Hampton Beach lifeguards captured the New England Lifesaving Championship for the eighth straight year, topping competitors from four states.
The July 29 event unfolded under gray skies and, later, a heavy afternoon downpour, but 67 lifeguards from Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Maine still joined 26 members of New Hampshire’s State Beach Patrol at Hampton Beach to compete and show off their lifesaving skills.
Running from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., the competition ended with Hampton taking first place overall and sweeping both the men’s and women’s divisions.
Chief Lifeguard Patrick Murphy said the results highlight the daily training Hampton Beach lifeguards undergo and their commitment to their core mission: keeping beachgoers safe.
Throughout the competition, lifeguards demonstrated the essential skills of their profession — running, swimming, paddling, rescuing and the conditioning required to respond quickly when lives are at risk.
Hampton guards take first in every major event
The day of competition started with a “two-mile soft-sand run,” Murphy said, and proceeded to a run and swim rescue, a paddle rescue and a surf rescue. All include victims in the water, he said, and the winner of each event is the guard who brings the victim safely back to shore first.
One of the most popular events of the day is the Iron Guard competition, Murphy said, which includes five exertions in a row: a run, a swim, a run, a paddle and a run.
“We won that one in both divisions,” Murphy said. “I think our women finished one through five in that event.”
Popular with the guards is an event titled the Hampton Classic, Murphy said, which includes a team of three in both the men’s and women’s divisions. The first team member runs 1.5 miles, he said, then tags the next member who swims half a mile, who tags the last member who paddles a mile. Again, Hampton’s guards won both divisions, Murphy said.
But in the end, he said, it isn’t about winning and losing, but about possessing the skills that guards must have to do their jobs. He thanked and congratulated every lifeguard who took part in the competition.
How Hampton Beach lifeguards stay ready to save lives
Lisa Martineau, marketing director of Hampton Beach Village District, said most people don’t realize it, but lifeguards spend hours everyday training in the skills they utilize to do their jobs. For all the lifeguards who take part, these competitions are about more than trophies, she said.
“Every event is another opportunity to sharpen the skills they may one day rely on to save someone’s life,” according to Martineau. “In the end, they’re all working toward the same finish line: making our beaches safer for everyone.”
Martineau often hears from visitors who’ve had positive interactions with Hampton Beach’s lifeguards. Recently, one woman wrote to the Village District to pass on her sincere thanks after a frightening experience in Hampton’s waters.
“She wrote she was swimming with her daughter and there was a flash rip current,” Martineau said. “In one moment, she was pulled out to sea. She knew what she was supposed to do — swim parallel to the beach — but it all happened so fast she panicked. Then, all of a sudden there were two lifeguards there to save her.”
Martineau said situations like that happen every day at Hampton Beach. Lifeguards, always alert and watching, spot someone struggling in the water, she said, and they run to swim or paddle out to rescue them and bring them back to safety.
Once on dry land, guards attend to the victims. Afterwards, the lifeguards resume their watch, she said, with no hoopla, no fanfare.
“It’s not about standing on a podium,” Martineau said. “It’s about being ready on the day someone needs them most. (Lifeguards) are calm under pressure. They are incredibly humble. They don’t seek recognition — but they certainly deserve it.”
2026 New England Lifesaving Championship official results
Men’s Division
Hampton – 59.5 pointsSalisbury – 18 pointsNauset – 8 pointsOgunquit – 8 points(Nauset won the tiebreaker.)
Women’s Division
Hampton – 69 pointsNauset – 16.5 pointsSalisbury – 10.5 points
Overall Team results
Hampton – 157 pointsNauset – 43.5 pointsSalisbury – 33.5 points
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald. Reporting by Angeljean Chiaramida, news@seacoastonline.com.
