Tryouts for 25 coveted lifeguard positions drew 80 hopefuls Friday, when the city’s Ocean Safety and Lifeguard Services Division put potential recruits through a grueling physical test in the waters off Ala Moana Regional Park.

Four waves of 20 people each ran through the paces of sprinting up and down the beach park before jumping into the water to show they were up to the task.

This class of 25 recruits will be one of largest ever, and Chief of Ocean Safety John Titchen said he was pleased that so many turned out for the opportunity to serve as city lifeguards.

“We’re very encouraged by what we see. There’s a lot of employers that are struggling to find people right now,” he said. “We feel very, very good, really stoked on what we’ve seen this morning. People are prepared; they know what they’re getting into.”

One reason for the large recruit class is that Titchen is trying to capitalize on high public support right now for Ocean Safety, saying that during the pandemic when everything was closed except beach access to the ocean, many people saw how important it was to have the right staffing.

“That really put a spotlight on us. … Our caseload didn’t drop, even without visitors. We had residents take their place,” he said.

Another reason for the large recruit class is the demand on Ocean Safety to do more work as the division tries to manage extended hours — providing lifeguard coverage around Oahu from dawn to dusk.

“It’s in response to a law passed, requiring us to do a dawn-to-dusk program,” Titchen said. “We’re steadily increasing our coverage. Unfortunately, it’s not something we could have done overnight.”

One of the people at Friday’s tryouts was Carlos Diaz, who said he trained every day after registering Dec. 17 to complete the physical test, which included timed sprints, a 1,000-yard run and swim, and a 400-yard surfboard rescue.

“I grew up as a water boy all my life, playing water polo, swimming in college, high school, middle school,” Diaz said. “I told myself, Why not make a living off this thing and just look into a career like ocean safety?”

Although Diaz thought he underestimated the difficulty of the surfboard paddle-out, his training paid off. He finished first in the tryouts.

“I thought it was a great opportunity. I’m dedicated to this job,” he said.

The next step for those who made it past Friday is a safety test and CPR training on Monday at Hanauma Bay.

The 25 new recruits will be contract employees who will be required to work at least three days a week but will likely take more shifts. Some will also fill any vacant positions, although Titchen said Ocean Safety employees do not typically leave their jobs, other than a few instances of workers transferring to the Fire Department, moving back to the mainland or retiring.

Ocean Safety is also adding a few more full-time positions in the next fiscal year, and will ask the city administration and the Honolulu City Council for the funding for that during the budgeting process.

Like many of the city’s first responders, lifeguards have also recently been in short supply due to COVID- 19 infection or exposure. So far, the highest number of employees who have been out due to COVID-19 is 21 out of about 250.

“It does mean sometimes we have had to close a (lifeguard) tower,” Titchen said.

Even without COVID-19 limiting staff, sometimes Ocean Safety has had to close towers to allow for the operation of mobile units. However, COVID-19 staffing issues have compounded the problem.

“When we close a tower, we are very careful about putting the alert out via hnl.info,” he said.

“Then we say the next nearest beach that has a tower. And also of course, call 911 if you need assistance, and there will be mobile coverage to respond.”

Ideally, Titchen said he would want about 300 positions to have enough lifeguards to fully staff vital towers and to have enough mobile units to cover the rest of Oahu’s beaches.

A proposed City Charter amendment introduced by Council member Heidi Tsuneyoshi would make Ocean Safety its own department. Currently, it is housed in the Department of Emergency Services, which also houses Emergency Medical Services ambulances.

Titchen said if Ocean Safety becomes its own department, there would be a commission to provide oversight, much like the Police and Fire departments.

“I think it makes for better accountability and transparency,” he said.

Also, he pointed out that EMS and Ocean Safety have very different functions.

To be put on the election ballot, a charter amendment must be approved by a supermajority of at least six of nine Council members. From there the amendment must win at least 50% of the Oahu ballots cast to pass.

The resolution to put the question on the ballot last had a full Council reading in October. EMS also submitted testimony in support of the measure.