Sixteen-year-old Holly Maine continues to cement herself as one of the best junior lifeguards around in the water or on sand.
The Malibuite won a gold medal in the rescue board race at the United States Lifesaving Association’s National Lifeguard Championships for the second summer in a row on Aug. 10 and finished second-place in five other events and in third in a seventh event.
The Zuma Beach junior lifeguard said finishing in the top tier of the lifeguarding activities felt great. Maine added that since the championships were held in Hermosa Beach, instead of a far-off locale she had never been to before, the seaside terrain was more familiar.
“The competition was pretty tough,” she said. “I handled the conditions well — it was pretty flat — and coming from Zuma Beach, I’m used to bigger waves. I wasn’t sure if I would do as well in flat water, but I ended up doing pretty well.”
Maine, a member of the Los Angeles County Surf Life Saving Association, gained silver medals in the surfski race, swim relay, run-swim-run, iron guard and surf swim race. She won a bronze medal in the rescue race.
Maine’s top finish in the rescue board race was her third.
There were two new challenges in this year’s nationals for Maine, who has medaled at the event multiple times in past. The Newbury Park junior competed in the U19 division, an older age group, and the surfski boat race was a new event for her.
“I went against 18, 17, and 16-year-olds,” Maine said. “I thought I would do pretty well, but winning the paddle against older girls is really good. The second-place in the surf ski — it was my first year — I got second place to an 18-year-old, so that is pretty cool.”
Surfski participants paddle a kayak-like vehicle in a race against the competition.
“It was used to make rescues a long time ago,” Maine said. “They are really fast. They are really hard to get used to and stable. My first time racing in it, I fell out a few times.”
Maine competed in four or five competitions during the summer, which all led up to the championships in Hermosa Beach. Next, as a member of United States Youth National Lifesaving Team, Maine will compete in World Lifesaving Championships in the Netherlands cities of Eindhoven and Noordwijk on Sept. 3-12.
This is her third year competing internationally. Last September, Maine competed in Australia and in France the year before. She is excited about competing in foreign waters again.
“The last two years, I haven’t been as strong,” she said. “This year is going to be a good year for me to do really well. I think I have learned to understand the ocean more and gotten better on the paddle board.”
Maine said time and experience are key in any lifeguard competition.
Before heading overseas, Maine is receiving the opportunity to work with a professional lifeguard at Zuma and Santa Monica beaches. The summer lifeguard cadet had her first “tower days” last weekend and will have two more this weekend.
Maine said she is looking forward to working with the lifeguards she is positioned with.
“They will teach me a lot,” she said. “Even though I know a lot about the ocean, they will probably teach me waves to spot more quickly, what to do when you are making a rescue and different types of rescues.”
Maine dreams of becoming a full-time lifeguard within the next few years, and junior lifeguard instructors Craig Rond and Greg Bonann are guiding her in that direction.
While she said she would enjoy the job because it allows her to help people, the teenager admitted she loves the competitive aspect of it, which has allowed her to haul in 30 to 35 lifeguard competition medals since she was 12.
“I’m a competitive person,” Maine said.
