10/31/2025
To our family,
As we reflect on the end of our 20th Season of Beach Safety in South Walton this year, we want to take a moment to say thank you to all of you who supported our 2025 Junior Lifeguard Program.
Juniors can appear from the outside looking in like a fun day at the beach, but we like to say this is not your average summer camp. We push our Juniors to be the best versions of themselves that they can be. We know that holding a high standard for physical fitness, competition, and public safety means it will take a special group of parents and children to make the program truly successful on the beach.
Without hesitation, you exceed our expectations every year. Having invested families like the ones we are fortunate to have gives us the chance to share our passion for open water safety and our mission to build a surf rescue-focused culture within the community.
We even witness your investment growing deeper each summer as you enroll additional children into the program and create an entire summer break around being a part of Juniors. This in turn leads to an immeasurable impact we can have in terms of rip current education and drowning prevention.
It’s especially meaningful to see even the most timid of Juniors find a new sense of self on the beach. While they may show up on Day 1 feeling afraid of what’s to come, they leave on the final day as a stronger, better educated version of themselves. They demonstrate a respect for the open water at such an early age that many adults around the world can only dream of having.
We are confident through each lesson shared- and each burpee or push up doled out- that we are creating something incredibly special in South Walton. The sweetest fruits of this program are also starting to grow this year into full form- We had a total of 9 former Juniors on our beaches serving the community in a professional capacity in 2025. This is one of the most significant accomplishments for us as instructors in our entire careers.
Whether you have one child who was a part of the 2025 program or a half dozen of them- talk about a sibling rivalry!- we can’t say thank you enough for spending your summer with us. We are looking forward to the off-season to come, where we will work on making next year’s program even better than it was before.
While our page may be quiet for now, trust us when we say we'll be back with more in 2026!
All our love and best wishes,
Your SWFD Juniors Team
