East End Lifeguards Storm Daytona

[caption id="attachment_67677" align="alignnone" width="800"] Amanda Calabrese, left, and Maggie Purcell finished second in the women's open board rescue race. Photos courtesy Hamptons Lifeguard Association[/caption]

By Gavin Menu

Eric Bramoff and Amanda Calabrese say their success is part of a long tradition of East End lifeguards excelling at the national level. They are part of a lineage dating back decades, they say, with mentors who own their own piece of history, and who continue to compete in the legends division.

There are students as well — hundreds of junior lifeguards coming up through the ranks who one day will protect local beaches, and who also are dedicated to competing against junior lifeguards from across the country.

And then there’s Ed McDonald, a longtime lifeguard and Sag Harbor resident who defies age and claimed two national championships over the weekend.

[caption id="attachment_67683" align="alignright" width="418"] Ed McDonald, left, and Eric Bramoff after McDonald won the 70 and over beach flags national championship.[/caption]

Lifeguards young and old from Southampton to Sag Harbor, and Bridgehampton to Montauk, traveled south to Daytona Beach, Florida, last week to compete in the United States Lifesaving Association’s National Championships. The Hamptons Lifeguard Association, or HLA, finish fourth out of 36 teams with 403.750 points, behind Monmouth County, a New Jersey outfit that won the tournament with 694.750 points, LA County (637.500) and California State (440.250).

In the junior lifeguard division, HLA guards posted 87 top-10 finishes, a remarkable number from the 40-plus junior guards who traveled south for the tournament.

“As my dad put it at the tournament, if you had fun, you won,” East Hampton’s head lifeguard, John Ryan Jr., said about his father, John Ryan Sr., who has been part of the local lifeguard scene for decades.

The highlight of the weekend centered around Amanda Calabrese, a 19-year-old East Hampton lifeguard who has grown accustomed to the national spotlight. Calabrese won her third consecutive national beach flags championship in the open division on Saturday night to cap a wildly successful weekend in which she also won the open women’s board rescue race alongside Southampton’s Maggie Purcell, and finished second in the open women’s board race.

Bramoff, McDonald, Vanessa Edwards and Kathy Piacentine also won national beach flag championships in their respective age groups, adding a total of 20 points to HLA’s final standings.

“When we started this a long time ago, it was just a group of people going out there to compete,” said Bramoff, the Sag Harbor School District athletic director and a longtime lifeguard who won a national beach flags championship in the open division in 2003. “We are now a powerhouse on the scene and our goal is to go down there and win the USLA National Championship.

[caption id="attachment_67684" align="alignleft" width="399"] Amanda Calabrese racing toward her second consecutive national beach flags championship in Daytona Beach.[/caption]

“We’ve always been good at certain events, but because of Hurricanes swimming, and because of junior lifeguarding, I think it’s in reach,” he continued. “And what’s cool about the team, is even guys who are 70 years old like Eddie Mac can contribute.”

McDonald on Monday said he had been training with Bramoff all summer leading up to last week’s tournament, running on the beach and working on his start in beach flags. It paid off with national titles in the 70 and over division in both beach flags, and the 2K beach run.

“Our family has always had heart issues, and one thing I did was I got a double bypass operation a year and a half ago,” said McDonald, who first worked as a lifeguard at Main Beach in East Hampton in the late 1960s. “When I spoke to the doctor, I swore I was going to work every single day to be stronger. So I’ve been running and when I got in that tournament, I just felt good.”

Bramoff returned to lifeguard competition for the first time in 14 years and won the 35-39 beach flags event, but also contributed to HLA’s eighth-place finish in the open men’s rescue.

Chasen Dubs, who grew up in East Hampton before moving to Florida, still competes with HLA and brought in a total of 38.5 points, including a fourth-place finish in the open men’s ironguard competition. Paige Duca won the open women’s 2K beach run, and Ryan Paroz, a native of Australia, won the open men’s board race, among other triumphs that brought in a total of 61.5 points for HLA.

In terms of the junior lifeguard tournament, Dubs won national titles in the U19 division in both the ironguard and surf ski events. Val Ferraro (U19 beach flags), Lila Ferraro (14 & 15 beach flags), William Schlegel (12 & 13 beach flags) and Luke Castillo (9-11 distance run) also won national championships in their respective divisions.

“We were probably the biggest agency down there in terms of juniors and U19 lifeguards,” Ryan said. “We were a force to be reckoned with and we did very well. The distances were long, it was hot and they competed and shined. It was amazing to be part of it.”

[caption id="attachment_67686" align="alignleft" width="800"] Eric Bramoff, left, leads the HLA rescue team from the water.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_67685" align="alignleft" width="800"] Amanda Calabrese after winning her national title in beach flags.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_67682" align="alignleft" width="800"] Luke Castillo won his age group in the distance run and a national title in the process.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_67681" align="alignleft" width="800"] Lifeguards from the Hamptons Lifesaving Association in Daytona Beach last week.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_67680" align="alignleft" width="800"] Joey Badilla of Sag Harbor finished his paddle race.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_67679" align="alignleft" width="800"] From left to right, Joey Badilla, Olivia Brabant, Aiden Forst, Sophia Swanson and Kiara Bailey-Williams finished fifth in the swim relay.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_67678" align="alignleft" width="800"] Competitors at the start of the open women's board race.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_67676" align="alignnone" width="800"] Junior lifeguards Melina Sarlo, left, and Kerrie and Ryleigh O'Donnell.[/caption]