REHOBOTH BEACH, Del. - More than 300 lifeguards from across the Mid-Atlantic region gathered in Rehoboth Beach on Tuesday to compete in the 2026 United States Lifesaving Association Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships, testing the skills they rely on to protect beachgoers each summer.
Lifeguards compete in a beach relay race.
While the competition featured fast-paced races and relays, organizers say every event is rooted in lifesaving techniques used during real emergencies.
Lifeguard-athletes from Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and West Virginia competed in events including a 2-kilometer beach run, beach relay, surf race, rescue race, landline rescue race, board rescue race, run-swim-run and beach flags.
Spectators lined the shore to watch the Mid-Atlantic Lifeguard Championship.
For local competitors, the regional championship is also a chance to compete alongside and against neighboring beach patrols before joining forces at the national level.
"It's all the beaches: Rehoboth, Dewey, Bethany, State Parks. It's all of us here competing against each other here. But knowing we're going to come together during the nationals, it's going to be awesome," said Nico Caceres, captain of the Rehoboth Beach Patrol. He joined the city's Junior Lifeguard program at age 10 and became a full member of the patrol in 2014 as a rookie.
Guards from across the region compete in challenges that mimic real life-saving practices.
Spectators said the competition highlighted the athleticism required to be an ocean lifeguard.
"You cannot deny the sheer physicality of these people. I think we don't realize until we come to something like this. These are true athletes," spectator Leanne Fredrick said.
Lifeguards celebrate after competing in the beach relay race.
The top finishers from the regional championships will advance to the United States Lifesaving Association National Championships next month. Sussex County's lifeguards will enter the national competition looking to defend back-to-back national championships.
