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SuperAthalon kicks off lifeguard race season

By BRIAN CUNNIFF

Sporting competition on the beaches of South Jersey is about to ramp up.

The boys and girls of summer are back, and that means the South Jersey lifeguard race season is about to begin.

There are about two dozen competitions listed on the South Jersey Lifeguard Chiefs Association schedule for 2018. It all begins this evening (Monday, July 2) in Cape May with the SuperAthalon, a run-row-swim triathlon that features only the top athletes from South Jersey beach patrols. That’ll start at 6:30 p.m. on Beach Drive and 2nd Street and will finish on the beach near lifeguard headquarters.

The first team competition is Friday, July 6, when Wildwood Crest hosts the Cape May County Lifeguard Championships. The format for that race will be new, with a handful of female-lifeguard-only events now a part of the competition. All 10 patrols from Cape May County are expected to send teams.

The first all-women’s competition comes next, when Longport hosts the Longport Women’s Invitational on Tuesday, July 10.

Some of the other top team competitions include the 50th running of the Beschen-Callahan Memorial Lifeguard Championships in North Wildwood on July 13, named in honor of two former North Wildwood lifeguards killed during the Vietnam War; the Dutch Hofmann Memorial Lifeguard Championships in Wildwood on July 27; the Margate Memorial Races on Aug. 3; and the South Jersey Championships on Aug. 10 in Longport.

Other unique competitions include the Upper Township Six-Mile Bay Race on July 23, the Cape May Point Women’s Challenge on Aug. 1 and the Bud Tarbotton Memorial Around The Island Row on Aug. 22.

Many of the lifeguard competitions draw hundreds — sometimes thousands — of spectators. The races often feature numerous high-level athletes, some of whom compete or have competed at the Division I college level or even professionally.

Many of the races included all 15 beach patrols in the SJLCA — from Brigantine to Cape May Point.

2018 SOUTH JERSEY LIFEGUARD RACE SCHEDULE

Monday, July 2                     SuperAthalon                                               Cape May                  6:30 pm

Friday, July 6                        Cape May County Championships           Wildwood Crest        6:30 pm

Wednesday, July 11            Longport Women’s Invitational                  Longport                    6:30 pm

Friday, July 13                      Beschen-Callahan Memorial Races         North Wildwood       6 pm

Saturday, July 14                 T. John Carey Masters Swim                    Ocean City                10 am

Sunday, July 15                   Tri-Resorts Championships                       Sea Isle City              6:15 pm

Tuesday, July 17                  Red Bull Surf and Rescue Races             Atlantic City               5 pm

Friday, July 20                      Atlantic City Lifeguard Classic                   Atlantic City               6:30 pm

Saturday, July 21                 Sea Isle City One-Mile Ocean Swim        Sea Isle City              11 am

Sunday, July 22                   South Jersey Pool Championships          Ocean City                7 pm

Monday, July 23                   Upper Township Six-Mile Bay Race         Strathmere                6 pm

Tuesday, July 24                  USLA Mid-Atlantic Jr. Championships     Wildwood                  11 am

Thursday, July 26                Ocean City Women’s Invitational              Ocean City                6:15 pm

Friday, July 27                      Dutch Hoffman Memorial Races               Wildwood                  6:30 pm

Sunday, July 29                   David J. Kerr Memorial Races                   Avalon                       6:15 pm

Wednesday, Aug. 1             Cape May Point Women’s Challenge      Cape May Point       6:30 pm

Friday, Aug. 3                       Murph Mile                                                    Cape May                  6 pm

Friday, Aug. 3                       Margate War Memorials                             Margate                      6:30 pm

Saturday, Aug. 4                  Capt. Bill Gallagher 10-Mile Island Run  Sea Isle City              5:45 pm

Saturday, Aug. 4                  Pier-to-Pier One-Mile Ocean Swim          Wildwood                  6:30 pm

Monday, Aug. 6                    S.J. Rescue Board Championships         Brigantine                 6 pm

Wednesday, Aug. 8             Capt. Bill Howarth Women’s Invitational Ventnor                      6:30 pm

Friday, Aug. 10                     South Jersey Championships                   Longport                    6:30 pm

Friday, Aug. 17                     Goudy Memorial Rescue Races               Ventnor                      6:30 pm

Wednesday, Aug. 22           Bud Tarbotton Around The Island Row   North Wildwood       7 am