Junior lifeguards compete in Taplin relay in Hermosa Beach
As the Beach Boys’ “Fun, Fun, Fun” played in the background, a crowd gathered at the Hermosa Beach pier on Saturday to watch the Junior Lifeguards compete in the annual Taplin relay.
The Taplin relay kicks off with the 150-meter dash on the sand, followed by a 250-meter ocean swim and a 400-meter paddleboard leg.
Of the 15 teams that competed in the girls Taplin, the team from Venice Beach – runner Helene Miles, 14, swimmer Kira Makuta, 15, and paddleboarder Coertunay Krause, 17 – finished first.
The trio made a cohesive team. Friends since childhood, they refer to one another as family. “It feels really good,” they said simultaneously when asked how it felt to win. “We trained actually really hard for it this year,” Makuta added.
As this was Krause’s last year in the Junior Lifeguards program, she was thrilled with the victory.
The winning boys team included starter Peter Yaskowitz, 16, swimmer Nick Johnson, 17, and paddleboarder Trevor Leon, 18. The boys said they’ve been participating in the Junior Lifeguard program for as long as they can remember.
“Once you’re out there you kind of get locked into your zone and just whatever happens, happens,” Leon said.
“Just to train for this all your life, I mean, it pays to be a winner and it just feels great because what you’ve trained for finally rewards you and it’s the best feeling ever, even after doing it for so long,” Johnson, the team’s swimmer, said. “It pays off and I’m really thrilled.”
The Taplin relay allows the junior guards to show off their skills and demonstrate how much they’ve learned through the program. Instructors hope that the relay will inspire the students to become lifeguards in the future.
“To be able to showcase what they can do, it kind of gives some of those kids the extra nudge to perhaps take the lifeguard test the next year when they see all of this and how exciting it is and how much fun it is,” instructor Brian Murphy said.