THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, July 12, 1996 TAG: 9607120048
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LUIS PAREDES, HIGH SCHOOL CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: 61 lines
ON THE FIRST DAY of Ryan Quinn's new summer job, he saved a man's life.
``He was in knee-high water with his boogie board and the waves were really rough,'' Quinn said. ``I saw a really large wave come at him and lift him up, and I saw him land flat on his head.
``I jumped off my stand and ran toward him. I grabbed him by the armpits and rolled him over and the other lifeguards and supervisors came to help.''
Quinn, a recent Cox High School graduate, is just one of the many high school students who are spending their summer lifeguarding. For them, being a lifeguard is not, as Cox High School graduate Chris McInnis put it, ``a day at the beach.''
As lifeguards, they are responsible for the safety of everyone on the beach. They make life-and-death decisions and have responsibilities that transcend the normal summer job.
``It's an awesome kind of responsibility,'' said R.L. Kent Hinnant, captain of the Virginia Beach Life Saving Service.
Lifeguards are responsible for the safety of everyone on the beach, in and out of the water.
``We have a lot to handle out there on the beach,'' McInnis said.
Each lifeguard is responsible for watching an area the size of one street block. They sit on stands placed on every street at the Oceanfront.
``You have to watch a large area of water,'' said Cary Savage, a graduate of Norfolk Academy.
The potential of someone drowning or getting hurt is always high with the unpredictability of the ocean environment so lifeguards must be prepared for all types of emergencies.
Lifeguards must complete first-aid courses and training to learn cardiopulmonary resuscitation. They must pass the Virginia Beach Life Saving Service Run Swim Run competition where participants run a block, swim the equivalent of a block, and run one more block.
Guards are also tested throughout the summer with swimming drills and rescue scenarios.
Lifeguards look for situations that have the potential to turn deadly, such as the lightning or thunderstorms, strong currents which can pull swimmers away from the shore, or swimmers who have gone out too far.
``We get a lot of thunderstorms and when one comes we have to clear the beach for safety,'' Quinn said.
To deal with emergencies, such as drownings, the lifeguards keep in constant communication through a radio system and with hand signals.
The beach area, just as the ocean, can be a hazardous place and the lifeguards are on the lookout for any kind of trouble.
``A lot of action occurs on the sand,'' Savage said.
Lost children, intoxicated and rowdy tourists, fights, jellyfish stings, and other minor injuries are some of the things lifeguards have to deal with in a normal day.
``There isn't a dead moment in the day,'' said Mike Eubanks, a 1996 graduate of Cox High School.
``It's tough but it's a great job. You get to go to work in a bathing suit, save people and there's always a party afterward.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by David B. Hollingsworth
[Ryan Quinn, a recent graduate of Cox High School...]
KEYWORDS: LIFEGUARDS VIRGINIA BEACH by CNB