AQUATICS

Overview

American Red Cross Swimming and Water Safety program is a comprehensive training program that teaches people to swim and to help them be safe in, on or around water. The program includes swimming courses for all age groups and abilities. It also includes a variety of presentations and courses to help teach all age groups how to enjoy the water safely-and how to take effective action if an emergency does occur. The American Red Cross Swimming and Water Safety program consists of the following:

• Six levels of Learn to Swim
• Parent and Child Aquatics
• Water safety courses and presentations
• Water Safety Instructor course

Learn to Swim - The six levels of learn-to-swim instruction helps swimmers of all ages and abilities develop their swimming and water safety skills. It is designed to give students a positive learning experience. American Red Cross 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.

The six learn-to-swim levels and the objectives for each level include:

• Level 1 - Introduction to Water Skills. Helps students feel comfortable in the water and to enjoy the water safely.
• Level 2 - Fundamental Aquatic Skills. Gives students success with fundamental skills.
• Level 3 - Stroke Development. Builds on the skills in Level 2 by providing additional guided practice.
• Level 4 - Stroke Improvement. Develops confidence in the strokes learned and to improve other aquatic skills.
• Level 5 - Stroke Refinement. Provides further coordination and refinement of strokes.
• Level 6 - Swimming and Skill Proficiency. Refines the strokes so students swim them with ease, efficiency, power and smoothness over greater distances. Level 6 is designed with "menu" options. Each of these options focus on preparing students to participate in more advance courses, such as Water Safety Instructor and Lifeguard Training. These options include:
• Personal Water Safety
• Lifeguard Readiness
• Fundamentals of Diving
• Fitness Swimming

Parent and Child Aquatics - Developed for children 6 months to 5 years of age, American Red Cross Parent and Child Aquatics builds swimming readiness by emphasizing fun in the water. Parents and children participate in several guided practice sessions that help children learn elementary skills, including water entry, bubble blowing, front kicking, back floating, underwater exploration and more. Once children can perform basic skills without parental assistance, they may begin Learn-to-Swim courses.

Water Safety Presentations - Four water safety presentations provide lifesaving information on being safe in, on and around the water as well as the importance of learning to swim. By knowing the intended audience, these presentations can be customized to fit their needs. The water safety presentations include:

1. Water Safety Today (2 hours): teaches individuals how to recognize, prevent and respond to emergencies in, on and around water.
2. General Water Safety (30 minutes): provides individuals with an awareness of the importance of water safety training and key information on being safe in, on and around water.
3. Home Pool Safety (30 minutes): provides information for home pool and apartment pool owners on how to keep families, tenants and guests safe in an aquatic environment.
4. Parent Orientation to Swimming Lessons (30 minutes): an orientation for parents about American Red Cross swimming lessons offered at local aquatic facilities.

Basic Water Rescue - Basic Water Rescue is a 4-hour certification course that is targeted to public safety personnel, aquatic fitness instructors, aquatic therapists and others who work around water. This course provides individuals the information and skills necessary to prevent, recognize and respond to aquatic emergencies. It also prepares individuals for aquatic emergencies by teaching them how to protect themselves while assisting others. Basic Water Rescue does not provide participants with all the information and skills needed to be certified as a lifeguard.

Longfellow's WHALE Tales - Longfellow's WHALE Tales is targeted to children ages 5 to 12 to teach safe behavior in, on and around the water. The materials in the Longfellow's WHALE Tales K-6 Educational Packet are designed to give children an awareness of being safe around the water and to help promote healthful aquatic recreation.

Water Safety Instructor Course - The American Red Cross Water Safety Instructor course provides instructor candidates the training needed to teach courses in the American Red Cross Swimming and Water Safety program by developing their understanding of how to use the course materials, how to conduct training sessions and how to evaluate participants' progress.

LIFEGUARD TRAINING

Overview

It is the mission of the American Red Cross to help people prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies. Commodore Wilbert E. Longfellow brought this philosophy to aquatics in 1914 when he started the American Red Cross Life Saving Corps. This program was the first of its kind, and it contributed to a dramatic reduction in the number of lives lost as a result of drowning. Since 1914, the Red Cross has continued to expand upon Commodore Longfellow's early lifesaving innovations. Today's American Red Cross Lifeguard Training Program consists of courses and modules that thoroughly train individuals to meet the mission of the Red Cross and to save lives.

Lifeguard Training - Lifeguard Training offers the highest quality training standards in skill instruction, professional lifeguard responsibilities, first aid and CPR training. It consists of a core Lifeguard Training course and the following optional modules:

• AED Essentials
• Oxygen Administration for the Professional Rescuer
• Preventing Disease Transmission
• Waterfront Lifeguarding
• Waterpark Lifeguarding

The Lifeguard Training course, along with the Waterfront Lifeguarding and Waterpark Lifegarding modules, includes the following features:

• CPR skills and information consistent with Emergency Cardiovascular Care (ECC) 2000 guidelines
• Skills-based rescue scenarios
• A single, condensed book for class and reference
• Lifeguard-specific first aid and CPR training video

Lifeguard Training Instructor - The American Red Cross Lifeguard Training Instructor course provides candidates with the highest quality training standards in skill instruction, professional lifeguard responsibilities, first aid and CPR training needed to train guards who are responsible for the safety of individuals in, on and around the water.

GuardStart™: Lifeguarding Tomorrow - GuardStart™: Lifeguarding Tomorrow is a program for youth that provides a foundation of aquatic and leadership knowledge, attitudes and skills for future successful completion of the American Red Cross Lifeguard Training course.

GuardStart ™ contains fifteen units in five categories (prevention, fitness, response, leadership, professionalism), with the entire program totaling forty-seven lessons. GuardStart is designed to be flexible, including the length of the course and the order of the lessons.

There is no instructor authorization required to lead the GuardStart program. It is led by program and activity leaders.

Lifeguard Management - The Lifeguard Management course, which is approximately 7 hours in length, provides participants with the skills and knowledge needed to effectively manage lifeguards and to create an environment that keeps patrons, lifeguards and the aquatic facility safe. The Lifeguard Management course covers the responsibilities of a lifeguard supervisor, the selection and training of lifeguards and team building principles of injury prevention, risk management and emergency response planning. This course replaces the Head Lifeguard course.

Aquatic Examiner Service - The American Red Cross Aquatic Examiner Service is an extension of the Red Cross Lifeguarding Program. It is based on the training and expertise provided to lifeguards through Red Cross courses and modules. The Aquatic Examiner Service is designed to be integrated into current aquatic facility management practices to assist aquatic facilities in the development of practices and procedures to achieve a professional lifeguard operation. The service includes three components:

• An Initial Conference. An aquatic examiner service administrator visits an aquatic facility, collects data, and reviews the facility's current operational and emergency procedures.
• Lifeguard and Support Personnel Training. Annual or preseason training, annual Red Cross training and in-service training are conducted.
• On-Site Lifeguarding Evaluations.

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