Results of 26th N.S. Lifeguard Competition

Peter Hindle and Derek Desaulnier formed the overall winning team at the 26th annual Surf Lifeguarding Competition at Risser's Beach in Petite Riviere. They upset the 1996 and 1997 winning team of Jason Cross and P.J. Cowan, which finished second.

Mr. Hindle and Mr. Desaulnier had Top 10 finishes in four of five of the individual events, and Top 3 finishes in all team events. In previous Surf Lifeguarding Competitions, they had never been on a team that placed first.

Other competition upsets included Chris Stewart's victory in the open-water swim event and Melanie Hannam's victory in the female beach flags event. Mr. Stewart of Halifax, who was just certified as a lifeguard this summer, dethroned two-year defending champion Dave LeBlanc of Sydney while Ms. Hannam of Bridgetown, participating in the beach flags event for the first time, managed to defeat Nancy Witty, last summer's female beach flags winner.

List of event winners:

Men's Division Women's Division Run-swim-run Jason Cross, Halifax Stacey Connick, Truro Paddleboard race Jason Cross, Halifax Nancy Witty, Wolfville Open water swim Chris Stewart, Halifax Lori Borgal, Halifax Beach flags Mike David, Dartmouth Melanie Hannam,
Bridgetown Ironguard Jason Cross, Halifax Nancy Witty, Wolfville

Team events:
Rescue-board rescue Jason Cross and P.J. Cowan, Halifax

First aid situations Sean Dyer, Dartmouth and Pat McGrath,
Halifax

Water situations Rick Calssie and Paul Arsenault,
New Brunswick

Other notable performances included:

Dave LeBlanc, Sydney - 2nd paddleboard race, 2nd open-water swim, 2nd ironguard, 7th run-swim-run.

Heather Goodfellow -2nd female paddleboard race, 3rd female run-swim-run

Travis Austen, Antigonish - 2nd run-swim-run, 4th open-water swim

Kim Blackmore, Port au Port, Nfld - 3rd female ironguard, 3rd female paddleboard race

Participating lifeguard teams received 50 per cent of their score from physical events (all individual events, plus the rescue board rescue) and 50 per cent of their score from technical events (first aid and water situations). Technical events are accident simulation events where lifeguards are judged on their treatment of injuries and patient care.

The Nova Scotia Lifeguard Service is a joint project of the Nova Scotia Sport and Recreation Commission and the Canadian Red Cross Society.