junior lifeguards.