MB Girls Take Jr. Lifeguard Win

Hundreds of aspiring lifeguards took to the sand between Towers 50 and 51 at Dockweiler Beach in Playa del Rey on Friday morning to represent their respective programs in the annual Taplin Relays, the premiere Junior Lifeguard competition of the summer.

The "sea of colors" consisted of teams from 12 Southland beaches facing off for the coveted "Taplin Bell" in four age divisions (C, B, A girls and A). Each "team" consisted of 18 guards--six runners, six paddlers and six swimmers.

The participating programs were Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Tim Kelly (South Hermosa), Redondo, Zuma (Malibu), Santa Monica, Will Rogers (Pacific Palisades), Venice, El Segundo, Torrance, Cabrillo (San Pedro) and Avalon (Catalina).

Several beaches, including Manhattan, Redondo, Hermosa, Will Rogers and El Segundo, had three or more teams competing in each division, while Santa Monica, Zuma, Cabrillo and Avalon brought only one.

The competition began with the "C's" (ages 9-11) at 9 a.m., followed by the "B's" (ages 12-13) at 10 a.m., the Girls "A's" (consisting of only two runners, two paddlers and two swimmers) at 11 a.m. The Co-Ed "A's" (ages 16-17) competition was held last, a little before noon.

Manhattan Beach won the Girls "A" division, had teams place fifth and sixth in the "C" division and had teams place fifth and seventh in the "B" division. Torrance won the "C" division, Will Rogers won the "B" division and Hermosa won the Co-Ed "A" division. 

The competition began with the runners, who sprinted across the sand, around a cone and back again before handing the baton to a teammate. The last runner ran to the edge of the water and tagged the first paddler, who proceeded into the ocean on his/her surfboard, paddled around three designated buoys, and body-boarded back to shore to hand off to the next paddler. 

The last phase of the race was the swimmers, who ran parallel to the water, around a flag and dove into the water for a swim around the buoys and back to the beach.  

Each team was given a "color" designation and a banner. The team that got all of its swimmers through the finishing chute on the beach first was declared the winner. Participants formed "Tunnels of Love" at the end of each race to cheer on the last finisher on the last team in a unified display of sportsmanship.

There will be a six-member "Junior" Taplin Relay for the "A" and "AA" (ages 16-17) levels Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Hermosa Beach Pier, just before the start of the Lifeguard Taplin Relay.

2011 TAPLIN RELAY RESULTS

(Top 10 teams in each relay)

C Division 

1. Torrance A

2. Hermosa A

3. Will Rogers A

4. El Segundo A

5. Manhattan Beach A

6. Manhattan Beach B

7. Tim Kelly A

8. Santa Monica

9. Zuma

10. Venice

B Division

1. Will Rogers A

2. Redondo A

3. El Segundo A

4. Torrance A

5. Manhattan Beach A

6. Venice A

7. Manhattan Beach B

8. Zuma

9. Hermosa A

10. Tim Kelly A

Girls A Relay

1. Manhattan Beach 

2. Tim Kelly

3. Redondo

4. Zuma

5. Will Rogers 

6. Venice

7. El Segundo

8. Torrance A

9. Torrance B

10. Cabrillo

A Division

1. Hermosa A

2. Manhattan Beach A

3. Venice A

4. Will Rogers A

5. Zuma

6. Redondo

7. Hermosa B

8. Manhattan Beach B

9. Santa Monica

10. El Segundo