IamA Lifeguard and Water Safety Instructor AMA!

I'm 19 and I still haven't learned how to swim. Is it too late for me?

Never to late, I've meet an instructor that taught two 80 year old women how to swim. Talk to your local pool about adult beginner classes. Your not alone.

Fellow lifeguard here... what's your uniform preference: Navy or Bright red?

The one municipality I work for uses Red Shirts for guards and Navy Blue for Supervisors. I'd love to wear Navy Blue sometimes lol

But Bright Red for guards ;)

Other pool I work at uses green guard shirts.

Current lifeguard sitting in the guard office right now on my phone. Navy blue all the way.

Ew... don't you have a bathroom to clean or a pool deck to sweep 😂

You always hose deck, what is this sweeping?

What is your opinion on those people that think throwing young children in a pool will "teach" them to swim? Happened to me and I almost drowned, but friends of mine have said that's how they learned.

That is a horrible way to introduce or teach someone to swim. That tends to instill a fear that takes a lot of time to get rid of.

Everything swimming is taught in progressions, one of those progressions is starting shallow and working your way deeper and deeper.

It is never the instructors decision on how fast the swimmer progresses, it is up to the swimmer. Comfort level is huge and a major part of my job is building trust. Kids trust me and if I erode that trust by taking them to deep water before they are ready they will regress. I've seen it happen before.

As an instructor, I think this is one of the worst ways to do it. Teaching progressions is honestly the way to go.

Yep! Progressions are the best.

My nanny kid is 3 and has been taking swim classes since he was 6 months. He still refuses to put his head underwater. Any advice?

I play alot of games with aims in my preschool classes. Each game is designed to develop rhythmic breathing (bubbles) and submersion (eyes in). It's building that comfort level and I'll just take time.

Take him to the pool and practice at home in the bathtub. Use progressions and try and break it up into easy steps. For example start with dumping a little bit of water on the top of his head and let it drip to his eyes, cup your hands and have him put his eyes in, fill a small bucket and have him put his eyes in.

Hope this helps a bit!

Are there certain people that just cannot learn to swim?

There are those kids that some instructors say swimming is not their sport; but I believe everyone can learn to swim. Swimming requires a lot of practice to develop muscle memory and proper technique. There are many different learner types so sometimes skills aren’t picked up right away, so as instructors we are trained in many different ways to teach so it applies to all learner types. Some times kids just don’t get it till you say or do something different then it clicks.

Kids with autism

I have taught kids with autism as well as taken a Workshop on Supporting Children with ASD in Recreational Settings. They can and do learn how to swim. You just have to teach in a different way and find out how they learn.

Shout out to all my fellow Fox 40 blowers.

Is there really another whistle out there worth owning?

No, Fox 40 is the way to go. Own 3 and I'm looking to buy more colors!

How do I prevent water from getting in my eyes when I'm in the shower?

Dive mask / googles.

You want me to use Googles in the shower? Won't my phone get wet?

Large hamster ball is the way to go then.

Swim Instructor here! Love my job but I find that the parents are the hardest part

How do you convince parents that swimming is not just a sport but rather a life skill?

Would your child be able to survive an unexpected fall in to deep water?

And bringing up Drowning statistics like "In Canada, drowning is the No. 1 cause of unintentional injury deaths among children 1-4 years of age, and the second leading cause of preventable death for children under 10 years."

Puts swimming into perspective for a lot of parents.

Do you know what the number one preventable cause of death is?

Car crashes I believe.

I'm a lifeguard currently on my break at the pool!

For what reasons have you seen lifeguards get fired? I had a couple of guys jump off the roof of a building into the pool after their shift, recorded them doing it and put it on snapchat. They got fired so fast.

Kids drowning in their classes where a Lifeguard has to jump in, and not jumping in during an obvious drowning where a guard had to run down from the top of the water slide and still got there first.

Hey! I've been a WSI for over 5 years now! Do you like LSS or Red Cross programs more?

In BC we teach Red Cross programs because LSS and Red Cross made a deal. Red Cross runs lessons and LSS does guarding. So I have never taught LSS swim lessons.

I think the Red Cross Preschool program should be broken up into more levels to make easier progressions and so parents don't feel like they are getting ripped of if their kid incompletes.

I am a big fan of LSS programs though.

Fellow lifeguard here.

Why did you become a lifeguard/instructor?

I have always loved swimming after starting from a very early age. My parents encouraged me to go and take my Bronze Medallion and Cross. Towards the end of High School, I decided it would be a good job so I finished the rest of my certifications.

How long can you hold your breath under water?

Not sure how long but I have swam 25m ~ without coming up for air.

At first I though you meant minutes and I was like "Holy Fucking shit dude!"

When you sprout gills and never come out of the water...

What was the scariest on-the-job situation you've ever been in?

Nothing to scary but anything that happens that requires a 911 call.

There was this kid that wouldn't stop coughing, I got a radio call to go check on them in families. When I got there mom said he'd been coughing for half an hour before they notified the front desk staff. I took him to the guard room where the other guards dealt with it while I went back out on deck. He ending up having difficulty breathing and coughed so much he started to throw up.

The other is when I finished lessons and was off. I was with a bunch of other guards in front of the guard room when one of the other guards noticed this lady had fallen on the stairs, she ended up going unconsciousness briefly. Fastest response time from ambulance that I've ever seem like 1-3 minutes.

Lots off scary stuff happens when I'm not at work though, always fun to hear about.

Why can't I tread water?

Improper technique? Hard to say without looking. Are you using egg beater? Try big, wide, slow movements to increase surface area and not tired yourself out.

How do you feel about Ellis&Associates?

The Lifesaving Society has taken Ellis & Associates 10/20 Patron Protection Rule and has adapted it to the 10-30 scan rule that we use in Canada.

I don't know a lot about Ellis & Associates but they seem good.

How often do you actually have to get into the water when there is a problem?

None yet surprisingly! Though I ran to backup my other guard for a drowning none swimmer but they had already made it to the edge so I just helped pull the kid up. Lots of dry land first aids and problems though.

Have you ever hired a cam girl to pretend like she's drowning (sorry)?

Nope, lol!

What is your favorite kind of cheese 🧀?

White cheddar

I used to be a part time lifeguard and didn't find very much money in the job. How well off would you say you are compared to the satisfaction and enjoyment of the work? <-- Former lifeguard who loved his job

I'm lucky because where I am guarding pays well. Upwards of $20 CAN an hour. I make good money and I hope to make even more as I move up positions and work longer. I love my job so much that's why I want to continue to work in Aquatics.

Hello I am a student in a school who mandatory teaches swimming and we had to swim in the 10 feet pool (i cannot swim) and now I cant stand swimming and just watching swimming videos terrifies me. Any advice for me?

Talk to your local pool about Adult beginner or fearful Adult Lessons. Talk with your instructor about your specific goals and they will work with you to reach them. Swimming can be a hard skill to learn by yourself.

What's usually the most accident/incident prone area of the pool for you?

At the pool I used to work at as a swim coach we had a wave pool that was a common place for DNS's, especially along the back wall where it was easy to jump in the water and not realize it was over their heads.

Probably the deep end. Our guards are pretty good at preventing incidents before they become problems.

As a current aquatics employee, I find that a lot of patrons lead with "As a former lifeguard/swim instructor" when complaining about specific policies or refunds or that sort of thing. My inner reaction is something like "no one here gives a fuck that you were a lifeguard in the 80s". Do you ever experience this sort of thing?

Had that line told to me by a guy that was complaining about lesson plans laying on the deck being a "tripping hazard". Ok man, I'll talk to my instructors.

I'm not trained in anyway but I have saved two people from drowning before. Does the super adrenaline rush ever subside?

Anytime I hear a whistle or during a major I still get it.

Fellow lifeguard and instructor here! Our facility is about to add a Junior Lifeguarding program for ages 12-15, and I was asked to instruct. What do you think are some of the most important things for them to know if they are interested in becoming a guard?

Edit: Thought of another question to add on. What's your favorite stroke?

Junior Lifeguard Club is lots of fun. Building up there endurance and treading is a great idea in preparation for guarding. That seems to be the area most candidates struggle in for Bronze courses.

Scanning drills are also a lot of fun such as spotting certain objects hidden around the pool. As well as learning and hand signals to communicate with each other.

Favorite Stroke is front crawl for sprint, breast stroke for relaxing.

Do you intentionally train lifeguards to blow their whistles at people walking slightly faster than a tortoise? :)

lol, in Canada we don't use our whistles for rule infractions, only in emergencies or pool closures. Thats why we just yell instead :)

I see that all the references now seem to reference Lifesaving Society.

Is the RLSS no longer a thing?

Source: got my bronze medallion at 17 through the RLSS while living in Ontario.

Same agency, changed their name.

Do you ever pick out kids as you're lifeguarding and think "Yeah, I guess if it came down to it, I'd let that one drown"?

No, but it's always "That kid is going to drown" then you yell "Hey bud make sure you stay in the shallow end!".

What is the meaning of life?

Swimming

Does the physics of a boner facilitate drowning?

Do boobs make women float? 🤔

Is that also why 79% of drowning victims are male.

Every gone skinny dipping following lifeguarding?

Nope!

Fellow lifeguard here, what do recommend as a good resource to get a refresher on procedures after not having worked for a while?

If you are a Lifesaving Society guard there are some great resource refreshers on their website (might need a member login). Manuals or practicing with co-workers.

think you could take Michael Phelps in a fair fight?

Probably not.

Do you instruct people to carry an escape tool in their car? If so, do you have a specific tool you recommended?

I do not, as for a tool I know you can get some good small glass breakers. Maybe look on YouTube?

Fellow lifeguard/swim instructor here... which broken rule drives you the most crazy? Mine is when patrons jump off the diving platforms without signal from the guard.

Multiple kids rushing side or stopping in the slide, swimming under bulkheads.

Fellow head guard here!

Thoughts on Ellis & Associates?

The Lifesaving Society has taken Ellis & Associates 10/20 Patron Protection Rule and has adapted it to the 10-30 scan rule that we use in Canada.

I don't know a lot about Ellis & Associates but they seem good.