A community of support: ‘We push each other to be the best versions of ourselves’
CAPE MAY — For Lt. Sara Jackson of the Cape May Beach Patrol, one of the most moving moments of this year’s South Jersey Women’s Lifeguard Conference was hearing from CMBP alumni Patrice Back and Kelsey Medvecky and Cape May Point’s Kristen Moorby.
“Their stories served as a powerful reminder of how far we’ve come and the importance of continuing to support and inspire the next generation of women in lifeguarding,” Jackson said.
Just 23 years old, Jackson was in charge of running this year’s conference, which was hosted by the CMBP on June 30 at Cape May Convention Hall.
Back, who served as a lifeguard for 22 years and was named CMBP Lifeguard of the Year and inducted into its Hall of Fame in 2011, told the 70 attendees from 15 patrols to not be afraid to get out of their comfort zone and find their own way to build confidence in others.
“The women are a unique subset of the lifeguard community, and it is also a community that has evolved,” Back said.
She recalled during an all-women’s lifeguard competition years ago, her fellow lifeguards pitched in to help take care of her infant daughter while she competed.
“They gave back to me as I showed them it was OK to be a woman and mom on patrol,” Back said.
That infant daughter has grown to be a CMBP lifeguard alongside her sister.
Back, who was inducted into the South Jersey Rowing Hall of Fame in 2025, talked about how her CMBP team won the 2011 South Jersey Rowing Championship.
“These memories make me see the importance of this conference,” Back said.
Medvecky, who was a member of CMBP for 10 years and was named Lifeguard of the Year, told attendees that she learned to never underestimate herself, “even in a world where women are underestimated.”
“We push each other to be the best versions of ourselves,” Medvecky said of her peers.
She stepped away from lifeguarding when her first son Cooper was born. She said that all of the qualities she learned as a lifeguard reignited in her when her second son Callan was born 14 weeks early in October 2020.
When Medvecky brought Callan home from the hospital in February 2021, her lifeguard community was there to support her and her family.
“Even when you least expect it, these girls around you will always show up,” Medvecky said.
She and her husband, Tom, who is also a lifeguard, founded the non-profit organization “Cal’s Pals,” which provides financial and emotional support to families with children in the NICU or PICU.
“The team you are surrounded by right now will always be there to support you when you need it the most, no matter what season you are in,” Medvecky said.
Self-described as the oldest woman lifeguard on the CMPBP, Moorby is in her 26th summer lifeguarding Cape May Point beaches. Moorby was named Guard of the Year in 2017 and she was inducted into the CMPBP Hall of Fame. In 2008, Moorby started “The Point Race” “to showcase the toughest women in the lifeguard profession and honor their training, expertise and athleticism.”
Moorby said that there were 11 competitors the first year of the race and proudly reported that last year, there were 56.
“It is a grueling race. It’s not easy but it’s a rite of passage in some ways,” she said.
Moorby said as the race became popular, male lifeguards contacted her to add a heat for men.
“I said, ‘No, this is ours!” she recalled, prompting a round of applause from the crowd.
Moorby encouraged the female lifeguards to speak out and speak up.
“If you feel like you run into a wall with the men, use this community,” Moorby said.
She said her time is ticking as a lifeguard but she keeps trying to squeeze in one more summer.
“I am extremely grateful for this. I am extremely grateful to all of you,” Moorby told those in attendance.
Sea Isle City Beach Patrol lifeguard Bridget O’Hanlon rounded out the speakers. She ran prior conferences and thanked Jackson for her hard work in coordinating this year’s event.
Jackson, who was joined at the conference by her proud mother Teresa and grandmothers Cheryl Jackson and Cathy Hay, curated goodie bags for the attendees with donations from local business.
She also provided blank thank you cards at each table so the lifeguards could write a note to someone who has inspired them and let them be their true authentic self. In addition, Jackson organized an outdoor yoga and meditation workout to end the special day.
Jackson said it “was truly special to spend the day surrounded by such strong, passionate women and to see our local community come together in such an incredible way.”
“This conference was a beautiful reminder that when women support women, incredible things can happen. I’m so grateful to have been part of such a meaningful day,” Jackson said.
– By JENNIFER HANS/For the Sentinel