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Mostly Cloudy Training their eyes on the water
Atlantic Beach lifeguards keep their lifesaving skills sharp
From Memorial Day to Labor Day, nearly 50,000 people use the eight beaches of Atlantic Beach and three area beach clubs. Thirty-seven village lifeguards are tasked with keeping those visitors safe.
Typically, the beaches have a few hundred visitors during the week, but on the weekends that number swells to between 1,000 and 5,000, according to John Madden, Atlantic Beach’s chief lifeguard.
“The common misconception is that lifeguards are having fun all day, but we are very concerned with people’s safety,” Madden said. “When the lifeguards are sitting in their chairs all day, they are constantly scanning for dangerous situations.”
Prospective guards must pass a medical exam as part of the Nassau County certification process. Becoming an Atlantic Beach lifeguard also involves an application and an interview, according to Daniel Majikas, the senior lieutenant lifeguard for the village, a veteran of three summers on the beach.
“Everyone who has been hired must have also passed the surf training course, also known as the Grade III exam, recertifying every three years,” Majikas explained. “They must be able to properly use the rescue equipment and … conduct the lifesaving drills in the ocean.”
Lifeguards work from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays and 9 to 6 on weekends, and their daily routine begins with stretches and a two-mile run on the beach, and swimming and rescue drills. The hazardous situations they face include rip currents, which can appear suddenly and put even the most experienced swimmers in danger.
Madden said that a lifeguard’s job begins on the beach, where they must learn to spot potential danger. “‘A good lifeguard stays dry’ is our major theme,” he said. “We also try to prevent rescues from occurring, or where a lifeguard would have to get in the water. We call this preventative lifeguarding.”
Lifeguards are paid by the village, starting at $10.50 per hour. This year’s crew of 37 is “about right,” said Madden: Atlantic Beach usually employs between 35 and 40 lifeguards each year.
