Another check off my bucket list! I signed up with safeswim because it was the first thing that popped up when I googled "lifeguard certification." There are several training dates: generally two each month in the summer, then one each month in the winter. Classes are two days from 8am to 5pm on a weekend.
+Price: $175 ($75 online, $100 in cash on first day) + $15 if you don't already own a CPR mask
+ Bring: Registration forms, swim suit, towel, CPR pocket mask (or $15) to first day of class
+Location: At a private facility in Irvine, which can become an inconvenience if resident swimmers all decide to swim at the same time. All the lifeguards-to-be sat waiting for a good 15 minutes for a lane to clear up so we can perform our pre-requisites.
+ Swim Pre-reqs: able to swim 300 yards (12 lengths) without stopping using front crawl and breaststroke, tread water for 2 minutes using legs only, retrieve a 10-lb weight from 7 feet deep and swim 20 yards with weight, using legs only and exit the water without using a ladder or steps within 1 minute 40 seconds. Anyway, the pre-reqs were a joke; don't bother practicing.
+ Class Pre-reqs: 15 + years of age, and finish an online lifeguarding course which takes about 4 hours (or 9 hours if you have snail-pace internet)
+ Atmosphere: So many younguns. The median age of the swimmers was about 17 years old, with most kids in high school and comparable mentalities, note taking habits and dirty jokes. Our instructors were Autumn and Frank: Autumn was more serious and got to the point, Frank liked to lighten the mood. I think they did a good job getting through the material. For the most part, class was fun and I think everybody had fun playing drowning victims. There can be a lot of waiting, especially since we had 40 participants and only so many mannequins and equipments.
+ Instruction: Part re-watching the online pre-req videos, part practicing on baby and adult mannequins, part practicing on "drowning" victims (how to backboard, escape from a victim who grabs you, stride jump, head splint, etc), part practicing scenarios
+ Final written exam: this is 35 multiple choice test (80% to pass) and everything is common sense. Don't bother studying.
For the pre-reqs I observed a girl half-drown her way across the pool with the brick, with NO WAY she could have finished in even 3 minutes, then half drown/half backstroke during the 300 yard freestyle/breaststroke only swim, and the instructors let her pass. She is one of those people lifeguards should keep an eye on because she is such a distressed, sloppy, weak swimmer. I can't believe she is going to be a lifeguard! *facepalm* I've got to say, if you aren't a strong swimmer and want to be a lifeguard, come here to get your certification. At any rate, I had fun and now that I have a CPR mask I was required to buy, feel free to drown - I'll save ya.
-Yours truly, your newest Los Angeles lifeguard read more
