Junior Lifeguards Put to the Test at Pali High Pool

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

Between 300 and 400 kids flocked to Palisades High’s Maggie Gilbert Aquatic Center last Sunday for the last of this year’s three Los Angeles County Junior Lifeguarding tests.

‘C’ Group guards (ages 9-11) are required to complete a 100-yard pool swim in less than one minute, 50 seconds; ‘B’ guards (ages 12-13) must swim 100 yards in under 1:40 and ‘A’ guards must swim 100 yards in less than 1:30. Junior Lifeguards of all levels must also complete a seven-foot surface dive to retrieve a swimming ring.

There are currently between 3,700 and 3,800 children involved in the LA County Junior Lifeguards program, which spans from Cabrillo Beach in San Pedro to Zuma Beach in Malibu. There are two four-week sessions – the first from June 22-July 23 and the second from July 27-August 2. The program has been going on for 50 years and registration for each session is done online at www.fire.lacounty.gov/lifeguard/lifeguard-youth-programs/.

The first testing session was  April 18 at Culver City Plunge and the second session was May 9 at Mira Costa High in Manhattan Beach.

Cadets are Junior Lifeguards who are being trained to become lifeguards. They must be at least 16 years old and should have participated in the Junior Lifeguard Program for at least two years.

Local beach Cadets include Mitchell Kim, Clara Saab, Brandon Epp, Will Schwerdtfeger (all of whom are from Pali High) and Camille Oswald of Harvard-Westlake.