NARRAGANSETT, R.I. (WPRI) — The Rhode Island lifeguard community is mourning the loss of one of its own.

Dave Hoffer, the longtime head of the State Lifeguard Tournament, died Saturday morning. He was 59.

Hoffer, who served in that role for decades, had been battling terminal cancer.

Known as "The Hoff" among friends, he still attended this year's games to cheer on his former teammates and the next generation of lifeguards. This was the first year he didn't participate since he became a lifeguard in the 1980s.

Hoffer started the "Old Timer Legends Team" for the lifeguards like him who weren't quite ready to hang up their whistles.

Senior lifeguard Dave Pezzullo said Hoffer participated in more individual events than any other lifeguard in the history of the tournament.

Even after his

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