*The Indiana Gazette, May 13, 2018

Scott “Bick” Murphy got his start in swimming at the Mack Park pool.

“My mother would drop me off for swim lessons and that’s where all the hometown lineage started,” he said. “My first swim instructors, during the cold months of late May and early June, were Sherri Widowson and Becky Holsinger. After many laps, instruction and summer days at the pool, I automatically became a fish, easily spending four to six hours a day (there).”

Murphy further developed his skills at the YMCA of Indiana County.
“I went to the YMCA and started swimming competitively around my freshman year in high school,” he said. “Thanks to folks like Ron Nelson, Dave Watkins and others that helped out with the swim team, I began to forge my way as a competitive swimmer — and sometimes diver.”

Murphy went on to set records in swimming at Indiana High School, where he was the school’s first PIAA qualifier.

“We started the swim team I believe my sophomore year with the help of a local parent, Jim Gordon Sr., whose son also was a swimmer,” he said. “After much deliberation and persuading with the powers that be, we established the origination of the Indiana swim team.

​“My first two years, I believe I set two district records and went on to the state championships in State College.”

Murphy later swam at IUP, where he achieved All-America status in 1980. He also was a two-time All-East selection on the water polo club team.

“Our first All-American (swimming) experience was in Michigan,” he said. “We had an assistant coach (Gordon Miller) take us there in the depths of winter (March) in blowing snow and crazy conditions. Our top swimmer at the time, Dan Deacon, ended up winning the 200-yard backstroke and was national champion.

“We all shaved our heads … we swam out of our minds and ended up in finals and thus an All-America berth. I always took things in stride and didn’t expect a particular outcome, but I’ll have to say the All-American honor at that age was pretty cool.”

Murphy, also a champion rower, runner and lifeguard currently living in Cape May, N.J., will return to his roots Sunday, May 20, to be inducted into the Indiana County Sports Hall of Fame. The 35th annual banquet gets underway at 5:30 p.m. at the Rustic Lodge.

Joining Murphy in the Class of 2018 are Bill Anderson, John Burda, Eric Craig, Owen Dougherty Jr., Steve Mizerak, Jerry Page and Norman “Huey” Whitesel.

“Personally, I have known 33 of the past inductees, either as mentors, teammates, teachers, administrators and/or friends,” Murphy said. “Based on my accomplishments, I am incredibly humbled for the recognition within the company, and feel that my accomplishments are far from par with regard to their contributions.

“I will say that being from Indiana, and understanding what the community offered me in the years of my pursuits, I am thrilled about the recognition. I can’t think of a better way to thank everyone responsible for this distinguished honor.”

After earning his master’s degree at IUP, Murphy was hired to teach, coach and direct the aquatics program at Emory University in Atlanta.

In 28 years at Emory, Murphy coached water polo, cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field, individual tri-athletes and the Masters swimming program.

Since 1980, he has been training and certifying lifeguards in New Jersey.

“I’ve known Bick for a number of years,” said Indiana native Bob Ogoreuc, a 2008 hall of fame inductee who is an assistant professor at Slippery Rock University, where he also serves as aquatics director.

“We did work aquatics together. We worked on beach patrol together for a number of years. We’ve been lifelong friends. He’s just a great all-around athlete, from swimming to running to triathlons. He was one of the premier lifeguard competitors in the country.

“It’s great to see that he is getting honored with the hall of fame.”

Murphy has competed in marathons in Boston, Atlanta, Charlotte, N.C., and Washington, D.C. He finished fourth out of 1,000 runners at a marathon in Florida in 1999, and the race qualified him for Ironman Triathlon World Championship in Hawaii. He finished 600th out of 1,500 finishers.

Overall, he has captured 52 beach competitions. And he participated in the Maui 9-mile relay international championship, where his team finished fourth.

“The fact that Bick was so successful in swimming, running and rowing is quite an accomplishment,” said Vince Celtnieks, the former IUP soccer coach who befriended Murphy when he was in college. “To have the ability to do all three of those together, and do them all well, is very impressive.

“Plus, he’s a decent guy. He’s not an egomaniac. He did things the right way.”

Murphy has won numerous awards for coaching and volunteering, including Atlanta American Red Cross Volunteer of the Year and organizer for Olympic swimming, diving and synchronized swimming for the 1996 Games. He also was named coach of the year at Emory and taught at The Aquatic School and Institute in Pennsylvania, Texas and California.

Murphy also served as a contributor on pool design to the 1996 Olympic committee in Atlanta, where he was living at the time.

“The Olympic experience was epic,” Murphy said. “My task was to investigate all possible venues, sites, accessibility and past venues for Olympic participation in swimming and diving, synchronized swimming and water polo.

​“We received the bid. Further work went through 1995, with pre-Olympic events and showcase competition that allowed many nations to take their first look at the Olympic City."

How has the beach patrol impacted your life?
Taught me to go big or don't go at all. It was a job of self discipline, vigilance, and required superior fitness and a job that required at times very quick thinking. ​

From The Leader: of the Wildwoods - Feb 23, 2018

Julianna Roche, a senior at Wildwood Catholic High School, has received the inaugural Award for Excellence at the annual Student Leadership on Development at the United Nations.
This award was given in recognition of her dedication, leadership and longevity in this annual youth conference. No other secondary school student has been a leader in this conference from grade 9 through grade 12.

Beginning in 2019, this award will be known as The Julianna Roche - Student Leadership Conference on Development Award at the UN for Excellence.

We are thrilled to highlight our first female alum, Cliona O'Connor! This spotlight is special, as Cliona wrote to us from across the pond in her native Ireland. As a guard in the late 90's, Cliona left her mark as one of the top female athletes in South Jersey. She was a member of the women's surf dash team as well as an exceptional paddler. We are happy that Cliona has shared with us some of her best memories with the Wildwood Crest Beach Patrol!

What made you join the beach patrol?
I worked as a beach guard in Cork in Ireland and a fellow guard had come to the Crest previously - it sounded so great that I had to check it out with my best friend Steph.

​What are some of your best memories from your years with the WCBP?
Winning our 1st surf dash in the Wildwood Women's Tournament in 1998 was a blast. And winning again the following year, as well as my individual paddle board event was icing on the cake. I have so many great memories from my 3 years on WCBP - the best one's really are the day to day fun we had working out & sitting up in that glorious NJ sunshine. Those burgers from the Alumni BBQ were something to remember too! Followed by those epic brownies from Le Bus.

The lessons and values of the beach patrol have a special way of sticking with you once  life has forced you in another direction. That notion holds true with alumnus, Skip Flanagan. After working for the WCBP for six summers, Skip dedicated himself to a career in education and coaching. While earning a Ph.D, Skip studied at some of the most prestigious universities in the country. Presently, Skip serves both as the Dean and Head Lacrosse Coach of the esteemed Avon Old Farms School in Avon, CT. Aside from mentoring countless students over the years, Skip has also built his lacrosse program into a national powerhouse that is routinely ranked among the top 25 high schools in the country. 

Thousands of lifeguards have served the beach in Wildwood Crest, but it takes a certain kind of person to leave a lasting legacy like the one left by Ronnie Ayres. Having worked in the three different decades, Ron was able to make an impact on the beach patrol and the countless number of guards he worked with along the way. We are happy to be able to share with you some of Ronnie's stories from his time on the beach as well as the exciting life experiences he's had after the Crest. 

What made you join the beach patrol?
Temple University Swim Coach, Tom Popdan said it would be a good way to get in shape for the college season. 

What are some of your best memories from your years with the WCBP?
Training for the events, swimming, paddling, rowing and the time spent on the water. The camaraderie with the guards and the cast of characters that have worn the orange and blue.

Tell us about your life after the beach.
From ‘86 to ‘89, working the beach flowed perfectly with college and after the ‘89 summer I moved to Encinitas in Southern California and was fortunate to grab a Lieutenant position with the Encinitas Lifeguard Service. Protecting the Encinitas Beaches on 24 hour call year round included all the water in the city. So besides large surf rescues and cliff falls and boating emergencies, we were also responsible for the rivers which would occasionally flood and you know people love to try to drive across flooded rivers.

Lots of sketchy action in those days, with some highlights being jumping out of a Coast Guard helicopter into the ocean and a river rescue where I launched off the roof of a fire truck that put me in position to save 2 people standing on the roof of their pickup in a flash flood. In 1991 we were the first the agency in California to utilize wave runners for rescue scenarios and trained with the Hawaiian Lifeguards who had just begun to implement them. But after a couple years, I decided to move back East and found a situation that put me back on the beach patrol for a few more years.

After the summer of '97 I moved to Maui and found my skills were needed in the restaurant and wine industry on the island. Working for some of the most iconic spots in Hawaii, Roy's and Mama's Fish House as Wine Buyer and sommelier being the most notable stints. Evening schedules left the daytime open for time in the water and exploring the beautiful island of Maui.

I quickly became involved with racing Outrigger Canoes with a couple of the notorious canoe clubs on Maui and training for and racing in the World Championship race, 42 miles from Molokai to Oahu became an obsession. Becoming familiar with the Hawaiian Islands from a seat in an Outrigger Canoe is impossible to describe. I was fortunate to have teammates and friends around me who had the same passion for adventure and between surfing and racing canoes in the islands I learned a lot real fast.

In 2007, I took a year away from the food and beverage scene to work on a performance sailing catamaran which finally satisfied one of the reasons I moved to the islands. But again came the itch to make a change and after “One More Summer” on the Crest beach patrol in 2008, this time it was Lake Tahoe in Northern California.

It was an exciting time and in 2010, as co-owner, I  opened a Cafe/ Standup Paddleboard rental and retail shop on the water in North Lake Tahoe called Watermans Landing. We developed programs that I wanted to imitate the Junior Lifeguard programs I knew from the Crest Beach and it worked. We became a headquarters for paddling in Tahoe, bought our own outrigger canoe, started the Junior Waterman program and built a great seasonal business that still kills it!

At that same time I began racing Standup Paddleboards and aligned with the brand, Tahoe SUP, first as a sponsored racer but I also quickly became an employee, getting involved with the marketing efforts.  Writing copy, content and running social media, grew into helping direct the brands image and sales. The sport was pretty new and Tahoe SUP had introduced the first boards built specifically for touring and paddling longer distances as the the industry had only seen oversized surfboards till then.  
The racing scene got me traveling around the country, representing the brand and supporting our growing dealer base.  In 2012 we developed a marketing concept called EXPLORE Project, which myself and an a couple other team members traveled to numerous paddling destinations with film crews and made short films about the adventure and the locations. To say the least, it was a ton of fun, paddling new zones, contributing to the production of the projects, writing stories about the trips for industry magazines and meeting people from all over the place.

Over this past year, I have been spending more time on the East Coast, closer to home and it's been great to be around my old friends and of course, spending time in the Crest around my travel. You might have seen the LXV Outdoor sprinter van I frequently drive, parked around the island.  LXV is the parent company now for the 3 paddle board brands, Tahoe SUP, KM Hawaii,  and Fish Stalker.

How has the beach patrol impacted your life?
So many ways. But one for sure is having an understanding of life threatening moments and having the ability to do something about it. It has come in handy many times over, in the ocean and out.
​
It was always fun to come back to the beach patrol and jump right into the lifeguard race scene.  The level of the athletes within the Crest beach alone always created an intense but friendly environment of competition.  With the likes of Bic Murphy, Joe Maloy, Terry McGovern, John Maloy and many more, the Crest was always considered a contender on any Friday night race in South Jersey. Putting in the time on the water to prepare for rowing, surf dashing, paddling and swimming races is always what I miss most about guarding.

The friendships I have made there will last my whole life.

What advice would you give a young guard today?
Absorb as much knowledge as you can from veteran guards and keep your eyes on the water. It also has much to teach you.

Dependable, courageous, humble, and diligent. These are some of the qualities that the Wildwood Crest Beach Patrol looks for in their candidates each year. Alumnus, Matthew Donahue was a guard that optimized what it meant to serve on the beach. He has taken valuable lessons learned during his years with the WCBP and has applied them to his life after the Crest. We are excited that Matthew has been so kind as to share some of his experiences from his time as a Wildwood Crest lifeguard.

​

Video courtesy of Kip Brazie Photography

The ocean is a majestic, powerful and ever changing element, full of beauty and wonder. We find peace in its calmness and can be humbled by the energy and strength it can display. Living near the ocean fosters a bond and familiarity and can provide a never ending education about water conditions. Enjoying water sports on the ocean deepens the connection to nature and also develops a deep respect for the unpredictable possibilities. Committed surfers, sailors, fisherman, paddlers and others focus a vast amount of attention on the ebb and flow of the tides, wave size predictions, strength and direction of the wind, even phases of the moon to make decisions on reaping benefits of what the ocean has to offer. Ocean knowledge can only be gained with experience. The elite level of these activities will surely chalk up their understanding to time in, on or around the water.
Then there are those that work professionally with the ocean as their office. This develops yet a higher level understanding and ability to identify situations.  There is a glaringly obvious sixth sense to anticipate probable outcomes and react accordingly. In the position of a seasoned ocean lifeguard this skill plays a most critical role.

DUTY CALLS
In this video, one of our ambassadors, Tim Capra, a 22 year ocean rescue veteran and off duty lieutenant with the Vero Beach Lifeguards, rescues two people from a rip current while enjoying an evening at the beach with his family.

While being filmed for a short interview to raise awareness for the upcoming Earth Day beach cleanup by Surf City surf shop owner, Kip Brazie, Capra sees a rip current developing near some bathers.  As he moves closer to the water, the bathers are swept into deeper water where they can no longer stand and Capra hits the water in a full sprint with his daughter’s small foam surfboard.

​As he approaches the victims, who now have been sucked out beyond the breaking waves, a fully blown rip current has clearly formed.  Rip currents are more common during larger surf episodes but can flash at anytime without warning.  They are primarily caused by water that rushes back out to sea through a gap in a sandbar, creating a river type flow that even a strong swimmer could not swim directly into.

Once Capra has the victims holding onto the board, he makes his way back towards shore and into shallow water. The quick actions of Capra and his ability to not only see the developing danger but simultaneously identify that the non-swimmers were unaware of what was happening, leaves this story with a happy ending.

SWIM NEAR A LIFEGUARD
The United States Lifesaving Association offers these tips to avoid and survive rip currents:
Learn how to swim!

• Never swim alone.
• Be cautious at all times, especially when swimming at unguarded beaches. If in doubt, don’t go out!
• Whenever possible, swim at a lifeguard protected beach.
• Obey all instructions and orders from lifeguards.
• If caught in a rip current, remain calm to conserve energy and think clearly.
• Don’t fight the current. Swim out of the current in a direction following the shoreline. When out of the current, swim towards shore.
• If you are unable to swim out of the rip current, float or calmly tread water. When out of the current, swim towards shore.
• When unable to reach shore, draw attention to yourself: face the shore, wave your arms, and yell for help.

If you see someone in trouble, get help from a lifeguard. If a lifeguard is not available, have someone call 9-1-1 . Throw the rip current victim something that floats and yell instructions on how to escape. Remember, many people drown while trying to save someone else from a rip current.

The primary safety devices for Standup Paddle Boarding are the use of a leash to connect yourself to your board and a Coast Guard certified Personal Floatation Device (PFD).  For some great info on what type of PFD is right for you, check out this video from Tahoe SUP dealer Big Winds in Hood River Oregon.

By Ronnie Posted March 31, 2017 in SUP Lifestyle
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To say that alumnus, Dennis Caponigro has lived a pretty incredible life would be an understatement. The former WCBP lifeguard's story takes us from the beach on Columbine Rd. to the Main Line, to the Marine Corp, and eventually a life on the Left Coast.