Are you 15 or older and looking for a great summer job or a challenging career? American Red Cross Lifeguarding is the best place to start! Lifeguarding can put you on the path to exciting opportunities. You could be part of a team that saves a life!

Colleges and employers look for applicants who can deal effectively with people, who have a take charge attitude and who are willing to work to develop new skills.

Prerequisites:

• Minimum age 15
• Swim 300 yards continuously
• Starting in the water, swim 20 yards using front crawl or breaststroke, surface dive 7-10 feet, retrieve a 10 pound object, return to the surface, swim 20 yards back to the starting point with the object and exit the water without using a ladder or steps, within 1 minute, 40 seconds.

Additional Waterfront Prerequisites:

• Swim 550 yards (about 500 meters) continuously.
• Swim 5 yards, submerge and retrieve three dive rings placed 5 yards apart in 4-7 feet of water, resurface and swim 5 yards to the side of the pool.

What You Will Learn

American Red Cross lifeguard training is both challenging and rewarding. Through classroom and hands-on practice, you'll:

Additional Waterfront Learning Objectives

• Describe conditions that affect surveillance at a waterfront.
• Describe and demonstrate how to perform the skills used in special rescue situations, such as missing person procedures and cold-water rescue.
• Demonstrate how to perform water-specific rescue skills for a waterfront facility. 

Additional Waterpark Learning Objectives

• Understand the conditions that affect surveillance at a waterpark.
• Understand and be able to explain safety rules and considerations at waterparks.
• Demonstrate how to perform specific water rescue skills for a waterpark facility.

Enroll today for American Red Cross Lifeguarding at an aquatics facility near you. Course lengths vary from 30 to 37 hours and options include:

• Lifeguarding - for lifeguards working at traditional pools. Course length is 31.25 hours, including precourse session.
• Waterfront Lifeguarding - for lifeguards at non-surf, open-water environments such as lakes and rivers, as well as traditional pools. Course length is37 hours, including the precourse session.
• Waterpark Lifeguarding - for lifeguards at waterparks, multi-attraction facilities and traditional pools. Course length is 33.25 hours, including the precourse session.
• Shallow Water Attendant - for lifeguards that will work only in areas with water attractions up to four feet deep. Course length 30.5 hours, including the precourse session.

Additional course options found at your local aquatic facility include:

• GuardStart: Lifeguarding Tomorrow (for those 11-14 years old)
• Lifeguard Management (designed for aquatic managers and lifeguard supervisors)

Certification Requirements:

• Attend and participate in all course sessions;
• Successfully perform all required skills;
• Successfully complete three final skill scenarios; and
• Pass the written exam with a score of 80 percent or better on each section

Upon successful completion of this course, participants will receive a Lifeguard Training and First Aid Certificate, valid for 3 years and a CPR & AED for the Professional Rescuer Certificate, valid for 1 year.

For more information, please call our Lifeguard Hotline: (262) 970-7443.

American Red Cross Learn-to-Swim courses offer something for everyone. Through a progressive, six-level instructional approach, participants learn a variety of strokes, includign the front crawl, back crawl, elementary backstroke, breastroke, sidestroke and butterfly. They are also introduced to a wide range of personal safety sills and diving techniques. Courses are fun and interactive with hands-on training. More advanced-level students refine their skills, learn the basics of springboard diving and how to incorporate swimming into a lifetime fitness plan.

Contact your local aquatics facility to enroll in any of the American Red Cross Learn-to-Swim courses, including:

Parent and Child Aquatics

Designed for children 6 months to 5 years of age, the program builds swimming readiness by emphasizing fun in the water. Parents and children participate in several guided sessions that help children learn elementary skills, including water entry, bubble blowing, front kicking, back floating, underwater exploration and more.

Level 1: Introduction to Water Skills

This introductory session helps participants feel comfortable in and around the water.

Level 2: Fundamental Aquatic Skills

Participants gain fundamental safety skills and an introduction to beginning swimming strokes.

Level 3: Stroke Development

The purpose of Level 3 is to build on the safety skills in Level 2 and adds additional deep water strokes.

Level 4: Stroke Improvement

Participants develop confidence in their deep water skills as well as work on coordination of learned strokes.

Level 5: Stroke Refinement

Level 5 builds endurance and fine tunes participants' strokes.

Level 6: Swimming and Skill Proficiency

This level is designed with options that may focus on preparing participants to join swim teams or enroll in more advanced courses, such as Water Safety Instructor and Lifeguard Training.

Duration: 36 hours

Duration: 40 hours

Fee: Call facility for details

 The new American Red Cross Learn-to-Swim classes provide instruction to help swimmers of all ages and abilities develop their swimming and water safety skills. It is designed to give students a positive learning experience.

Learn-to-Swim teaches aquatic and safety skills in a logical progression. The objective is to teach people to swim and to be safe in, on and around the water.

Skills are categorized in the following way:

• Water Entry and Exit
• Breath Control and Underwater Swimming
• Buoyancy
• Changing Direction and Position
• Treading
• Swimming on Front, Back and Side
• General and Personal Water Safety
• Helping Others

Purpose:

• Train instructor candidates to teach water safety, including the Basic Water Rescue course, six levels of the Learn to Swim and Parent and Child Aquatics.
• Expand on information on the American Red Cross Fundamentals of Instructor Training (FIT) course (included in 40 hours);
• Identify key elements and strategies for planning and preparing effective and safe swim lessons;
• Identify key class management principles, elements and strategies for planning, preparing, and conducting safe swim lessons;
• Describe the importance of effective observation for teaching and how to develop it;
• Observe swimming skills and accurately classify them and suggest appropriate interventions to improve them. 

Prerequisites:

• Be at least 16 years of age by the final scheduled session of the instructor course
• Successfully swim the following strokes consistent with the Stroke Performance Charts:
  • Front crawl - 25 yards
  • Back crawl - 25 yards
  • Breaststroke - 25 yards
  • Elementary backstroke - 25 yards
  • Sidestroke - 25 yards
  • Butterfly - 15 yards
• Maintain position on back for 1 minute in deep water (floating or sculling)
• Tread water for 1 minute.

Certification Requirements:

• Attend all class sessions;
• Complete all reading assignments;
• Participate in all activities;
• Successfully complete all practice-teaching assignments;
• Pass the final written exam with a minimum grade of 80 percent (40 correct answers out of 50 questions);
• Demonstrate maturity and responsibility throughout course.

Certificates Issued & Validity Period:

Authorization is for 2 calendar years. All authorizations expire on December 31. Initial authorization may be less or more depending on when training is completed.

Additional classes will be added to the website as available and listed on the Aquatic Instructor Hotline (262) 970-7413.

Course Sections