BSA Lifeguard

[WildernesStudent]

Hmm, according to one of my friends the Red Cross Lifeguard Certification program requires a candidate be at least 15 years old at class start, that they be able to swim 500 yards continuously (That's twenty lengths of a regular 25-yard pool). and be able to retrieve a 10 pound weight from a depth of 9 feet.

 

Now the requirements from the American Lifeguard Association are as follows (Found it at http://www.americanlifeguard.com/lifeguarding.htm) I know a couple people who have been certified by themthey break the training into what kind of Lifeguarding you want to do (deep water, shallow water, beach lifeguard, water park lifeguard etc..) Check out the requirements for the beach lifeguardthey look pretty crazy to me.

Here are their requirements for regualar pool lifegaurd (Deep water)

-Swim 300 yards continuously, using these strokes in the following order:

-100 yards of front crawl using rhythmic breathing and a stabilizing, propellant kick. Rhythmic breathing can be performed either by breathing to the side or to the front.100 yards of breaststroke using a pull, breathe, kick and glide sequence.100 yards of either the front crawl or breaststroke. The 100 yards may be a combination of front crawl and breaststroke. 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.

Also, correct me if Im wrongbut wouldnt the BSA lifeguard include life-saving techniques, and if it did, wouldnt that count for something??

 

I would think the BSA would be harder then the regualer Red Cross certification because most people who take that are only becoming lifeguards at pools where they have flotation devices (that are fun to play with btw and are usually near a phone...wouldn't the BSA lifegaurding thing be for everything you guys do like canoing, swimming in a lake or for that matter if someone happens to fall into the water by accident?

(This message has been edited by WildernesStudent)

[GernBlansten]

Well, #1 son turns 15 this summer. Wants to follow dad and get his life saving cert so he can work at the city pool. They don't pay bad, about $11/hour, better than the grocery store and REAL easy work. Gotta be 16 to guard at the pool anyways.

But the parks and rec dept don't recognize BSA Lifeguard. So I'll probably enroll him in Red Cross like I did when I was his age and get his cert so he can blow whistles at cute girls. Might still have him take BSA Lifeguard so he can work at the camp pool if he so chooses. Might even take it with him so I can do swim checks for the troop. Wouldn't hurt me to go back through it and its only a weekend. But I ain't gonna go through Red Cross again. That was tough and I'm 30 years older!

[FScouter]

30 hours instruction time over a weekend seems a little grueling.

[GernBlansten]

Found this on my council website...

http://denverboyscouts.doubleknot.com/openrosters/ViewOrgPageLink.asp?LinkKey=17677&orgkey=51

 

Looks like BSA revamped the aquatics program for 2008. Now have a Aquatics Supervision path and a Lifeguard path. Lifeguard was realigned to better match the Red Cross curriculum.

Aquatics supervision is an 8 hour class and allows leaders to conduct swim tests (my goal).

 

"The emphasis of BSA Lifeguard has changed. The primary purpose is no longer to provide units with the skills necessary to conduct safe swimming and boating activities. The revised BSA Lifeguard program is now focused on providing camp staff with training that meets the requirements for professional lifeguards at regulated swimming venues. While the program is open to all registered adults and older youth, the training emphasis is changed, and the course logistics and content will reflect the new goals. The course requires approximately 20 hours of instruction. Prior to taking the course, participants must be able to swim 550 yards using several strokes, and complete a timed swimming rescue of 25 yards."

 

http://denverboyscouts.doubleknot.com/openrosters/DocDownload.asp?orgkey=51&id=36064

[John-in-KC]

Gern,

 

Then they'd better re-wicker G2SS, SSD, and SA, if BSA Lifeguards are no longer going to be trained for "swimming hole" type events. I'll be interested in seeing how protecting the lakefront comes into play if there is indeed a new curriculum.

[GernBlansten]

Just a humble messenger John. I suppose my council could be wandering off the plantation. But those docs I linked to look like official BSA documents.

[Murdy]

Those are new training options, but to officially have a waterfront you need to have BSA Guards. The instructions for supervision is just like SSD because all it requires is someone to watch the water not a guard. Also, acording to National Camp Standards it only requires that half of the waterfront staff be quards... either BSA or RedCross it doesn't matter (not sure about YMCA). Also when your son goes to get trained for BSA if he is already RC then ask them because there are less things he has to do for it.

[GernBlansten]

I like the idea of BSA Aquatics Supervision for adults. I plan on going through this myself. Might have to go out of council as I missed the one provided here by one week.

 

From what I can glean from the new BSA Lifeguard, it is very similar to the RC lifeguard course now. BSA does have provisions for swim testing that RC Lifeguard doesn't.

I've signed my son up for RC Lifeguard at the city pool this summer. Its good for three years and he can start guarding at the pool in 2009 when he turns 16 and should give him work options through high school. Indoor, year round pool. He can take RC WSI at 16 which will allow him to teach too. That's where the big bucks come. Private lessons. Kept me in pizza and pops through college.

[OneHour]

BSA Lifeguard cert was tough for me. 300 yards was the required swim; however, our summer camp instructor got the group to swim 300 on the day and he would add 100 yd each day. By week end, we swam 700 yds and a total of 2500 yd. This is in addition to all of the rescue techniques, 25 yd speed swim, and so on. It was tough on a 40+ years old body to go through it especially in 70 degrees water for a week, but it was great to have the 5 scouts in the class cheering me and four other adults on after they have finished with their swim!

 

All that I have to say is that if I could do it ... any young man can!

[scan1609]

I'm a redcross gaurd so can I gaurd on a boy scout camp out? and I thought that the RC training was very technical but the hardest thing phisacly was the 300 yard in-test the and it does focuas on pool type scenarios but traing is the best around no way can bsa be better the training books and videos are descriptive and good. and you walk away with not only red cross lifegaurd but RC first aid,cpr and aed cirts so I dont know anything about bsa life gaurd but I guess what I'm saying is if bsa doesent except redcoss they probly should but I dont know about the other way around

[le Voyageur]

I've always considered BSA Lifeguard lacking....working as a professional guard at municipal pools we would not consider a BSA LG for hire unles he/she had an ARC cert.

The reason, the lack of training in zone systems. At the muni pools, I could ask my on-duty guards how many souls they had in their zone and get an instant answer with an exact count. At BSA pools and waterfront, I've never seen that kind of attention to guarding any aquatic program.

[OneHour]

le Voyageur, I will have to beg differ. I don't about other troop; however,in our troop and summer camps that we have visited, the lifeguard(s) guard by zone (non-swimmers & beginners and swimmer zone) and we do know how many went in and how many should come out, hence the buddy check and the swim board. I have been at public pools where the young lifeguards did not pay attention to the numbers. They scanned, but when safety break was called, they took off into the lg shack. I would agree with some camps and the lack of lg attention, but not all camp swimming programs are the like that.

[ScoutOne]

WildernesStudent-- The American Lifeguard Association actually teaches the Red Cross course. The Red Cross actually has additional certification modules such as Waterfront and Water park lifeguarding. If I remember correctly, these modules do not 'expire' but you would be practicing the material regularly during in-service training anyway.

[aquaticeagle]

Gern Blansten: I cannot find any information on the BSA official website about the new aquatics programs that you linked to or the revisions that have been made to aquatics programs for 2008. Any more information you can provide would be great.

[Chippewa29]

I definitely have to agree with scoutldr on the enforcement of the standards. Four years ago, I did my BSA Lifeguard for the second time (18 years after the first) and was told by the instructor that we needed plan on being there all day to earn it. We had class from 9a-12p, 2-4or5pm, then did a shift lifeguarding for open swim every evening. The BSA Lifeguard and Lifesaving MB students had to staff the open swim (regular staff was there as backups) on Thursday night. The waterfront director had me in charge of the whole operation. It was very tough, but a great week and a wonderful learning experience.

 

Last summer, my troop was at a different camp. Two of my Scouts took the BSA Lifeguard class. They only had to be at class for 2-3 hours a day and only had to work one two hour shift lifeguarding at the waterfront (the camp where I did mine was four two hour shifts). As I was renewing my certification, I went to a couple of the classes and wasn't impressed by the skill level. While a few years before, we were drilled multiple times on the various techniques needed, the students in this class shown the technique and then practiced it once or twice before moving on. The Scouts in my troop could kind of do these techniques, but I wouldn't want to rely on them to be the one rescuing me.

 

Technically, the standards were the same. However, one camp far outshone the other when it came to actually producing quality BSA Lifeguards.