SVOR Hosts Its Second Annual S-Mile Swim Challenge

The “S-mile Swim Challenge” grew in its second year, much to the pleasure of its host, Southampton Village Ocean Rescue.

The open water swim held at Coopers Beach on Saturday morning offered three different distances: a quarter-mile, half-mile or full-mile swim along the beach that was fully assisted by members of Southampton Village Ocean Rescue, who had their work cut out for them with a significant swell and sweep. It was much different conditions than the inaugural event a year ago, which had rather calm conditions comparatively. The strong surf actually added to the increased competitiveness of this year’s race, which was professionally timed by Elite Feats and also included an awards ceremony afterward, a pair of added elements.

Ocean Rescue Chief Alex King said despite the rough conditions, things went swimmingly, no pun intended. While the same number of swimmers wound up completing the swim as in last year’s race, there were about 20 more or so who either didn’t show up or opted not to swim due to the conditions. King mentioned that multiple members were made a legitimate save on Saturday, when captain Alexandra Talty called in the group’s Jet Ski who scooped up the swimmer, then Ex-Chief Michelangelo Lieberman brought the swimmer to shore. King said carrying a swimmer to shore through what was rough surf was no easy task and proved how vital the organization’s services really are.

“It was quite challenging getting out through the waves and getting in through the waves,” King said. “But we had a full staff of guards who assisted people in and out of course. There were a number of saves. Our guards were on full duty, but I am happy to say that all participants had a really great time. We had a few guards who really prevented some drownings and we’re seasoned guards, so we’re more than capable.”

Josh Glantz, 55, of Scarsdale, New York, was the winner of the longest swim, the 1-mile, which was also the most popular with 42 finishers. Glantz finished in 27:58.65, while Jacob Greenberg, 12, of Greenwich, Connecticut, finished second in 28:18.22 followed by James McVeigh, 24, of Wantagh, who finished in 29:14.92.

Kathleen Uckert, 53, of Holbrook, won the half-mile swim in 15:11.87. Eden Bressler, 12, of New York City finished second in 16:32.05 and Bob Bottini, 65, of East Hampton finished third in 16:58.31. Connie Cornish, 63, of Southampton won the quarter-mile swim in 9:17.56, Jocelyn Ruane, 14, of Babylon finished second in 10:20.55 and Amalia Breen, 14, of Rockville Centre finished third in 11:33.71.

All results are posted on elitefeats.com.

Some of the top finishers were given a bottle of Dos Hombres, a mezcal brand started by Breaking Bad pair Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul, which was a major sponsor of the event. King admitted that she and her team didn’t expect to have so many teenagers do so well, and that having bottles of mezcal probably wasn’t the best universal idea when it came to prizes. It’s something they will rethink going forward, she said.

Trying to grow the event, Ocean Rescue also hosted a special needs swim a few hours after the initial swims, and King said that wasn’t well attended. She said there was some apparent confusion on whether it was an actual swim, or if it was just an opportunity for those with special needs to get in the water and be assisted by members of the squad. King said the organization will make things more clear going forward, and will also look to move the special needs swim to more calm waters in the bay.

“I think we’re going to have a separate event for those with special needs and gear it specifically for them instead of tacking it on to the other races, because we are a big proponent of inclusion,” she said. “We are supporters of organizations like Luv Michael, so we want to be supportive of all groups.”

Currently celebrating its fifth year, the ocean rescue squad’s mission is to respond to water rescues in the ocean and bays, year-round, at all unprotected beaches in Southampton Village. It’s dedicated to making safe and expeditious water rescues via proven and effective water rescue techniques. All proceeds went to the organization, a volunteer nonprofit that is particularly vital to a beach community such as Southampton.

While it’s in its fifth year, the squad is in its second year with ocean lifeguard training and certification and Red Cross pool and bay lifeguard certification, and also has its own group of junior lifeguards, a handful of whom competed and fared well in Southampton Town’s junior lifeguard tournament earlier this month. Additionally, it also offers clinics throughout the summer. Technically those have ended as of August 15, but King said if anyone contacts the group through its website, it can set up either one-on-one personal or small group clinics. After all, it’s all about water safety.

“We’ve had a lot of people who have been swimming in the local ponds, and those people really weren’t ready to go in and out of the ocean this past weekend. So I told them about our clinics,” King said. “We teach everything from stroke technique, how to enter and exit the ocean successfully and just overall water awareness.”

More information is available at southamptonvillageoceanrescue.org.