Zane Booth, a junior at Dos Pueblos High, has been chosen to the United States Lifesaving National Team for the 2018 Sanyo Bussan International Lifesaving Cup in Fukuoka, Japan on June 23-24.
Booth is one of 10 members (five men, five women) on the elite team. He was chosen from top lifesaving professionals throughout the country.
His selection comes after three years of training with the United States Lifesaving Association (USLA) Youth High Performance Squad and earning the 2017 National U19 Ironman, National U19 Board Race, National Open Taplin, and National Open Rescue Relay Gold Medals at the National Surf Lifesaving Championships in Daytona Beach, Fla.
He was named team captain for the USA National Lifesaving Youth Team in Mount Maunganui, New Zealand at the 2017 DHL International Surf Rescue Challenge.
Booth, 17, is a City of Santa Barbara Lifeguard and Junior Lifeguard Instructor, a member of the Dos Pueblos varsity swim team and Santa Barbara Swim Club.
Ben Brewer, also a City of Santa Barbara lifeguard, took a Gold and a Silver in the Ironman event at last year’s Sanyo Cup. Brewer this past winter earned swimming All-American honors for Cal Lutheran University. He is in his sophomore year.
The USA Team will meet up against International Teams from Australia, New Zealand, Great Britain, Japan, South Africa, and Hong Kong.
The Sanyo Bussan Lifesaving Cup is an invitational two-day test that includes both ocean and beach events.
Fukuoka is the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture and is situated on the northern shore of the island of Kyushu. Fukuoka is Japan’s fifth largest city, with a population of 1.5 million inhabitants, and acts as the gateway to western Japan and the Asia-Pacific region.