It’s fall break for students. And these junior lifeguards aren’t sitting on the couch

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - For the first time, Honolulu Ocean Safety brought its junior lifeguard program to fall break.

“We give them that sense of safety and awareness.”

Honolulu Ocean Safety held their first fall session of their Junior Lifeguard program Thursday at Kaimana beach.

A day full of lifeguard training and ocean awareness that is usually only reserved for the summer.

“They look forward to it every summer and so for them to have another program in the middle of that and in the middle of school too, they’re really happy.” City lifeguard Jared Jovero told Hawaii News Now.

The free program is for keiki ages 12-17.

The clinic has run for many years and has become a staple for Hawaii’s beach-going youth, but there’s always room for newcomers.

“more than half of the kids here, this is their first time,” Jovero said. “So this is awesome because it’s reaching a lot more kids, so we anticipate to have more kids to join the program next year.”

Beyond a fun day at the beach, this program teaches keiki skills that could be life saving.

“These kids are at the beach and we can’t be everywhere,” Jovero said. “A lot of the times these kids are at beaches that are unguarded.”

“If I do go out, I know I can help myself and my friends and other people around me.” Participant Sophia Jovero said.

During the summer, the program is spread out through a week while the fall session is only one day. Despite the time constraints, they’re able to teach them the ropes.

“This is kind of like a crash course, but during the summer, the kids definitely get more practice.”

The next junior lifeguard program is set to run next summer.