Pier pressure: Would you jump off the Balboa Pier for a cause?

Bradford McNaughton of Bakersfield backflips off the Balboa Pier during a fundraiser for the Ben Carlson Memorial & Scholarship Foundation on Saturday, July 20, 2024. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Contributing Photographer)

By Laylan Connelly | [email protected] | Orange County Register

PUBLISHED: July 20, 2024 at 10:11 p.m.

On any other day, jumping off one of the area’s piers into the ocean could earn you a fine – or even handcuffs.

But a handful of donors got the thrill of a lifetime when they took the plunge off the Balboa Pier Saturday afternoon, a pier jump that was more than just for fun, but for a good cause.

An estimated 70 people paid $250 to do the pier plunge, funds that benefit the Ben Carlson Scholarship and Memorial Foundation. The money will help give scholarships to 20 junior guards in need next summer, said Gary Conwell, board member for the foundation and lifeguard training captain.

Ashley Clark of Newport Beach jumps from the Balboa Pier during a fundraiser for the Ben Carlson Memorial & Scholarship Foundation on Saturday, July 20, 2024. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Contributing Photographer)

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Each year, junior lifeguards up and down the coast get the opportunity to do the pier jumps, now their parents can too. Pier jumpers also included council members and other dignitaries who signed on for the experience.

“Parents see the kids jump and they get kind of jealous,” Conwell said. “Now the parents get to join in and have some fun.”

The Ben Carlson nonprofit formed 10 years ago following the death of Newport Beach lifeguard Ben Carlson during a rescue in big surf on a busy Fourth of July holiday weekend.

Family, friends and fellow lifeguards have raise money throughout the years for the nonprofit to give back to various initiatives, including scholarships, equipment for lifeguards locally and abroad, training and education to help combat drowning dangers.

It’s the second year the foundation has held the pier jump fundraiser; the first year, at $500 a pop, went toward the final push to get the new junior lifeguard building just south of the Balboa Pier complete.

“It’s a cool event, it supports providing scholarships for junior guards and benefits the foundation, and gets people involved in the community,” Conwell said.

Lifeguards and volunteers were on hand to make sure the jumpers got back to shore safely.

“The biggest thing we’re worried about is safety,” Conwell emphasized, “whether it’s a junior lifeguard or adult, we go over the dos and don’ts of how to do it safely.”