Lifeguard tournament returns to Easton’s Beach in Newport

NEWPORT, R.I. (WLNE) — After a seven year break, the Newport Invitational Lifeguard Tournament returned to Easton’s Beach on Wednesday.

“I think its just great to see the competition from all these beaches competing against each other, there’s, you know, no grand prize or anything, its just really friendly competition,” Easton’s Beach Manager David Vieira said. 

Lifeguards traveled from as far as New York and New Jersey to compete in various events, including challenges with row boats and five-man rescues.

“It’s great to see other beaches come out, and we’re all just good to get the crew together, competing with each other, so, you know, its just a lot of fun,” Easton’s Beach lifeguard Dylan Gourlay said. 

“Good friendly competition, its something to kinda look forward to and train for, its something to do throughout the year,” Easton’s Beach lifeguard Skip Holmes said.

The tournament was an opportunity to showcase what these lifeguards train for every day – like Holmes and Gourlay, who are both classmates at Roger Williams University and lifeguards.

“We do daily workouts where we are doing stuff that is similar to this, or events that are just the same as we are doing here, of course its a little bit different, but for the most part relatively the same,” Holmes said.

“At Easton’s Beach, they train all year for these events, they train everyday for various rescues that they may have to do, so this is really a way for them to showcase what they work on all season long,” Vieira said.