The lifeguard program at Zuma includes around 130 youths, ages 9-17, from Malibu and surrounding areas
A group of Zuma Beach junior lifeguards were around 150 yards out of first place during the paddleboard portion of LosAngeles County Junior Lifeguard Program’s Taplin Relay Championship at Dockweiler State Beach in Playa Del Rey on July 12.
The paddlers — six members of an 18-member bunch that begins with six runners and ends with six swimmers— closed the leading gap held by a group of junior lifeguards from El Segundo. Then, the Zuma swimmers took over. Once the first Zuma “A Team” swimmer hit the water, the comeback really began.
Ryder Lippman, one of the Zuma swimmers, said he and the other swimmers trained hard for their moment in the Pacific Ocean.
“The other team in first was about two buoys ahead of us,” he recalled. “Our first guy went, and he caught up to them. We were a buoy and a half behind. I went and caught up, so we were like 100 feet behind. Our guys kept going and eventuallywe were beating them. We have a lot of really fast swimmers. We knew we could do it.”
When the final Zuma swimmer exited the water, his squad was crowned the victors of the competition.
Lippman said winning the race was amazing.
“It was the best feeling for my life,” he said. “The entire team worked so hard to get there. To catch up and beat them in the swim — the whole team was so happy.”
Craig Rond, a Zuma junior lifeguard instructor, said the victory was an achievement the teenagers worked hard for. Rond, who trained the “A Team” along with lifeguard Greg Bonann, said Zuma junior lifeguards had finished second in the race, which this summer included over 20 teams from 15 LA County beaches, the previous four Julys. The last time Zuma Beach won the event was in 2002.
“It’s been over two decades in the making,” Rond said. “It was a long time coming. The kids left nothing in the water. They really gave it everything they had.”
The Taplin begins with a soft sand sprint, where each of the six runners hand off a baton. The last runner tags the first paddler, who navigates a paddleboard through the surf around three buoys and back in through the waves, handing the board to the next paddler. The relay is complete when each of the six swimmers has raced through the waves and around the buoys, running back up the beach to tag their team member.
Rond said winning the competition was a major focus of the “A Team” junior lifeguards, ages 14 to 17, during the four-week junior lifeguard program at Zuma Beach, which began on June 17.
“We mentioned it every day,” he said. “Some days were more training-oriented days where we would swim them hard or paddle. Other days were just fun days like jumping off the Baywatch boat. It’s a balance of fun, training, and learning how to be a lifeguard.”
The lifeguard program at Zuma includes around 130 youths, ages 9 to 17, from Malibu and surrounding areas.
The junior lifeguards learned ocean swimming and rescue techniques, CPR, surfing, and general fitness conditioning. The 75 youths that were trained by Bonann and Rond also learned about overcoming failure. The two senior lifeguards had multiple athletes and lifeguards talk to the group about how to deal with adversity.
“Failure is okay if you used it [for] motivation,” Rond noted.
Lippman, a 16-year-old Malibu High student and junior lifeguard of eight years, said he and his friends talked about the Taplin daily.
“We said we were going to win it this year,” Lippman, also a water polo player, said. “We had like the Dream Team, so we knew we were going to win it. We were really confident throughout the whole time.”
Rond, also the swim team and water polo coach at Thousand Oaks High School, and Bonann selected the Zuma “A Team” out of the lifeguard trainees they guided this summer. They knew they had a potential Taplin-winning group when they beat a team from Will Rogers State Beach in a competition before the Taplin in Playa Del Rey.
The Zuma “A Team” included runners Shafer Staab, Lukas Turjillo, Grayson Polatin, Caleb Lenway, Aspen Abernathy, and Tashen Way. The bunch’s paddlers were Nikau Webb, Bodie Addison, Rem Runyan, Nikolai Rainin, Kenyon Jones, and Marcelo Heinrich. The swimmers included Christian Couch, Costes Jensen, Benet Fujikake, Curren Mealife, Luca Bazerkanian, and Lippman.
Rond described the group as “tremendous athletes.”
“The kids really bought into the excitement and importance of the race,” he said. “We really instilled in them pride for their beach, pride in training, and pride in giving it your best shot. The kids really wanted to get it done.”
Another Zuma relay group, composed of all girls, made up the beach’s “B Team,” which finished ninth in the race. Rond said an all-girls squad had never participated in the co-ed competition previously.
“They were really proud to be trailblazers,” he said. “An all-girls team finishing in the top half was pretty spectacular.”
There was also the “C Team,” a group of 12- to 13-year-olds, who won the Taplin in their category.
The all-girls group included runners Dilly Byford, Aria Magleby, Freyja Jacosben, Panarea Livesey, Bridgett Shanahan, and Joey Vasquez. The paddlers were Uma Frizen, Camille Gavin, Waylon Russel, Tuesday Gagha, Sofia Myers, and Harlow Muchmore. The swimmers were Billy McGinley, Ceylon Zappa, Abi Kearns, Christine Chung, Emerson Brady, and Reegan Terentieff.
The “C Team” included runners Scarlett Dunn, Violette Keenan, Gemma Spraggins, Makenzie Cox, Fernanda Smith, and Abbie Ward. Nixon Riddick, London Runyan, Nico Paquette, Gibby Staab, Eli Van der Ryn, and Kieren Taylor were the paddlers. The swimmers were Zac Moore, Conrad Fox, Anthony Burch, Phoebe Heckler, Roman Fox, and Matt Williams.
Rond noted how happy Zuma’s senior lifeguards are about a group of junior lifeguards claiming the Taplin championship. There is also excitement about possibility of another victory next summer.
“We feel like our future is really bright,” Rond said.
Lippman enjoyed gaining the lifeguarding victory with his friends.
“I really love all my friends,” he said. “You never stop trying, no matter how tired you get. In a race, no matter how tired I get I know there is a going to be an end to the race, so I’ll have rest time then. I go 110 percent. I keep going until I pass out or I can’t and the race finishes.”