08/18/2026
Bringing national honors back to the beach! 🌊🏆 Galveston Island Beach Patrol’s Junior Guards and competitive team made an impressive showing at the USLA National Lifeguard Championships in Fort Lauderdale!
Their hard work builds more than strong athletes - it sharpens the rescue skills that help keep our beaches safe every day.
👏 Help us congratulate the team below, and read Chief Kirwin’s full column 👇
USLA Nationals Recap
By Chief Austin Kirwin, Galveston Island Beach Patrol
Last week the Galveston Island Beach Patrol competed in the United States Lifesaving Association's National Lifeguard Championships in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. This yearly event showcases both lifeguards and junior lifeguards in a series of events that directly relate to lifeguarding. It gives an opportunity for guards of all ages and across the entire country to show their dedication and commitment to saving lives in a competitive atmosphere.
The four-day competition had 18 different events including running, swimming, paddling, rowing and combinations of those disciplines. It includes multiple rescue races as well as both individual and team events.
This year’s competition brought together more than 1,200 competitors from 33 lifesaving agencies. Although Galveston had a smaller team this year, our junior guards and full-time guards delivered a strong performance. I am incredibly proud of our team!
Our Junior Guards really shined this year, with several standout performances against fields of more than 60 competitors in each age group.
Leading the way was Maddie Scott, who became a national champion with a first-place finish in the beach run. She also earned third in the surf swim relay and recorded three additional top five finishes.
Zoey Scott brought home second in the run-swim-run and third in the 2K beach run, along with two more top five finishes. Ryan Pryor earned third in the beach 2K run and teamed up with Henry Anderson for seventh-place finishes in both the board rescue and swim rescue races.
C**t Pryor finished fifth in the surf swim relay and eighth in the beach 2K run, adding two more top 10 finishes, while Houston Pryor also had a strong showing with an eighth-place finish in the beach 2K run.
With the level of competition they faced, our Junior Guards represented Galveston exceptionally well. One of the goals of our Junior Guard program is to develop the next generation of professional lifeguards, and performances like these show that our future is a bright one.
Our professional lifeguards also brought home some impressive results within their respective age groups. Loree Pryor led the group with second-place finishes in both the 2K beach run and 70-meter sprint, plus fourth-place finishes in beach flags, run-swim-run and the surf ski race. Penny Scott earned third in the run-swim-run, fourth in both the 2K beach run and 70-meter sprint, and fifth in beach flags. Melanie Hooper rounded out the podium finishes with third place in beach flags.
Throughout the summer, lifeguards train daily and compete on Sunday mornings to try and qualify for the competition team. This doesn't just build strong athletes. It pushes all our guards to train and hone their craft, which leaves them better equipped to handle the many emergencies we respond to throughout the summer. Please help me congratulate them.
See you on the Sand.
