Officers vividly remember the hard work, excitement and anticipation when they tried out
OCEAN CITY — Deputy Chief Holly Lesser and Lt. Matt DiMarino vividly remember the excitement and anticipation of when they tried out for the Ocean City Beach Patrol.
They reflected on that Saturday morning as they watched 52 candidates gather on the 18th Street beach to run, swim, paddle and surf dash their way onto the 2024 patrol.
“I remember standing on the boardwalk, all huddled around at First Street (Lifesaving Station) and hearing the names being called out and feeling the anxiety of wondering if your name was going to be called,” Lesser said.
When she tried out, there was a “huge crowd” of candidates and they weren’t choosing that many to join the patrol.
“I don’t remember exactly how many but I feel there was like 75 to 100. It was a really big year my rookie year,” she said. “I actually tried out the same time as my other deputy chiefs (Dan Casey and Tony Mehalic). It’s kind of cool we’re all deputy chiefs together.
“We all tried out together and made it,” Lesser said. “I think our year only 20 made it, so it was a big cut. It was such a really cool moment.”
That was in 2007. Knowing she, Casey and Mehalic are deputy chiefs now “kind of feels surreal.”
Lesser enjoys being part of the testing of the new recruits. Casey and Mehalic were both on the beach as well Saturday morning.
“I love it. It’s come full circle and I love being in an administrative role now with all the different aspects, all the behind-the-scenes stuff and getting to meet the new candidates that are going to be the future of the patrol,” Lesser said.
DiMarino, who joined the patrol in 2016, had worked at Prep’s Pizza on the boardwalk the summer before when he was 15 and was just a little too young. From there he could see the guards on the 10th Street beach, and he was longing to be a lifeguard.
“It was the best,” he said of the tryouts, “but you get nervous and have all of the same excitement” as those who came before and after to try out, he said. “It was a blast.” Referencing the warm, sunny morning and calm ocean Saturday, DiMarino smiled and added, “I wish I had these conditions.”
“I think about that almost every year that I re-try out,” he said. “It’s one of the best jobs you’ll ever have. It’s months of hard work … (but) when you see your name on that piece of paper with all of your buddies’, there’s no feeling like it because that’s what you worked for.
“At 16, it’s the best self-discipline reward you can have.”
“This job is unbelievable. You have a lot of fun,” DiMarino said, noting part of the test in the past was rowing a lifeboat. “That’s how the local kids got an advantage. I would be spending my whole spring with Mr. (Paul) Sweeney (a retired guard), who taught me how to row. That gives you the edge.”
This year the test included a 500-meter ocean swim, a 500-meter ocean paddleboard, a half-mile beach run, a 500-meter erg and a surf dash. All candidates also completed an interview.
“We’re looking for at least 20 candidates who are athletic, able to swim, able to be taught the skills of lifeguarding who are also good people,” OCBP Director of Operations J. Allan Karas, M.A., said as he oversaw the tryouts Saturday morning.
They were testing for physical and character attributes.
“For physical qualities, we want good athletes that we can teach the skills of lifeguarding, candidates that will be able to receive the information that we’re going to give them during rookie school,” he said. “We’re also looking for people with good character, honest people. We’re looking for people who care about the public and want a career in public service.”
Karas expects the full complement of the OCBP this summer to be 186 to 188, including full-time EMTs.
“I think full strength for us should be around 190,” Karas said.
The reason for the large number of beach patrol members is mostly for guarding Ocean City’s beaches and keeping them fully staffed, but it also allows time to pull guards out to do training and for special assignments and details.
Karas said the half-mile beach run, the first event Saturday morning, was pass-fail. They had to do it in an allotted time. If they couldn’t make it, they didn’t continue. The OCBP followed that with the swim, which, combined with the run, are the requirements for lifeguard certification in New Jersey. After that they did the paddle and a surf dash “to replicate going in for a bather who is close to shore.”
“Then we have a structured interview and test their athleticism on an erg, which is a rowing machine. It’s not to see if they can row, but it is a good measure of athleticism,” Karas said.
They add up the points, weighted for the different tests (except the run) to see how the candidates place.
The guards had to be 16 years old by July 15. The candidates trying out ranged in age from 15 to 34, with many 16 or 17 and most 21 or under.
“The state doesn’t allow us to put a working lifeguard on the beach until they are 16, so we picked the date of (turning 16 by) July 15 because they have finished rookie school … and wouldn’t miss much of the summer. It’s a little fairer than saying (be 16) by the day of the test,” Karas said.
The successful candidates go to rookie school where Karas starts by having the new guards learn the 126-year history of the Ocean City Beach Patrol.
“Then they learn all the skills of lifeguarding, how to rescue somebody, all the medical training that goes into it. They learn how to drive beach vehicles, if necessary, and how to be professional on the radios.
“We teach them all that and I like to throw in the history of the beach patrol to remind them of the people who came before them,” Karas said.
The 26 candidates chosen as 2024 rookies are Abby Hays, Anna Mazur, Blake Newcomb, Brendan Martin, Cameron Osborne, Colton Donahue, Corey Lin, Danny Kupiec, Elijah Ostrander, Ethan Malcolm, Eusie Mita, Jack Suter, John Lynch, Kevin O’Sullivan, Luke Murray, Madeline Olivard, Matthew Thompson, Rhylee Cornell, Rhys McFadden, Sean Kane, Sean Sharkey, Tommy Finnegan, Tyler Kapish, Wes Sweitzer, William Seaman and Zachary Bellwoar. Taken as alternates were Aiden Norville, Cameron Mattern, Luke Motzenbecker and Nate Berk.
– STORY and PHOTOS by DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
