Junior Life Guards

Gaby Barclow, James Sheridan and Sarah Schlichte

Garden City residents Gaby Barclow, Sarah Schlichte and James Sheridan participated in the US Lifeguard Association Junior National Championships, held on August 9 th in Myrtle Beach, SC., along with the Junior Lifeguard competition team from Jones Beach. The "juniors" compete in their age group in events such as: Distance Beach Run, Rescue Relay, Beach flags, Rescue Board Race, Run-Swim-run Race, Distance Swim, 5-person Swim Relay (of which Sarah & James' team placed first) and the Ironguard, which combines running, swimming and the rescue board.

Gaby, Sarah and James won a combined total of 4 - 1 st place medals, 2 - 2 nd place medals, 1 - 3 rd place medal and various ribbons in their events.

Teams competing at the USLA Nationals come from all over the country such as Pompano Beach, FL, LA County, CA, Galveston TX and Team chicago, among others. The Junior Lifeguard program at Jones Beach is run by dedicated senior guards who volunteer their time to train these future guards.