Inter-Beach Lifeguard Competition Set for July 9 • Southampton, NY

Southampton Town Parks and Recreation officials announced today that the annual Mike Diveris Memorial Interbeach Lifeguard Competition will take place onThursday, July 9, 2026, at Ponquogue Beach in Hampton Bays.

Town lifeguards will compete in teams across seven challenging events, including a distance swim, distance run, four-man long board paddle relay, land line rescue, 4×100-meter relay, run-swim-run, and the ultra-competitive beach flags event.

Since 2019, the popular inter-beach competition has been named in honor of local lifeguarding legend Mike Diveris, who passed away on June 17 of that year. A Southampton Town lifeguard for more than three decades, Diveris was among the first to pass the grueling Suffolk County ocean certification test in 1970. In addition to his service as a lifeguard, he taught first and fourth grade at Hampton Bays Elementary School from 1971 to 2001 before joining the Hampton Bays High School social studies department. He also coached the Hampton Bays varsity football team to a league championship in 1987 and later coached in the Westhampton Beach School District. Lifeguarding colleagues honored his legacy with a commemorative bench and plaque overlooking Ponquogue Beach.

The competition traditionally serves as a precursor to the East Hampton Main Beach competition held later in July and the USLA National Lifeguard Championships in August. At the national event, Southampton, East Hampton, and Montauk lifeguards typically join together to compete as the Hampton Lifesaving Association.

WHAT: Mike Diveris Memorial Interbeach Lifeguard Competition

WHEN: Thursday, July 9, 2026, at 6:00 p.m.

WHERE: Ponquogue Beach, 276 Beach Road, Hampton Bays, New York