The Wrightsville Beach Ocean Rescue Team recently captured its second consecutive regional championship in a lifesaving competition held last week in Carolina Beach.
They were the top squad of 17 teams that participated in the South Atlantic Lifesaving Association (SALA) regional competition on July 16 and July 17. The SALA competition featured ocean rescue agencies from Virginia Beach, Virginia, to the most northeastern part of Florida. Teams that participated in this year’s competition included lifeguards from Nags Head, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, and Jax Beach, Florida. Carolina Beach’s ocean rescue squad participated as the host team.
Wrightsville Beach Ocean Rescue Director Dave Baker called the win “a very remarkable accomplishment.”
“Knowing that everyone is looking to take you down a notch and they all are gunning for you is a testament to the amount of training and dedication each team member had and understood the effort it would take to uphold last year’s performance,” Baker said. “I would also like to add that this achievement would not have been possible without the generous donations and support from numerous individuals and business.”
The Wrightsville Beach Ocean Rescue team is now preparing to compete on the national level at the Nautica U.S. Lifeguard Association championships in Daytona Beach, Florida, from Aug. 6 to Aug. 8.
The team will be on hand at the Sounds of Summer Concert in the Park at 6:30 p.m. July 23 at Wrightsville Beach, where they’ll be selling barbecue plates as a fundraiser.
Anyone interested in making a donation to help the team travel to the national championship can send a donation to “Wrightsville Beach Volunteer Firefighters Association” or “Ocean rescue” to P.O. Box 251, Wrightsville Beach N.C. 28480. Donations are tax deductibles.
