While I don’t think that Hallmark Cards has created a National Lifeguard’s Day, I think they should have by now. Here at the Y, lifeguards are true heroes to everyone who enjoys our pools and to those of us, as colleagues appreciate how deceptively difficult and crucial their jobs are. Though we never want anything dangerous to happen in the water, there are invariably many incidents every year requiring quick and effective action by Y lifeguards, and when they spring into action, that’s when you quickly see them demonstrate the highest standards of safety training and care which in some cases have made the critical difference between life and death for a swimmer.
With this in mind, I am so happy that each summer we organize a lifeguard celebration known as the Y Lifeguard Challenge! It's a lot of fun and richly deserved. Held last week, this year's Lifeguard Challenge included Y swim instructors, those pivotally important people who teach children and adults the life skill and joy of swimming.
Over 200 Y lifeguards and swim instructors attended this year's event, held at the Y in Pasadena, which included fun stations for them to rotate to, including a chain relay race, obstacle course, wibit, duck race, limbo, sponge bucket race and much more! Congratulations to Elijah Schmidt from the Y Swim Center in Randallstown, who won overall Golden Guard of the Year, with other awards going to the Orokawa, Pasadena and Greater Annapolis Y teams. Thanks to Jill Black, Senior Executive Director of Swim & Family Programs, for always doing a superb job of organizing this event and of leading the team.
If you know someone who might like to learn more about becoming a Y lifeguard and/or swim instructor, please contact Jill Black at jillblack@ymaryland.org.
All the best,
John K. Hoey
President & CEO
The Y in Central Maryland