Getting Into Deep Waters : 55 Brave Tough Tryouts for Lifeguard Jobs

Rebecca Viscount sat on her swim bag chewing her nails. For good reason.

At 15, she was the youngest job applicant--and one of only three girls--among 55 hungry hardbodies competing Sunday morning at the Huntington Beach summer lifeguard tryouts, considered one of the West Coast’s most grueling.

“I saw one guy hand in his resume. It said he had 34 years of experience. I haven’t even been alive that long,” said Viscount, pool-blue eyes widening above her peeling pink nose.

They would face one another under overcast skies in a three-part competition: a 1,000-yard ocean swim, a 400-yard ocean swim and what one lifeguard called the “granddaddy of them all,” a 1,500-yard run-swim-run. They could rest 15 minutes between events. No wet suits allowed.

The prize: The top 30 swimmers would receive 11 days’ paid training, then vie again in June for seven open lifeguard jobs.

Tucking sun-bleached hair under a swim cap, the Edison High School sophomore reassessed her rivals as they lined up at the starting line facing the waves. “They might be faster in the pool,” she said narrowing her eyes. “But if they don’t swim smart in the ocean, they could lose.”

She smiled sweetly.

Over the years, lifeguards who run such competitions say they have seen a dwindling number of applicants for what is still considered one of the great jobs of summer. One reason is that many would-be applicants have conflicts with water polo or swim meets this time of year and are discouraged by their coaches from trying out for the lifeguard program, said Marine Safety Lt. Steve Davidson.

To fight that trend, the city delayed its tryout date so that it is now just a few weeks before the summer onslaught. (Of the 7 million people who come each year to the city’s shore, 2,000 will need to be rescued.)

Sunday’s turnout was the highest in the last four years, officials said, but they also speculate that in a tight job market the starting pay of $10.47 an hour might have lured more participants.

Of the 55 at Sunday’s competition, several were pool guards looking to move up a rung on the professional ladder. Others were experienced beach lifeguards seeking a change in geography.

One swimmer, Patrick Hemmens, 28, of Newport Beach, said he and his wife DeAnne had both just missed qualifying for the Olympics in kayaking and now needed summer jobs to support them while they train for the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. He had qualified in Laguna Beach the day before but was trying out in Huntington Beach because the pay is higher.

Some, like Viscount, a veteran of the city’s Junior Lifeguard program, simply wanted to compete.

Lifeguards said that every year many of the hopefuls are woefully out of shape or underqualified; some of these list an interest in beach-oriented TV programs as a reason they applied. Usually, they said, the first leg of the race separates the men and women from the boys and girls. The course to be swum is marked by buoys that float progressively farther from shore.

In all, 13 gave up or were disqualified (for sluggish times) on Sunday, many returning from the choppy sea within minutes of the racing start.

“It was too rough,” said one swimmer coming back from the waves.

“I just got tired,” said another.

“I don’t know,” said one man rubbing his shoulder, “I just got something in my arm.”

Viscount finished an easy seventh in the first leg, but was shivering with cold and wrapped in a towel. “I shouldn’t have eaten such a big breakfast,” she said.

At the end of the three tests, some swimmers had turned purple from the cold or were visibly drained.

Jayson Bernstein limped stiffly away, saying, “I’m exhausted.” A pool lifeguard, he admitted to being out of shape and old--at 23. “Most of the kids are 18 or 19. I’m hoping maturity and age play a part in the end. We’ll see if that counts.”

But others walked away briskly, saying the race was less intimidating than they had expected and calling the 65-degree water “a blessing.” The swimmers waited around the Beach Division Headquarters for brief job interviews and the posting of results.

Toweling off after a shower, Viscount beamed.

She had outswum most of the others, finishing 11th in the second test and 13th in the run-swim-run.

“I’m happy with what I did,” she said. “On the way back (to the shore) is where people lose it. How I pass people is coming into the surf line I keep swimming. They stand up and look back. You just have to stay calm and focus, I guess.”

Now that she has passed the demanding physical tests, she said only one challenging question remains. “I’m not sure if I’m ready to be a lifeguard.”