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Female lifeguards from across Monmouth County came together Thursday in Asbury Park to compete in a set races aimed at testing skill, strength and endurance.

The Fifth Annual Monmouth County All Women’s Lifeguard Tournament, held along the Third Avenue beach, was created by the Monmouth County USLA Chief’s Association to showcase female lifeguards, Asbury Park Beach and Safety Supervisor Joe Bongiovanni said.  

“Most of the tournaments are primarily male dominated competitions,” Bongiovanni said. “Some have group events that include women but they generally don’t get to compete directly against one another.”

Still a male dominated field, lifeguarding and its competitions often do not allow for a level playing field in terms of strength in such competitions like paddle or boating races, Bongiovanni said.

“Although in the swimming competitions, we have some women who are as good as or better than the men,” he said.

Bongiovanni said while the number of female lifeguards continues to grow, the annual event, held on different beach each year, is among one of a handful of tournaments that allows women to compete individually, Bongiovanni said.

In Asbury Park 11 of its 40 lifeguards are women. Long Branch has about 50 female lifeguards and Spring Lakes has 20 to 25, Bongiovanni said.

“We use these tournaments for development training,” he said.“It’s a great opportunity to showcase the women.”

The competition features a swim, boat, paddle board, and 4-member medley relay, as well as a line rescue and beach flag race.

The women from Long Branch claimed top honors, finishing first in the boat relay, paddle board relay, and beach flags competition. The Sea Girt women claimed top honors in the swim relay and line rescue competition. Other high scoring finishers included members of Spring Lake, Bradley Beach, and Avon by the Sea squads.  

On July 25, Sandy Hook will host the 34th Annual Women Lifeguard Competition. Females from across the east coast will compete from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. in a series of 10 races. For more information, click here.

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