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Lifeguards snap into shape for winter
By Kaustuv Basu • Florida Today • November1,2008

County lifeguards trained this week for the winter, the first time selected locations on Brevard County's beaches will have ocean rescue personnel during the colder months.

Earlier this year, county commissioners approved year-round staffing of lifeguards on Brevard beaches, approving 12 full-time positions.

"We took the opportunity provided during the cold snap to train for the winter," said Wyatt Werneth, chief of Brevard County Ocean Rescue. The three-day training, which ran Tuesday through Thursday, involved pulling in 200-pound mannequins set afloat 100 to 200 yards offshore and running while wearing winter wetsuits.

Five locations -- Cocoa Beach Pier, Shepard Park in Cocoa Beach, Lori Wilson Park in Cocoa Beach, a beach area off Minutemen Causeway in Cocoa Beach and Howard E. Futch Memorial Park in beachside Melbourne -- will have lifeguards this year.

Before the positions were approved, daily lifeguard presence on local beaches typically ended in September, and all lifeguards were taken off the beaches by the end of October.

Contact Basu at 242-3724 or kbasu@floridatoday.com.

Donna Bollinger of Indialantic runs along the beach at Jetty Park near Port Canaveral. She bested the field on a swimming and running course.

By Rik Jesse • Florida Today

In the News - Brevard County Life Guards Qualify for National Competition

Brevard County Ocean Lifeguards show the medals they won at the recent competition. From left to right: Charles Ballou, Austin Moore and Trevor Lindt.

Four Brevard County lifeguards who qualified to participate in the United States Lifesaving Association National Lifeguard Challenge will be able to compete thanks to donations from Melbourne PAL and the Local Community.

Four Brevard County lifeguards have qualified to participate in the United States Lifesaving Association (USLA) National Lifeguard Challenge August 7, 8, and 9 in Manhattan Beach, California. The qualifiers are Austin Moore, 18, of Melbourne Beach, Charles Ballou, 17, of Malabar, and Trevor Lindt, 20, of Melbourne, who finished 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in the 2-mile beach run at the Southeast Regional competition the week of 13 July in Siesta Key, Florida. Also qualifying was team captain Eisen Witcher, 22, of Cocoa Beach, who won the beach flags competition.

After winning the Southeast Regional event and qualifying for the National Challenge, the team was confronted with the problem of raising enough funds to pay for the trip to California. The cost of the trip was estimated at $2000.00 and there were no funds available to pay for it, said Ocean Rescue Chief Wyatt Werneth. "I'm very proud of them, I want to see them get out there," Werneth said.

Brevard County Ocean Lifeguards at Spessard Holland South Beach Park in Melbourne Beach with Melbourne PAL Event Coordinators.
From left to right: Austin Moore, Charles Ballou, Donna
Bollinger, Greater Melbourne PAL Executive Director Delores Pryce, Matt Linden, and Eisen Witcher (front).

Life guard Austin Moore, a local athlete with ties to the South Beaches Basketball Association (SBBA) as both a basketball player and a youth referee, along with father Tom Moore who also serves in the local community as a basketball referee are well known within the Greater Melbourne PAL Police Athletic League (PAL).

Donna Bollinger, a PAL parent and active volunteer is a local community leader and founder of the Legacy Sports and Life Skills organization. Ms. Bollinger also works with the youth of the Melbourne Police Athletic League and as the local coordinator of the School of Skills Youth Developmental Basketball League. Due a near ocean drowning incident of her son who participates in the Melbourne Police Athletic League Basketball Program, Ms. Bollinger has become an active supporter of the United States Lifesaving Association (USLA).

Life Guard Austin Moore provides Ocean Safety Instruction
to the youth of the Greater Melbourne Police Athletic League.

When Ms. Bollinger approached the Melbourne Police Athletic League about helping to fund the Eisen Witcher Team to permit them to compete in California, an arrangement was made where in return for a donation from PAL in support of the trip, Witcher and fellow lifeguards would host an outing for about 45 youth from the inner-city communities of Booker T. Washington, Carver Park, and the Grant Street Community, along with local beach-side athletes participating in the Melbourne Police Athletic League.

Witcher provides instruction on Rip Currents

Mr. Brian Wetzel, Greater Melbourne PAL President, saw this as an opportunity to bring together the beach-side and inner-city communities in a cooperative effort that would be a "win-win" proposition for the already very diversified Melbourne PAL program. The event was held on Tuesday, 5 August at the Spessard Holland South Beach Park in Melbourne Beach and included sessions on open water and beach safety.

Melbourne PAL Youth, Life Guards and Volunteers
Having a Good Time in the Ocean

"They're going to talk about everything from what to do if you see a jellyfish, to what you do if you get in a rip current, and some of the hazards of actually going out and swimming," said Melbourne Police Officer and Greater Melbourne PAL Executive Director Delores Pryce.

"We're looking forward to them [Witcher and fellow lifeguards] doing that for these kids. A lot of them are not beach goers. If they don't know about these possible dangers they could get seriously hurt or worse. I call it invaluable information," added Officer Pryce.

Life Guard Austin Moore rounding the turn at the South East Regional Competition
on his way to a 1st Place Finish qualifying him for the
United States Lifesaving Association (USLA) National Lifeguard Challenge.

Tuesday's event was well organized and an overwhelming success, thanks to Greater Melbourne PAL Executive Director Officer Delores Pryce, Melbourne PAL at Carver Park Director Marthenia Jones, Melbourne City employee "Ms. Mary" Bailey, and volunteers.

Al Steiginga, owner of Long Doggers restaurant with locations in Indialantic, Satellite Beach, Melbourne, Palm Bay, and South Daytona, Florida ensured that everyone was well fed with his own special variety of hot dogs, a favorite of the local beach-side community, and even manned the grill and did the cooking himself.

Al Steiginga, owner of Long Doggers restaurant prepares "long dogs" for
the Melbourne PAL youth and volunteers.

In teaching the beach and ocean safety course, our lifeguards made use of a memorization technique approved and endorsed by the USLA wherein awards were provided to our children when responding to a question with the correct answer. Thanks to Quicksilver representative Kenny Kozack for providing T-shirts, hats, wallets, and school binders, and Hurley representative Josh Redd for T-shirts and hats utilized as the awards in our beach safety competitions.

Melbourne PAL Youth Responding to
Questions on Ocean Safety.

Thanks also to Ocean Potion for providing us with an ample supply of suntan lotion, and to Beachside Produce for the more than ample supply of refreshing cold watermelons.

Finally, our thanks go out to our lifeguards Austin Moore, Eisen Witcher, Matt Linden, Trevor Lindt, and Charles Ballou for the on-the-water and beach-side water safety instruction. We wish the team well in their competition at the United States Lifesaving Association National Lifeguard Challenge in Manhattan, California this week.

Check back here for updates on their progress.
The Latest News can be found at USLA Nationals Live Results website here.