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Sports

Malibu's Junior Lifeguards Shine at Taplin Relays

Zuma Beach's junior lifeguards place among the top 10 in each age division at the competition.

Hundreds of aspiring lifeguards took to the sand between Towers 50 and 51 at Dockweiler Beach in Playa del Rey Saturday 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 , Santa Monica, Will Rogers (Pacific Palisades), Venice, El Segundo, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa, Tim Kelly (South Hermosa), Redondo, Torrance, Cabrillo (San Pedro) and Avalon (Catalina).

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When the scores were tallied, Zuma finished ninth in the "C" division, eighth in the "B" division, fourth in the Girls "A" relay and fifth in the "A" division.

"Guards is definitely fun—it's like a brotherhood," said 16-year-old Zuma Beach paddler Dane Sartorius, also an avid surfer at Point Dume and the starting goalie on varsity water polo team. "I'm a cadet (the highest level). I've been in the program eight years and being a lifeguard is ultimately what I want to do, so I enjoy competing. But it's also great training for the real thing."  

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The competition consisted of three phases. First up were 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 final phase involved the swimmers, who ran parallel to the water, around a flag and dove into the onrushing waves for a swim around the buoys and back to the beach.  

Each team was given a "color" designation (Zuma was black) and a banne. 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 division)

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

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