Irvine isn’t the place you think of when someone mentions junior lifeguards. But a new water park at the Great Park is giving inland Orange County kids a unique place to learn water safety.
Camp Wild Rivers Junior Lifeguards is a one-week program for kids 6 to 13 years old at Wild Rivers Water Park.
Ella Larson learns how to jump in a pool with a rescue tube during Camp Wild Rivers Junior Lifeguards in Irvine, CA, on Tuesday, August 9, 2022. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Makenna Foy “rescues” Christian Marrero as they learn lifesaving skills in Shaka Bay during Camp Wild Rivers Junior Lifeguards in Irvine, CA, on Tuesday, August 9, 2022. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Campers ride Boro Bora Boomerango during Camp Wild Rivers Junior Lifeguards in Irvine, CA, on Tuesday, August 9, 2022. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Lifeguard Sofie Gibson teaches campers how to jump in a pool with a rescue tube during Camp Wild Rivers Junior Lifeguards in Irvine, CA, on Tuesday, August 9, 2022. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Campers ride Aquaconda during Camp Wild Rivers Junior Lifeguards in Irvine, CA, on Tuesday, August 9, 2022. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Campers learn lifesaving skills in Shaka Bay during Camp Wild Rivers Junior Lifeguards in Irvine, CA, on Tuesday, August 9, 2022. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Campers learn lifesaving skills in Shaka Bay during Camp Wild Rivers Junior Lifeguards in Irvine, CA, on Tuesday, August 9, 2022. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Lifeguard Sofie Gibson teaches campers how to jump in a pool with a rescue tube during Camp Wild Rivers Junior Lifeguards in Irvine, CA, on Tuesday, August 9, 2022. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Campers ride Aquaconda during Camp Wild Rivers Junior Lifeguards in Irvine, CA, on Tuesday, August 9, 2022. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Drew Berumen and Eleanor Gravitt practice rescues with a rescue tube during Camp Wild Rivers Junior Lifeguards in Irvine, CA, on Tuesday, August 9, 2022. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Campers sit along the edge of Shaka Bay during Camp Wild Rivers Junior Lifeguards in Irvine, CA, on Tuesday, August 9, 2022. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A lifeguard gives instruction to campers during Camp Wild Rivers Junior Lifeguards in Irvine, CA, on Tuesday, August 9, 2022. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Campers ride Aquaconda during Camp Wild Rivers Junior Lifeguards in Irvine, CA, on Tuesday, August 9, 2022. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Campers during Camp Wild Rivers Junior Lifeguards in Irvine, CA, on Tuesday, August 9, 2022. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Maddie Bergman talks to campers about using a rescue tube during Camp Wild Rivers Junior Lifeguards in Irvine, CA, on Tuesday, August 9, 2022. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Hours before the new water is open to the public, 134 campers — separated by age and clad in red rash guards — are using the park’s pools and lazy rivers to practice lifeguarding skills, from helping a person struggling in the water to basic CPR.
One of those campers was a smiling Sydney McLin, 8, who declared the camp was “awesome” and admitted her favorite part is “the hot dogs.”
To help someone struggling in the water, “you blow a long whistle, point at the person, and jump,” she said she learned from camp.
Wild Rivers Safety Manager Kendy Gioia said the half-day camp starts two hours before the park opens. However, when the rides do open to the public, the campers get two hours of guided park play on the attractions “where their counselors are pointing out what the lifeguards are doing and how the ride attendants are dispatching the rides … so they’re learning about how a water park operates.”
“The goal of the camp is to have a fun experience in a water park while learning some safety skills in the water,” said Gioia.
Camper Makailo Salazar, 13, said while he liked learning about how to help people, the main reason he wanted to go to the camp is because “it’s hot in the summer, and it’s fun to do some water stuff.”
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