Tri, Tri Again

The Tri-Resorts Lifeguard Championships Have Made It This Far Somehow

After the beaches open and the ocean waters warm, the first true indicator that summer is truly underway is the beginning of the lifeguard racing season. Since the late-1940s, one of the most important races of the year for our local patrols is the Tri-Resort Lifeguard Championships.

The Tri-Resorts Lifeguard Championships are the third-oldest ocean lifeguarding competition in South Jersey. Beginning in 1947 as a contest between the beach patrols of Avalon, Sea Isle City and Stone Harbor, it has undergone changes throughout the past 74 years and has morphed into the championship we have today: an extremely competitive match between the beach patrols from Sea Isle City, Upper Township and Wildwood. During the mid- to late-1960s, the race also started being referred to as the Tri-Cities. Today, the names Tri-Resorts and Tri-Cities are used interchangeably.

1947-59

Throughout the summer of 1947, Joseph T. Mullray Sr., owner of the Puritan Hotel in Avalon, was toying with the idea of holding a lifeguard championship between the local communities of Avalon, Sea Isle City and Stone Harbor. Plans for the race finally came together and the race was set up in six days, featuring the beach patrols from the three resort towns.

There would be two events: a 1-mile boat race for two men, and a quarter-mile swim. For the swim, each team was represented by three swimmers.

The first Tri-Resort Lifeguard Championships were held in Avalon on Friday evening, Aug. 29, 1947.

Mullray donated the trophy to the swim winner, who happened to be Joseph T. Mullray Jr., of the Avalon Beach Patrol. Frank Keenan Sr. donated the 1-mile boat race trophy, won by John Gash and John Roberson of the Stone Harbor Beach Patrol. Stone Harbor earned the trophy for the winning team, donated by the Cape May County Times/Seven-Mile Beach Reporter newspaper.

The race continued with this format for two summers.

On July 27, 1949 a meeting was held to discuss the competition at the home of Sea Isle City Beach Patrol Captain John E. Wilsey. Also in attendance were Stone Harbor Captain Wilson Lear, and Don DeForrest of Avalon. The purpose of the meeting was to define the Tri-Resort Championship rules and add more events to allow more athletes to compete.

The three resorts of Sea Isle City, Stone Harbor and Avalon were close geographically, and the beach patrols were roughly the same size. The beach patrols had been friendly rivals for years, but the competition between them was always fierce. In fact, a few days after the meeting at Wilsey’s home, DeForrest (a former Sea Isle City lifeguard) would go on to win Avalon’s first South Jersey championship in swimming. Later that summer, he would be appointed captain of the Avalon Beach Patrol.

At the meeting, the three beach patrols agreed to 14 rules to govern the competition. The Tri-Resorts would also be the first time a surf relay race would be held in South Jersey lifeguard competition. This event would eventually come to be known as the surf dash or surf bash.

As guards were only allowed to compete in one event, this race now allowed 10 athletes to compete on behalf of their patrols. Coaching became an important aspect, as each individual needed to be strategically placed to ensure best possible use.

In 1951, the Avalon Beach Patrol withdrew from the competition. The championships were not held again until the summer of 1960. Through those years, the beach patrols continued to compete in the Margate Memorials and South Jersey Championships. During that time, the Sea Isle City Beach Patrol saw the most successes in competition, with Bill Feaster winning the Margate singles trophy in 1959, and Hugh Bowen and Dale Bonsall winning the Margate doubles title in 1958, and the South Jersey Championships in 1960.

1960-69

At the urging of Sea Isle’s Wilsey, a meeting was held during the summer of 1960 between the three beach patrol chiefs with the intent of reviving the Tri-Resorts. After a hiatus of nine summers, the race again took place on the evening of Friday, Sept. 2, 1960 in Sea Isle City. The captains again agreed on a four-event format: a 1-mile, two-man boat race; a quarter-mile team swim; a 1,000-foot single boat race; and a four-person surf dash relay. Each patrol could enter two teams in both boat races and the surf dash relay. In 1964, a fifth surf dasher was allowed on each team.

For the 1965 contest, a new “Iron Man” event was added. An individual athlete would complete a series of events: running, rowing and swimming. This event is identical to the SuperAthalon event now held yearly in Cape May.

Murray Wolf, the 1965 Tri-Resort singles rowing champion from Sea Isle City accepted the position of captain in Avalon for the 1966 summer season. He would soon set upon building an annual Tri-Resorts and South Jersey Championships contender.

The Sea Isle City Beach Patrol saw great success during the 1960s, winning eight team championships to one each for Avalon and Stone Harbor.

1970-79

In 1970, the Iron Man event was changed permanently to an Iron Man Relay. Rather than one athlete swimming, rowing and running, Iron Man teams now consisted of separate swimmers, rowers, and runners. With that exception, the race during the decade saw a time of great consistency. The overwhelming constant was the domination of the Avalon Beach Patrol in the team events. Avalon won every team title during the 1970s with the lone exception of 1976, which saw Sea Isle City victorious.

1980-89

The 1980s were a time of great turmoil for the Tri-Resort Championships. Early in the decade, competition mainly centered on the intense rivalry between the Avalon and Sea Isle City beach patrols.

By the summer of 1984, they had accused each other of having ineligible athletes compete for their respective patrols. Immediately before the 1984 race, the Avalon Beach Patrol withdrew from the competition. On truly short notice, the Ventnor City Beach Patrol was invited to compete. Ventnor City did very well, finishing ahead of Stone Harbor and just behind Sea Isle City for a strong second place. Although Stone Harbor had indicated that it was also considering withdrawing from the championship for 1985, a commitment was made by the original three beach patrols to get together and redefine the championship.

The meeting never took place, as the city fathers of Sea Isle City restructured their entire beach patrol. The newly appointed captain was not interested in any competition.

Due to the apathy of the original patrols, the race fell dormant. Although some type of competition was held, record-keeping became nonexistent. By 1985, the competing patrols reportedly were Cape May Point, Stone Harbor, and Upper Township. The location of the race rotated among those resorts. It is reported that these three beach patrols competed until the summer of 1994.

SICBP’s three-time doubles champions Sean Riley and Colin Corcoran.

1990-99

By the early 1990s the Tri-Resort races had completely lost their direction. In fact, by this time the race was not even placed on the South Jersey Lifeguard Chiefs Association’s list of sanctioned races. Media reporting was haphazard and incomplete. The Tri-Resorts were kept alive by the willingness of the beach patrols involved to get together and compete.

By 1994, the Cape May Point Beach Patrol was no longer competing in the championships. An invitation to the race was accepted by the North Wildwood Beach Patrol, making the three competing beach patrols North Wildwood, Upper Township and Stone Harbor. These three resorts continued the competition until the summer of 1999, when both original competitor Stone Harbor and the North Wildwood Beach Patrols indicated that they were no longer interested.

With an iron-willed commitment to keep the championship alive, Upper Township Beach Patrol Captain William Handley invited original competitor Sea Isle City and former competitor Cape May Point back to the race. At the end of the millennium, the lineup of competitors included Cape May Point, Sea Isle City, and Upper Township. This format continued until the summer of 2003.

2000-09

SICBP’s five-time champion Blake Trabuchi-Downey.

2003 was the last year that Cape May Point competed in the Tri-Resorts. The Wildwood Beach Patrol accepted an invitation to the race and began competing in the summer of 2004. These beach patrols have been competing to this day: Sea Isle City, Upper Township and Wildwood.

2010-21

The Tri-Resort Lifeguard Championships are extremely healthy once again. The beach patrol chiefs of Sea Isle City, Upper Township, and Wildwood have made a strong commitment to the race. Rivalries are being established, and the races again have meaning to the athletes.

Although the race was not held in 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions, excitement is already building for the 2021 race. The race will be hosted by Wildwood this summer and is scheduled to be held Aug. 1.

Photos courtesy of Tom McCann