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Fact Sheet: Waterfront Lifeguard |
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Purpose To teach participants the knowledge and skills needed to prevent and respond to aquatic emergencies both in a pool and at a waterfront environment. The course content and activities prepare participants to recognize and respond quickly and effectively to emergencies and prevent drownings and injuries.
Prerequisites - Minimum age of 15.
- Swim 550 yards (about 500 meters) 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.
- 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.
Learning Objectives - Understand the value of behaving in a professional manner.
- Learn how to identify behaviors of a swimmer, distressed swimmer and an active or passive drowning victim.
- Describe conditions that affect surveillance at a waterfront.
- Understand the components of an emergency action plan and how to activate it.
- Understand the general procedures for an emergency occurring in the water or on land.
- Demonstrate how to perform equipment-based rescues.
- 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.
- Learn how to provide first aid and how to care for breathing and cardiac emergencies.
- Learn how to recognize and care for possible head, neck or back injuries.
Length 37 hours (including the precourse session).
Certification Requirements - Attend all class sessions.
- Demonstrate competency in all required skills and activities.
- Demonstrate competency in the three final skill scenarios.
- Correctly answer at least 80 percent of the questions in the three sections of the final written exam.
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