UA Rec Center lifeguards outswim the competition

Matt Heistand Arizona Daily Wildcat (from left) Mandy Highfield, Jeff Personius, Josie Thompson and Mindy Sutterley are four of the eight lifeguards who competed against ASU and NAU at the Big 3 Lifeguard competition at ASU. The two teams from the UA tied for first place.

The lifesavers put their strokes to the test against Arizona State and Northern Arizona universities in the first Big 3 Lifeguard competition at ASU earlier this month.

"It took eight all-around great efforts," Student Recreation Center Aquatic Director Martin Tuck said of the UA's dominating performance.

The two four-person UA teams, The Guppies and Complete Gratification, tied for first place, completing the tournament with 24 points each. NAU's only team earned 19 points, and ASU's one team scored 11 points. Each team was comprised of two men and two women.

"We were so far ahead of the other teams that we were trying to beat each other," said team member Heather Smith, a molecular and cellular biology senior.

Lifeguard Jeremy Edgars said the team even rolled into McDonald's Restaurants prior to competition.

"It was all that greasy food in our bellies," said Edgars, a Spanish studies junior.

The muscle-bound athletes were psyched up for an intense battle, but they still enjoyed the experience of lifeguard staff bonding.

"We just wanted to have a good time," Smith said.

The six events challenged participants in a variety of lifesaving techniques.

During the most notorious task - the Spinal - competitors swam across the pool, rescued "victims" and strapped them to boards while maintaining head and neck stability to prevent further injury.

"The spine board event requires more technical skills," Edgars said. "It is a lifeguard's most dreaded nightmare if a neck injury is involved."

The Surface Dive forced swimmers to plunge down to the pool's floor, grab a 10-pound brick and resurface.

"It involves sprinting and not just rescuing skills," Edgars said.

The Object Recovery tested how fast lifeguards could locate a submerged victim, while the Lifesaving Team Relay and the Three Man Rescue Team required group efforts to save victims.

No one could name an individual swimmer who stood out.

"Everybody did so well for both teams to kill competition," said UA team member Jeff Personius, a business senior.

Along with the physical tasks, each participant took a written test on CPR and first aid that was calculated into the total score.

Lifeguards are required to renew their CPR certificates every year and take a swimming test every three years.

Unlike most sports teams, the athletes train individually, coming together once a month to review CPR and put the individual talents to the test as a solidified unit.

"I think what carried us through is that we do work better as a whole then the other teams," said ecology and evolutionary biology sophomore Josie Thompson.

The team hopes to eventually expand competition to include other schools.

"We are looking forward to planning another competition in the spring," Edgars said.

Genevieve D. Cruise can be reached via e-mail at Genevieve.D.Cruise@wildcat.arizona.edu.