The victim is thrashing in the deep frigid water, and it's up to me to save him.

Lifeguards don't actually run in slow motion
Once I've got a hold of him, I grab the rescue line and hold it up above the water and the lifeguard on the beach begins to reel us in. We zoom toward the shore like a human water-ski.

This is real-life lifeguard-drilling, a workout much more vigorous and far less bouncy than anything I've ever seen on Baywatch.

This sturdy crew of guards on Saltaire, Fire Island, a beach community off the coast of Long Island, N.Y., goes through a rigorous exam where each member must carry a person to shore and participate in several constellations of rescues, along with an endurance swim and beach safety tests.

Every morning, they practice different parts of the test …show more content…
"Sometimes you feel like puking when you finish drilling," lifeguard Bill Kentrup told me as I sat on the beach recovering.

Playing the victim
Drilling can turn into a competitive sport. This week, beginning Wednesday, the Great Lakes Professional Lifeguard Games has been taking place on Montrose Beach in Chicago. The competition features co-ed rescues, paddle board races, competitive runs and distance swims, a tug-of-war and "Ironman" multi-skill competitions. A similar event is being held for junior lifeguards (under 18) next Wednesday, July 26, on the beaches of Belmar, N.J.

But you don't need to enter one of these competitions to see if you have what it takes. (In fact, you can't; you have to be a lifeguard to compete). To test your mettle, you can try the Red Cross lifeguard exam, which requires you to be over 15, tread water for two minutes using only your legs, swim 500 yards continuously using the crawl stroke, breast stroke and side stroke and retrieve a 10-lb. object from a depth of 7 feet and return it to the surface, according to an American Red Cross spokesperson.

A real lifeguard drill is a challenging