CITY FOCUS:

The Huntington Beach Marine Safety Division is having its annual lifeguard tryouts Sunday morning, but division Chief Kyle Lindo said this year’s turnout will be hard to predict. After all, it’s the only time local lifeguards have had their own TV show.

The TruTV hit show “Ocean Force: Huntington Beach, OC” might bring a lot of people who wouldn’t otherwise show, Lindo said. That’s a double-edged sword, because some might not be up to the challenge, he said.

“When ‘Baywatch’ was popular people would watch and think, ‘Wow, I could be a lifeguard,’” he said. “Something like that could increase the number who show up, and it could add a number of people that maybe aren’t qualified or aren’t prepared to do a long ocean swim.”

It’s a tough regimen, one aimed solely at winnowing the field down on raw swimming ability, Lindo said. That’s why contestants must go through a 1,000-yard ocean swim, a 500-yard ocean swim and a 1,500-yard mixed event with swimming and running, all in relatively quick succession.

Anywhere from 60 to 90 tryouts show up on an average year, with about 35 moving on to training, which Lindo called a “boot camp” for future lifeguards. About 15 people then sign contracts.

Prevailing conditions are something lifeguards have to adapt to, so a big swell or cold water could make everyone’s day a lot harder, Lindo said. None of the requirements are eased when that happens.

“If you’re a lifeguard in a tower and there’s big surf you can’t say, ‘Oh, the waves are a little too big, the water’s a little too cold,’” he said.

As a result, it might be a bit too tough for people without enough swimming experience, he said.

Nearly everyone who makes the cut has experience on a swim team in school, and many have been junior lifeguards.

What happens when you’re not so experienced?

“We end up rescuing people that are trying to be lifeguards,” Lindo said. “Obviously those people don’t move on to the training process.”

Tryouts will be at 8 a.m. Sunday at lifeguard headquarters, 103 Pacific Coast Hwy.

Applications can be picked up there or online at www.surfcity-hb.org/jobs. For more information, call (714) 374-1752.