Water fun, marine life and more at Junior Lifeguard Camp
By Justin Broman, Lead Lifeguard, SIB Ocean Rescue

Summertime is here! It’s hot out on the beach and the ocean water is clear and refreshing. The Junior Lifeguard Summer camp has officially started with all kinds of adventure and fun in the sun. Our Junior Lifeguard summer program, taught by City of Sunny Isles Beach certified lifeguards, offers an abundance of activities, along with beach safety and survival tactics.

Junior Lifeguard Camp is a one-week program that runs Monday through Friday, from 9:30am to 2:30pm. Participants meet every morning at the lifeguard stand at Samson Oceanfront Park (17425 Collins Avenue), and start the day with a full body workout. They learn all about lifeguard tower set-up, rescue techniques with a real lifeguard buoy and rescue board, and they even perform a mock rescue before the week is over.

Participants also learn about all types of emergencies that occur on the beach, including medical calls, trauma, dangerous marine life, our flag systems, radio communications, water hazards and much more. Most importantly, though, campers learn the value of teamwork; how to react when they are in danger in the water and how to react when they see someone else in danger.

Each week of the camp accommodates a specific age group; ages 6 - 10 for the first two weeks and ages 11 - 16 for the last two weeks. Once a week, campers visit Pelican Harbor Seabird Station to learn procedures for rescuing injured birds. Campers are also visited by Bill Ahern with Miami-Dade County Sea Turtle program to learn about sea turtles, where participants get a special opportunity to release sea turtles into the ocean. Finally, camp ends with a celebration on Friday, with games, special awards, and tons of fun.

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