Life Guards
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Life Guards
The Life Guard Course is designed to provide participants with the training, knowledge, and skills needed to prevent and respond to aquatic emergencies. The course content and activities prepare participants to recognize and respond quickly and effectively to emergencies and injuries. Participants will be trained as professional rescuers to recognize several life-threatening emergencies, effectively perform adult, child, and infant CPR, two-person CPR, use an Automated External Defibrillator, and use the Bag-Valve-Mask. Additional skills will include treating for shock, relieving choking in a safe, timely and effective manner, bleeding control, fractures, concussions, burns, poisons, seizures, allergies, shock, heat or cold-related emergencies, blood-borne pathogens, and prevention of disease transmission.
Class Schedule
Seasonal classes generally available in the late Spring or early Summer. Private classes are available with a 10 student minimum. Click on Schedule Tab to register.
- Strong Rock Camp May 23 - 27, 2011
- Rabun County Rec Dept July 5 - 8, 2011
- Athens YMCA TBA
Intended Audience
This class is designed for people who are interested in being employed as a Professional Rescuer or Lifeguard at a public or private swimming pool, lakefront, waterfront, and/or aquatic facility.
- Prerequisites – $50 nonrefundable
- Prerequisites are mandatory and will not be waived. $50 of the course fee is non-refundable if the participant is unwilling or unable to meet these requirements.
- Minimum age of 15
- Read, accept and sign release of liability form – click here
- Appropriate rescue swimwear is required
- Swim 550 yards continuously (22 laps in a typical aquatic facility)
- Swim 20 yards, dive 12 feet, retrieve a 10-pound object, and swim 20 yards back to the starting point with the object and exit the water within 1 minute & 40 seconds
Objectives
- Professionalism, surveillance skills, and understanding the components and activation of an emergency action plan
- Learn how to identify behaviors of a swimmer, distressed swimmer and an active or passive drowning victim
- Understand the general procedures for an emergency occurring in the water or on land
- Demonstrate how to perform equipment-based rescues
- 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 rescue skills for a waterfront facility
- First aid and how to care for breathing and cardiac emergencies
- Recognize and care for possible head, neck or back injuries
Certificates
Each student who successfully completes this course will receive a certificate for Waterfront Lifeguard, CPR for the Professional Rescuer, and First Aid issued by the American Red Cross. Additional training for Oxygen Administration and Blood Borne Pathogens are available for a nominal fee.
Additional Notes
- Snacks and drinks are permitted
- Water temperature will be very cold. Warm clothing is advisable
- Wet suits are not allowed
- Contact lenses are incompatible with this course
- This is roughly a 35-40 hour course
- We will train in all weather conditions
- Lightning and other factors may affect class end-times
- Parents are encouraged to attend the prerequisites