A lifeguard is a person responsible for overseeing the safety Safety is the state of being "safe" , the condition of being protected against physical, social, spiritual, financial, political, emotional, occupational, psychological, educational or other types or consequences of failure, damage, error, accidents, harm or any other event which could be considered non-desirable. This can take the form of the users of a body of water and its environs, such as a swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, or simply a pool, is a container filled with water intended for swimming or water-based recreation. There are many standard sizes; the largest and deepest is the Olympic size. A pool can be built either above or in the ground, and from materials such as metal, plastic, fiberglass or concrete, a water park A waterpark is an amusement park that features waterplay areas, such as water slides, splash pads, spraygrounds , lazy rivers, or other recreational bathing, swimming, and barefooting environments. Waterparks in more current states of development may also be equipped with some type of artificial surfing or bodyboarding environment such as a wave, or a beach A beach is a geological landform along the shoreline of an ocean, sea or lake. It usually consists of loose particles which are often composed of rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, waves or cobblestones. The particles of which the beach is composed can sometimes instead have biological origins, such as shell fragments or coralline algae. This differentiates them from life savers Lifesaving is the act involving rescue, resuscitation and first aid. It often refers to water safety and aquatic rescue however it could include ice rescue, flood and river rescue, swimming pool rescue and other emergency medical services. Lifesaving also refers to sport where lifesavers compete skills, speed and team work. Lifesaving activities who partake in similar activities as a sport or practical life skill. Lifeguards are qualified strong swimmers Swimming is movement through water, usually without artificial assistance. Swimming is an activity that can be both useful and recreational. Its primary uses are bathing, cooling, fishing, recreation, exercise, and sport, trained and certified in water rescue Tools used might include search dogs, search and rescue horses, helicopters, the "Jaws of Life", and other hydraulic cutting and spreading tools used to extricate individuals from wrecked vehicles. Rescue operations are sometimes supported by special vehicles such as fire department's or EMS Heavy rescue vehicle, using a variety of aids and equipment depending on requirements of their particular venue, and first aid First aid is the provision of initial care for an illness or injury. It is usually performed by a non-expert person to a sick or injured person until definitive medical treatment can be accessed. Certain self-limiting illnesses or minor injuries may not require further medical care past the first aid intervention. It generally consists of a series. In some areas, lifeguards may form part of the provided emergency services Emergency services are organizations which ensure public safety by addressing different emergencies. Some agencies exist solely for addressing certain types of emergencies whilst others deal with ad hoc emergencies as part of their normal responsibilities. Many agencies will engage in community awareness and prevention programs to help the public response to incidents and in some communities, the lifeguard service also carries out mountain rescues, or may function as the primary EMS Emergency medical services are a branch of emergency services dedicated to providing out-of-hospital acute medical care and/or transport to definitive care, to patients with illnesses and injuries which the patient, or the medical practitioner, believes constitutes a medical emergency provider.^{[citation needed]}

Responsibilities

A lifeguard has a given responsibility for the safety of people (and in some cases property) in an area of water, and usually a defined area immediately surrounding or adjacent to it, such as a beach next to an ocean. Their priority is to ensure no harm comes to users of the area for which they are responsible. Lifeguards often take on this responsibility as an employment, although lifeguards can also be volunteers.

The conditions that allow drowning Drowning is death from suffocation caused by a liquid entering the lungs and preventing the absorption of oxygen leading to cerebral hypoxia and myocardial infarction to occur can be summarised by the 'drowning chain', in which each link can lead directly to an incident, or can lead on to the next link, and is shown below.^[1] It consists of people having a lack of education (e.g. about water safety or local conditions), a lack of safety advice (e.g. about rip currents at a beach) a lack of protection (e.g. no floatation device for a weak swimmer), lack of safety supervision (e.g. from a family member or lifeguard) or an inability to cope (e.g. strong surf with a weak swimmer).

The drowning chain provides a clear basis for preventing drowning which includes:^[1]

• education and information
• provision of warnings
• denial of access
• supervision
• training in survival skills

The lifeguard is able to provide all these elements to help prevent drownings (or other incidents) in their area of responsibility, and for this reason this should be the primary focus of a lifeguard's activities, as it is better to stop an incident occurring than trying to react once it has occurred.^[1] This means that the effectiveness of a lifeguard unit can be measured not the number or rapidity of rescues, or the skill with which they are executed, but the absence or reduction of drownings Drowning is death from suffocation caused by a liquid entering the lungs and preventing the absorption of oxygen leading to cerebral hypoxia and myocardial infarction, accidents An accident is a specific, unidentifiable, unexpected, unusual and unintended external action which occurs in a particular time and place, with no apparent and deliberate cause but with marked effects. It implies a generally negative outcome which may have been avoided or prevented had circumstances leading up to the accident been recognized, and, and other medical emergencies A medical emergency is an injury or illness that is acute and poses an immediate risk to a person's life or long term health. These emergencies may require assistance from another person, who should ideally be suitably qualified to do so, although some of these emergencies can be dealt with by the victim themselves. Dependent on the severity of.

Of course, lifeguards must be trained, capable and ready to perform emergency rescues should they become necessary, which they may do, as it is impossible to prevent all accidents occurring without going to unacceptable expense. This rescuing is the key focus of popular culture reference such as Baywatch Baywatch is an American action drama series about the Los Angeles County Lifeguards who patrol the beaches of Los Angeles County, California starring David Hasselhoff. The show ran from 1989 to 1999 . According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Baywatch is the most watched TV show in the world of all time, with over 1.1 billion viewers a week, which was at one time the most viewed show in the world.^[2]

Duties

A lifeguard's key duties on a beach (usually as part of a team, but in some places, lifeguards may occasionally be required to work on their own) are to:^[3]

• The main key of a Lifeguard=problem prevention (enforce rules in order to anticipate problems/injuries)
• Maintain concentrated observation of the duty area and its users in order to anticipate problems (this will enable the lifeguard to intervene with one of the drowning prevention measures) and to identify an emergency quickly.
• Supervise the use of other equipment when allocated to that duty (such as water slides or any other activities taking place)
• Carry out rescues and initiate other emergency action as necessary
• Give immediate First Aid First aid is the provision of initial care for an illness or injury. It is usually performed by a non-expert person to a sick or injured person until definitive medical treatment can be accessed. Certain self-limiting illnesses or minor injuries may not require further medical care past the first aid intervention. It generally consists of a series in the event of injury to a bather or other incident
• Communicate with bathers and other users to help fulfill the above tasks

Lifeguards may have other duties such as rule enforcement, cleaning (when not directly supervising the area) or acting as a general information point.

Identifying types of swimmer

While performing patron surveillance (usually from an elevated stand or a water-level standing or sitting position) lifeguards watch for and recognize struggling or drowning swimmers, and swimmers with sudden medical conditions such as a stroke, heart attack, asthma, diabetes, or seizures. Proper observation is the key duty of a lifeguard and they look for swimmers in various categories and conditions:

1. Passive drowning victims are inactive in the water, submerged or otherwise. When a lifeguard sees this kind of swimmer he performs an emergency rescue.
2. Active drowning victims or distressed non-swimmers are taking in water while attempting to stay at the surface. Lifeguards look for swimmers in this condition by looking for arms moving or flapping laterally (in an effort to press down on the water and leverage the head above the water's surface), not necessarily flailing, with the body vertical and no supporting kick. This behaviour is known as the instinctive drowning response^[4][5]. Lifeguards perform an emergency rescue to assist this kind of swimmer.
3. Distressed swimmers are having trouble swimming, perhaps from fatigue, and may or may not be calling out for help. Lifeguards usually swim out and help these swimmers to the side. They may or may not require additional assistance.
4. Normal swimmers (Healthy swimmers) are those who do not need any support and can swim on their own doing intermediate strokes (swimming standards). They would also be able to know water safety (boating safety and swimming precautions).

Locations

Lifeguards can be found patrolling many different types of water, and each type has its own unique features, duties and challenges. Locations where lifeguards can be found include:

1. Ocean beach A beach is a geological landform along the shoreline of an ocean, sea or lake. It usually consists of loose particles which are often composed of rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, waves or cobblestones. The particles of which the beach is composed can sometimes instead have biological origins, such as shell fragments or coralline algae - Lifeguards are commonly associated with beaches on the seashore, and this is often considered the most challenging environment to lifeguard due to the influence of external factors such as weather, currents, tides and waves
2. Inland body of water - Lifeguards can also look after open water areas such as lakes, or even rivers, where swimmers may congregate
3. Swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, or simply a pool, is a container filled with water intended for swimming or water-based recreation. There are many standard sizes; the largest and deepest is the Olympic size. A pool can be built either above or in the ground, and from materials such as metal, plastic, fiberglass or concrete - Pools, either indoor or outdoor, are often patrolled by lifeguards, although many are not covered by qualified personnel, if at all
   • Water park A waterpark is an amusement park that features waterplay areas, such as water slides, splash pads, spraygrounds , lazy rivers, or other recreational bathing, swimming, and barefooting environments. Waterparks in more current states of development may also be equipped with some type of artificial surfing or bodyboarding environment such as a wave - Whilst water parks are a type of swimming pool, they can be considered a unique type of facility as they may involve additional features such as water slides A water slide is a type of slide or tube designed for warm-weather or indoor recreational use, typically with water pumped to its top and allowed to flow down its surface, although some may simply be wet. A person is able to sit directly on the slide, or on a raft or tube designed to be used with the slide, and slide to the bottom via gravity. The or wave generators
   • Ocean lagoon A lagoon is a body of shallow sea water or brackish water separated from the sea by some form of barrier or tidal pool Tide pools are rocky pools by oceans that are filled with seawater. Many of these pools exist as separate entities only at low tide - These enclosed areas use seawater, but like a pool have a limited and contained area, but have the potential for additional hazards above and beyond an artificial pool
4. Open ocean An ocean is a major body of saline water, and a principal component of the hydrosphere. Approximately 71% of the Earth's surface (~3.61 X 1014 m2) is covered by ocean, a continuous body of water that is customarily divided into several principal oceans and smaller seas - In some cases, people may swim in the open ocean from a boat (such as a cruise ship) and lifeguards may be employed for safety in this instance

Positioning

Lifeguards have a primary duty to supervise the area which they are responsible for, and to achieve this the lifeguard needs to obtain an optimum position for observing the public. This is often best achieved from an elevated position, which can be a chair, platform or even the roof of a vehicle. This allows them maximum visibility over their supervised area and may facilitate communication between them and their team.

Some lifeguard teams use portable platforms or chairs which can be moved to the most appropriate position. This can help take account of changes such as a specific activity taking place, prevailing wind direction or simply enable lifeguards to move closer to the water if the tide goes out on a beach.

The chair or tower can also act as storage for the lifeguard, holding their important rescue or communication equipment close to hand. It can also act as a recognisable point for members of the public to find lifeguard assistance. For this reason, it is often marked with a flag or flags to enable location by the public, and these flags may also give information to the bathers about the conditions for swimming.

Other options, depending on the location, can include patrolling the edge of the water on foot, which allows closer interaction with the public, and the opportunity to provide face to face reassurance and advice, or even supervising from within or on the water, which is most applicable in open water (such as the sea or even a large water park) where lifeguards can use boats or other personal watercraft A personal water craft is a recreational watercraft that the rider sits or stands on, rather than inside of, as in a boat. Models have an inboard engine driving a pump jet that has a screw-shaped impeller to create thrust for propulsion and steering. They are often referred by the brand names Jet Ski, WaveRunner or Sea-Doo to be within the water, which extends their range and may allow quicker response to emergencies.

Equipment

Equipment used by lifeguards will vary depending on the location and specific conditions encountered, however certain equipment is relatively universal such as a whistle A whistle or call is a simple aerophone, an instrument which produces sound from a stream of forced air. It may be mouth-operated, or powered by air pressure, steam, or other means. Whistles vary in size from a small slide whistle or nose flute type to a large multi-piped church organ for attracting the attention of the public or other members of the team, a first aid kit and rescue aids.

Rescue aids

There is a hierarchy of rescue techniques to be used by lifeguards, in order, which minimises danger to the lifeguard and maximises the effectiveness of a rescue, and this dictates the types of rescue aids that a lifeguard should have available. Not all techniques or equipment will be available to all lifeguards, but all lifeguards should have some equipment to aid rescues. If talking to the victim establishes a problem, and they are unable to help themselves under instruction, the hierarchy runs as follows:

• Reach - The first choice for any lifeguard should be to reach the victim from a position of safety, such as the side of a pool or the beach, using an aid such as a pole or rope. This allows them to stay safe throughout the rescue whilst keeping constant contact with the victim.
• Throw - If it is not possible to reach a victim and maintain contact, then the next best method is to throw a rescue aid to them, such as a lifebuoy A lifebuoy, ring buoy, lifering, lifesaver or lifebelt, also known as a "kisby ring" or "perry buoy", is a life saving buoy designed to be thrown to a person in the water, to provide buoyancy, to prevent drowning. Some modern lifebuoys are fitted with a seawater-activated light, or lights, to aid rescue at night (also known as a perry buoy) or a rope and encourage them to use it to swim to safety. This is easiest in closed environments such as a swimming pool or harbour, but also has wide application outdoors, such as throwing a ring from a pier or use of a rope from a boat.
• Wade - If neither of those techniques is possible, then a lifeguard should consider wading to a victim, staying standing upright in the water. This will only work in shallow water, so has limited application, but keeps the lifeguard more stable and safer.
• Row - Using a personal watercraft A personal water craft is a recreational watercraft that the rider sits or stands on, rather than inside of, as in a boat. Models have an inboard engine driving a pump jet that has a screw-shaped impeller to create thrust for propulsion and steering. They are often referred by the brand names Jet Ski, WaveRunner or Sea-Doo to reach the victim, which could include paddle craft such as a surf ski Typically 5-6.5m long and only 40-50 cm (16-20") wide, surf skis are extremely fast when paddled on flat water (only an Olympic K1 or K2 kayak is faster) and the fastest paddled craft available over a long distance on ocean swells. They track well but are less maneuverable and have less transverse primary and secondary stability than shorter,, kayak A kayak is a small human-powered boat that traditionally has a covered deck, and one or more cockpits, each seating one paddler who strokes a double-bladed paddle. The cockpit is covered by a spraydeck that keeps the inside of the boat (and the paddler's lower body) dry. The spraydeck or similar waterproof covering attaches securely to the edges or row boat Watercraft rowing is the act of propelling a boat using the motion of oars in the water. The difference between paddling and rowing is that with rowing the oars have a mechanical connection with the boat whereas with paddling the paddles are hand-held with no mechanical connection, a hand paddled craft such as a long surfboard A surfboard is an elongated platform used in the sport of surfing. They are relatively light, but strong enough to support an individual standing on them while riding a breaking wave. They were invented in Hawaii, where they were known as papa he‘e nalu in the Hawaiian language, usually made of wood from local trees, such as koa, and were often or in modern times a jet ski Jet Ski is the brand name of personal watercraft manufactured by Kawasaki Heavy Industries. The name, however, has become a genericized trademark for any type of personal watercraft. Jet Ski (or JetSki, often shortened to "Ski") can also refer to versions of PWCs with pivoting handlepoles known as "stand-ups." Also, " or a inflatable boat A rigid-inflatable boat or rigid-hulled inflatable boat, (RHIB) is a light-weight but high performance and high capacity boat constructed with a solid, shaped hull and flexible tubes at the gunwale. The design is stable and seaworthy. The inflatable collar allows the vessel to maintain buoyancy even if a large quantity of water is shipped aboard. This is almost exclusively used in outdoor environments.
• Swim with an aid - Only if none of these options are available should a lifeguard consider swimming to rescue a victim, as it creates additional danger for both lifeguard and victim. Aids suitable for this include the well known Rescue buoy, which is a hard plastic float towed on a rope attached to the lifeguard, or the soft equivalent, the rescue or 'Peterson' tube, which is flexible and is generally preferred nowadays as it can be clipped around an unconscious or uncooperative victim. Other aids can include a rescue reel which is a rope attaching the lifeguard to a reel on the shore from where he can be pulled back by colleagues either with the victim or if the lifeguard gets in to difficulty.
• Swim without an aid - Only as an absolute last resort should a lifeguard attempt a rescue with no equipment

In addition to these basic lifeguarding techniques, some units are trained in additional water rescue techniques such as scuba diving Scuba diving is a form of underwater diving in which a diver uses a scuba set to breathe underwater for recreation, commercial or industrial reasons or in rescue techniques unrelated to water rescue such as abseiling Abseiling , rappelling in American English, is the controlled descent down a rope; climbers use this technique when a cliff or slope is too steep and/or dangerous to descend without protection. Abseiling is used chiefly in British English, as well as in Ireland, Australia and New Zealand for cliff rescue and will carry appropriate equipment for these.

First aid

Lifeguards need to be proficient in first aid, and should always have a well stocked first aid kit A first aid kit is a collection of supplies and equipment for use in giving first aid. First aid kits may be made up of different contents depending on who has assembled the kit and for what purpose. It may also vary by region due to varying advice or legislation between governments or organisations available to them. In addition, they may have advanced first items such as medical oxygen Oxygen (pronounced /ˈɒksɨdʒɨn/, OK-si-jin, from the Greek roots ὀξύς (acid, literally "sharp", from the taste of acids) and -γενής (-genēs) (producer, literally begetter), is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. It is a member of the chalcogen group on the periodic table, and is a highly, a resuscitator, a defibrillator Defibrillation is the definitive treatment for the life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias, ventricular fibrillation and pulseless ventricular tachycardia. Defibrillation consists of delivering a therapeutic dose of electrical energy to the affected heart with a device called a defibrillator. This depolarizes a critical mass of the heart muscle, or AED An automated external defibrillator or AED is a portable electronic device that automatically diagnoses the potentially life threatening cardiac arrhythmias of ventricular fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia in a patient, and is able to treat them through defibrillation, the application of electrical therapy which stops the arrhythmia, or a spinal immobilisation board A long spine board , or backboard, is a medical device used for the immobilization and transportation of patients with suspected spinal injuries. Backboards are used to prevent movement of the spine which may cause permanent injury. They are most often used by prehospital care providers such as EMTs and Paramedics. Some are trained EMT personnel.

Communications

Effective communications are vital for lifeguards and they may choose to use whistles A whistle or call is a simple aerophone, an instrument which produces sound from a stream of forced air. It may be mouth-operated, or powered by air pressure, steam, or other means. Whistles vary in size from a small slide whistle or nose flute type to a large multi-piped church organ, two-way radios A two-way radio is a radio that can both transmit and receive , unlike a broadcast receiver which only receives content, megaphones A megaphone, speaking-trumpet, bullhorn, blowhorn, or loud hailer is a portable, usually hand-held, funnel cone-shaped device whose application is to amplify a person’s voice towards a targeted direction. This is accomplished by channeling the sound through a funnel, which also serves to match the acoustic impedance of the voice cords to the air or even signal flares A flare, also sometimes called a fusee, is a type of pyrotechnic that produces a brilliant light or intense heat without an explosion. Flares are used for signaling, illumination, or defensive countermeasures in civilian and military applications. Flares may be ground pyrotechnics, projectile pyrotechnics, or parachute-suspended to provide maximum.

A more traditional method of communication with the public is through the use of coloured flags, which can be raised over permanent or temporary flag poles to inform members of the public of different information.

Transportation

For duty areas over a wide area, such as beaches and lakes, lifeguards may require transport over distance and they may use land transport including pick-up trucks A pickup truck is a light motor vehicle with an open-top rear cargo area (bed) which is almost always separated from the cab to allow for chassis flex when carrying or pulling heavy loads.[citation needed], quad bikes An all-terrain vehicle , also known as a quad, quad bike, three wheeler, or four wheeler, is defined by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) as a vehicle that travels on low pressure tires, with a seat that is straddled by the operator, along with handlebars for steering control. As the name implies, it is designed to handle a wider or other off-road vehicle An off-road vehicle is considered to be any type of vehicle which is capable of driving on and off paved or gravel surface. It is generally characterized by having large tires with deep, open treads and a flexible suspension, or even caterpillar tracks.[citation needed] Other vehicles that do not travel public streets or highways are generally.

They may also use larger water craft such as large rigid or inflatable boats or even hovercraft.

Lifeguards in different nations

Australia

In Australia lifeguards are distinguished from Surf Life Savers. Lifeguards are paid employees who patrol beaches, lakes and pools/aquatic venues. Beach lifeguards are usually employed by local government authorities and patrol the beach throughout the year. Surf Lifesavers are a large voluntary organization that patrol beaches on weekends and public holidays during the warmer months (usually from mid-September to late April) and also perform public training of kids, the nippers, as well as competitions, such as surf carnivals or winter swimming events.

Belgium

Belgium has a small coastline, with a length of 68 km. Despite its small size, the coast is highly urbanised over practically its entire length and is visited by many thousands of tourists each year so a good lifeguard service has been built up over the years. Because the North Sea only borders Flanders, more particularly the province of West Flanders, the training of the lifeguards is organised by the province. Beach lifeguards in Belgium are trained by the WOBRA (Dutch abbreviation for West Flemish training centre for firemen, lifeguards and ambulance crew). Beach lifeguards in Belgium are mostly students who are employed for a month during the summer holidays (July and August). Some municipalities also employ lifeguards in June and September. In order to obtain uniformity, all municipalities from the Belgian coast are joined in the IKWV (Dutch abbreviation for intercommunal coast lifeguard service of West Flanders). This is the coordinating organ for all the municipalities regarding the organisation of the lifeguard service.

Canada

In Canada, all lifeguards and assistant lifeguards are certified by the Lifesaving Society of Canada and the Canadian Red Cross. The lifeguarding certification offered by the LSS is the National Lifeguard Service (NLS) program, which was officially launched in 1964. There are four types of lifeguard certification: pool, surf, waterpark, and waterfront. In November 2009, the Canadian Red Cross launched it's new lifegaurd program. Red Cross Lifeguard is a two-step certification program designed to provide candidates with the knowledge and skills to become effective lifeguards. This course emphasizes hands-on practice and scenarios, and includes high-quality resources such as a full-colour manual. Built on Canadian and international expertise, the Red Cross Lifeguard program is the most up-to-date of its kind in Canada. The Canadian Red Cross Lifeguard program has been developed in accordance with rigorous Red Cross quality standards and will meet all provincial/territorial legislation requirements in addition to being aligned with the international lifeguard standards.

Denmark

In Denmark the lifeguard-services are divided into two major groups. The coastal lifeguards, which are established on a voluntarily basis by the beach administrators (in most cases the municipality). There are three main serviceproviders for this, two heavily sponsored: Kystlivredderne.dk^[9] and TrygFonden Kystlivredning^[10], while Den Nordsjællandske Kystlivredningstjeneste ^[11] are sponsored by the councils at the Zealand Northshore. All public pools (both commercial and government) are required to "provide a secure and safe environment" and thus lifeguards. Unlike the coastal lifeguards, these has to pass an government approved test as well as a yearly a physical examination and first aid test.

Germany

In Germany three major organizations exist that train people in swimming, lifesaving and which maintain lifeguard services at public beaches, lakes etc. All three are mainly based on volunteer work. The DLRG is the largest aquatic lifeguard organization in the world with more than 500,000 members. The Wasserwacht (water watch) is a division of the German Red Cross. Third is the Wasserrettungsdienst of the Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund.

Ireland

In the Republic of Ireland, the statutory body established to promote water safety is "Irish Water Safety" who train and award Lifeguards with the National Pool Lifeguard Award, the National Beach Lifeguard Award and the Inland Open Water Lifeguard Award. Details of Irish Water Safety classes in all levels of swimming and lifesaving skills can be found on [www.iws.ie their website].

In addition, the Royal Life Saving Society (RLSS IRELAND) provide training in lifesaving and offer courses in lifeguarding for both the National Pool Lifeguard Qualification (NPLQ) and the National Beach Lifeguard Qualification (NBLQ. Details of all lifeguard courses and activities may be found on the website www.lifeguardsireland.com

Italy

In Italy Lifeguard are certified by the Italian Swimming Federation and the National Lifesaving Society (Società Nazionale di Salvamento). The Italian Swimming Federation's diploma is recognized abroad by the country affiliated to ILS. Differences exist between pool, lakes and sea diplomas. Also Italian Red Cross has a special branch called OPSA (Operatori Polivalenti Salvataggio in Acqua or Polivalent Water Rescue Operators) that has some lifeguards duties in many parts of Italy.

New Zealand

In New Zealand the term lifeguard generally refers to swimming pool lifeguards but can be used interchangeably with lifesaver. These are qualified paid professionals employed by the pool management to watch over pool users. Surf Life Saving New Zealand (SLSNZ) is responsible for training and maintaining coastal Surf Lifesaving in New Zealand. Surf Lifesavers patrol various beaches in New Zealand. Lifesavers are able to sit their Bronze Medallion which qualifies them as a volunteer Surf Lifeguards. Volunteers patrol New Zealand's beaches on weekends over the summer months from Labour Day to around Easter. Paid Lifeguards patrol beaches during the week over the busiest summer months. They also come under the control of SLSNZ.

Spain

In Spain there are many organizations that teach and train people in lifesaving. The International Lifeguard Society and Federación Española de Salvamento y Socorrismo are a couple of the prominent organizations.

Switzerland

In Switzerland the lifesaving organization is the Schweizerische Lebensrettungs-Gesellschaft.

Taiwan

In Taiwan there are two main lifesaving organizations providing lifeguard licenses and training, one is called National Water Life Saving Association Republic of China(N.W.L.S.A.R.O.C.) another is called The Red Cross Society of the Republic of China. N.W.L.S.A was first launched in 1970 and aided by Australians Surf Life Savers. The Red Cross Society was founded around 1949. N.W.L.S.A joined the International Life Saving Federation in 1994.

United Kingdom

Pool Lifeguards

In the United Kingdom, there are two bodies that train Lifeguards, the Swimming Teachers Association (STA)and the Royal Life Saving Society UK (RLSS UK). The organisations' qualifications are the National Aquatic Rescue Standard (NARS) and the National Pool Lifeguard Qualification (NPLQ) respectively. The pool Lifeguard qualification is administrated by the IQL on behalf of the RLSS.

Both qualifications are recognised professionally within the United Kingdom and enable the holder to work as a Professional Pool Lifeguard satisfying all HSE regulations, although for Public Swimming sessions a full lifeguard qualification is recommended by the HSE in the Managing health and safety in swimming pools manual.(ISBN 978-0-7176-2626-1)

A full Pool Lifeguard course lasts a minimum of 36 hours and ends with external examiners testing the individuals both on land and in the water and includes an examination paper. The qualification is valid for two years from the date of assessment. A minimum of 20 hours training must be logged in those two years for the individual to be eligible to submit for a renewal examination. The employer of the lifeguard should provide training every month in lifeguard skills and resuscitation training to help it comply with HSE guidelines. Additional units can be added including the use of spinal boards, a specialist piece of rescue equipment designed for immobilizing a casualty suspected of suffering a Spinal Cord injury.

The Professional element of the award is not attained until you are working within a swimming pool complex and have covered Site Specific training sessions. This 2nd element is called Unit 2 and is prescribed by the ISRM.

All RLSS qualifications are trained by TAs (Trainer/Assessors) these are more often experience Lifeguards or Lifesavers who have undergone additional training in order to train and assess. Many Leisure centres have their own TAs who operate in-house training for the Lifeguards. TAs also assess qualification renewals but are unable to assess any Lifeguard that works in the same place the TA hold training sessions. Also they are unable to assess any Lifeguard they have trained. These rules are to reduce the risk of collusion.

Beach lifeguards

The two alternative schemes for qualifying beach lifeguard in the UK are run by the Royal Life Saving Society UK, who offer the 'National Beach Lifeguard Qualification' (NBLQ) and Surf Life Saving Great Britain (in association with the Royal National Lifeboat Institution) who offer the 'National Rescue Standards Beach Lifeguard Qualification' (NaRS BL).

Both organisations also offer a range of "specialist modules" that can be added to the basic qualification, such as VHF Radio Operator; Rescue Water Craft RWC, Rescue Surf Skills, Rescue (paddle) Board, Rescue Boat (Crew), Rescue Boat (Driver), AED and CPR Oxygen Administration.

The RNLI is the largest operator of lifeguard units in the UK, patrolling over 140 operational beaches around the coast of England and Wales.^[12]

Canoe lifeguards

The British Canoe Union has canoe life guard units in the UK managed by the BCU Lifeguards. These are special units that operate in Kayaks and Canoes in areas where motor boats would have problems. Pictures of the London Triathlon lifeguard cover can be found on the Globe360 website.

Open Water lifeguards

Inland water sites such as lakes and rivers - typically where there is a specific need, such as sports competitions or public events. There are many examples of organisations that provide such services on a national, international, voluntary and commercial basis.

United States

In the United States there are several nationally recognized organizations that certify lifeguards. The American Red Cross (ARC) and its Lifeguarding program, American Lifeguard Association, the YMCA, Starfish Aquatics Institute (StarGuard), The City of Los Angeles [1], Jeff Ellis & Associates, the Boy Scouts of America, and National Aquatic Safety Company (NASCO). Many people go to these organizations to get their first aid and CPR certification that do not get the lifeguard certification. The standard in open water surf training is the United States Lifesaving Association.

Lifeguard competitions

Continuous training is necessary to maintain lifeguarding skills and knowledge. Formal competitions have developed as a way to encourage training, and also as a social activity. In Australia, the annual Surf Lifesaving competition at Kurrawa Beach on the Gold Coast is the largest athletic event in the world after the Olympic Games with tens of thousands of lifeguards competing. Lifeguard competitions include both physical events and technical (medical) events. Technical events are challenging accident simulations in which guards are evaluated on their adherence to treatment standards. These events are a subject of controversy amongst some lifeguards due to their subjectivity. Purely physical competitions have recently become more popular, often including various combinations of running, swimming, paddleboarding, and surf skiing. Most lifeguard competitions include an Ironman event that combines three different physical activities.

• Australian Surf Life Saving Championships, Perth Australia
• Risser's Beach, Nova Scotia
• Bournemouth Lifeguards Corps Regatta, UK
• Nova Scotia Surf League
• British Universities Lifesaving Clubs Association League
• Federacion Aragonesa de Salvamento y Socorrismo

See also

• Beach
• First Aid
• Rescue
• Swimming pool

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Whatling, Shaun. Beach Lifeguarding. Royal Life Saving Society. ISBN 0-907082-41-6.
2. ^ "Largest Audience For A TV Series". Guinness World Records. http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2008/02/080228.aspx.
3. ^ Beach Lifeguard Manual. The Surf Life Saving Association of Great Britain (SLSA GB)/The Swimming Teachers Association (STA)/The Institute of Leisure and Amenity Management (ILAM). 1998.
4. ^ Pia, Frank (1971). On Drowning (2 ed.). Larchmont, NY: Water Safety Films, Inc.
5. ^ Pia, Frank (1974). "Observations on the drowning of nonswimmers". Journal of Physical Education (Warsaw, IN: The YMCA Society of North America).
6. ^ http://www.usla.org/about/history.asp
7. ^ http://www.ilsf.org/webfm_send/65
8. ^ http://books.google.com/books?id=VWnxpAxp6TMC&pg=PA590&lpg=PA590&dq=pete+peterson+tube&source=web&ots=9CsQGO7-jm&sig=e9A1xAWJYLesnXFJKZA9pkhQ1VI&hl=en&ei=nJSQSbisO5DDjAfuvdSbCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=8&ct=result
9. ^ "Kystlivredderne.dk" (in Danish). http://www.kystlivredderne.dk/. Retrieved 2008-12-02.
10. ^ "TrygFonden: Bliv livredder" (in Danish). http://www.trygfonden.dk/Projekter/Bliv%20Livredder.aspx. Retrieved 2008-12-02.
11. ^ "Den Nordsjællandske Kystlivredningstjeneste" (in Danish). http://www.nordkysten.net. Retrieved 2009-03-01.
12. ^ "RNLI Lifeguards". Royal National Lifeboat Institution. http://www.rnli.org.uk/what_we_do/sea_and_beach_safety/rnli_lifeguards.

External links

• American Lifeguard Association
• International Life Saving Federation
• International Life Saving Federation of Europe
• Life saving chaplaincy
• Los Angeles City Lifeguard Association

Categories: First aid | Surf lifesaving | Emergency services

See Also:

• Lifeguards: Encyclopedia

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