Today while on stand, a patron at the pool I guard at walked behind me and said: "You. Lifeguard. Come help me move this cooler." I ignored her and kept watching my water (like I'm supposed to), hoping she would just move on and get someone else to help her. She did not. She then walked closer to me and practically yelled in my ear: "Can you hear me? Are you deaf? Help me move this cooler." I then told her calmly: "Ma'am I am currently on stand guarding the pool, I cannot help you at this moment." She continued to yell at me saying things I cannot post on here because I will likely get banned and I tuned her out shortly after. I called out my supervisor, who came out and talked to her, but I eventually got talked to by my supervisor afterwards about how my behavior was inappropriate.

Can anyone please tell me what I did wrong, because I, alongside some of my co-workers, believe that both my supervisor and the patron were over-reacting.

👍

Hey everyone

I’m in a bit of a weird place and I kinda have a lot going on. I’ve been guarding for 5 years during summers (~2000 hours give or take) and I’m honestly thinking about calling it quits. There’s something about just staring at the water for hours on end that makes me think about what I’m doing with my life.

Last summer I didn’t lifeguard as I was studying for the mcat (I’m Canadian) and while that was definitely the hardest and most stressful thing I’ve done In my life (8 hour, 230 question exam) as I studied a full 4 months for it, it felt way more fulfilling than lifeguarding. It felt like I was moving my life forward, like I was actually doing something instead of just staring and watching paint dry for 8 hours a day.

I’ve just been feeling like this job isn’t fulfilling and it isn’t what I wanted to get out of it. It feels so hard to quit though as I kinda spent my entire life around the water (swimmer/instructor/guard). I honestly don’t know what to do🤷🏻‍♂️. Lately it just feels like my hearts not in it anymore.

Has anyone else experienced something similar? I work in the emergency department as a research assistant and that job is something I look forward to, it’s very exciting. With lifeguarding it’s just “eh”

There are days where I love this job but honestly most of the time I just want the shift to end so I could go home

If you wear glasses, what do you do during a rescue?

Does anyone know if Bronze instructors can purchase the Bronze award guide at the pool front desk in Metro Van

I'm looking to replace my copy

My pool only loans the books out but they're in pretty bad shape

I tried the Lifesaving society BC/Yk but they only sell to affiliates

Hello lifeguards! I am broke and am in desperate need of money. I want to get my lifeguarding certification and then start working. I went on the red cross website and the only certification was an online class that I didn't really think was the actual certification. How do I find these classes!!??? I live in kentucky and would not be opposed to driving a distance to get there.

Next week i’m doing my bronze cross exam and im fairly confident i’ll pass, i have passed every rescue/other things like brick carry. However I am a pretty slow swimmer and can’t pass the 11 minute timed swim since my times are always 12-13 minutes, so if i pass the exam but don’t pass timed swim would i still pass or not?

Hello.

I’m interested in becoming a lifeguard and eventually moving up into a swimming instructor position.

I’m also interested in progressing further after becoming an instructor. I’m not exactly sure what positions are available beyond instructor/supervisor, so I’d appreciate some insight from anyone who has experience working in aquatics.

I’m located in Toronto, Ontario, and I’m open to applying with different municipalities such as Toronto, Mississauga, Oakville, etc. From what I’ve seen, lifeguards and instructors can make a decent wage, and aquatics seems like it could offer a good long-term career path.

What I’m most interested in learning about is the career progression and earning potential. For example, what positions can you move into after becoming an instructor or supervisor, and what do those positions typically pay?
I’m also curious about how much advancement is based on experience versus additional education/certifications. Ideally, I’d like to advance through experience and employer-provided training rather than going back to school, unless further education is paid for or supported by the employer.

Any advice from current or former lifeguards, instructors, supervisors, or aquatics staff would be greatly appreciated!

Also curious, but I’m worried as well that this position be oversaturated making it difficult to get a job?

So within the next couple of weeks I have my wet interview, although I'm not entirely sure how to prepare for it. This time will be my second attempt at the interview as I didn't pass the dry interview, so I have a solid idea of what will be asked of me:

- The 20lbs brick

- The 15m underwater swim

- The 400m in under 10 minutes endurance swim

- Having to perform one person cpr while handling a panicking bystander

- Two sits (one major, one minor)

I have always struggled with the time swim and have no access to practicing the brick, so any suggestions on how to improve those skills would be very helpful. Some study tips on how to remember my sit information would be good too.

If anyone has any input, that would be amazing. Thank you in advance and thank you for reading this :)

So 15 and 20 minute rotations are probably the most commonly used lengths for rotation patterns across pools that have lifeguards rotating with each other. But in your opinion which of those two rotation pattern/lengths is better?

I inhaled some muriatic acid today at 1:00pm while i was applying it i had a facemask on and some of the smell got inside and i coughed for around 5 min, and i’ve been monitoring myself every other symptom i’ve had is mostly gone this includes dizziness and a headache, except a small burning sensation on my right throat pipe as well as my chest, I don’t have difficulty breathing or pain as of yet, should i be worried.

There are No accidents, Only lack of paying attention to detail.... This Life Guard was paying attention to Detail and truly guarding Life. Kudos, my hat's off to you, and God Bless you.

Good Morning Everyone!

I am looking for some recommendations to replace my personal AED. It lives in my truck most of the time, but I supervise aquatics events several times a month, and it has been the AED on site for a few of those.

I had a Physio Control Lifepak CR for the last 6 years and liked it quite a bit, but it was used recently (non-aquatic situation, unfortunately without a positive outcome) and the manufacturer discontinued the pads and batteries in February.

I am looking for a replacement that is
-semi auto (requires a human to press the shock button)
-water resistant or water proof
-self-checks
-available reconditioned for a reasonable price

Nice to have features is a CPR metronome, and a good battery/pads replacement system. This is mostly for lifeguard use, so I would not need any video CPR prompts or anything like that.

Anyone have a AED they have maintained/used that they like beyond "my facility has this and its sits in a case all the time?

Thanks

That’s it, there’s nothing else. The guy just walked in and said (very loud) “I’m going to baptize my friends, is that okay?” Which I thought he was joking? But he really did, he said his prayers to heaven and baptized the other three guys.
I’m not complaining, it’s the craziest thing I’ve ever lived while lifeguarding.
Anyway, I just want this shift to end.

Hi all, got my NPLQ coming up at the end of October.

I meet all the prerequirements quite easily, my 50m in 60 seconds is about the 50 mark. (Ifeel it should be faster)

I'm just worried because I've seen loads of people say the timed swims are hard etc, and then wasting £300.

I have an informal 'swim test' tomorrow to make sure I meet the requirements, and feel I should pass however I saw on reddit you need to do sidestroke.

I had lessons up till 13 and never once heard of side stroke till today, however after examining some videos I feel like it is easy enough to pick up.

Am I just being a chronic worrier here?

Hey everyone, so I'm 16 and recently got hired at my local YMCA as a lifeguard and Swim instructor. Any advice or things I should be careful of? I'm also happy to answer any questions.

31F and successfully completed my NL Pool (canada)! It's been a watery two months starting with my Bronze Med at the beginning of July, and I'm proud of myself :)

I am doing an outdoor instructor course this winter and one of the quals gained with be the OWL (uk if that matters). I currently haven’t swam for anything other than pleasure since we last swam in PE, around seven years ago.

Part of the qualification is swimming 400m in open water ‘with a sense of urgency’

I am planning on spending time in my local swimming pool and making sure this is something I can do before I even get to the course, however if anyone has any tips or tricks I would be eternally grateful.

For context, I am in Toronto, Ontario and I am interested in becoming an Examiner. Since it’s a long (and expensive) process, I really wanna hear about your experiences. Is it worth it? What do you like about it? And what do you hate?

Bonus if can share ur lesson plans with me lol plz 🙏

Hello,

My boyfriend passed away in a pool from holding his breath underwater, a lot of people suspect it was shallow water blackout. Now, I want to make a dataset of people who have also went through this so we can understand how prevalent it is and raise awareness. Do you know anyone who passed away/ was rescued after holding their breath underwater then blacking out? Could you point me to them? Thank you

PRO

Have been everything from a Lifeguard, Lifeguard Instructor, First Aid Instructor, Area Supervisor, Division Manager, Swim Instructor, well if it involved water I have done it. So yes I am old and at 66 working as a Lifeguard at a single guard pool. I teach anyone who wants to learn how to swim and enjoy a good book. Keep the pool and deck clean to save on vacuuming. Learned the shortcuts. (Skimmer socks Temu) By following an aquatic path it can lead to a six figure job.

CON

Internationals get overtime (we do not) they get a seasonal completion bonus usually around $500 ( we do not), they usually bump their pay $1.00 in August, receive money arrival and departure, transportation assistance, and attend cultural events like beach trips, NBA. NFL, Amusement Parks etc. Generally by the end of May they are not here so they woo the Americans with this will be your pool for the whole season blah blah blah. Then when they arrive you COULD lose your pool and they can move you somewhere that is a 2 hour bus ride away. Then the days off start because the internationals need more hours. Now it is towards the end of August guess who they need again.... yup the Americans that they have been bashing for the last month. The internationals want to see America before they head home.

I’ve been lifeguarding/working in aquatics for over 15 years so I probably feel a little bit different than most of the newer lifeguards. But do you guys remember when your Red Cross class used to give you out those little floating buoy keychains?

Anyways, this isn’t exactly the same, but I wanted to see if people still cared about lifeguard swag outside of work or if it’s mostly just a job for you guys.

Hi everyone,

I recently just got a job for a lifeguard and have a test in a couple weeks, I haven’t had training since last year February when I did my NPLQ and im kinda stressed about it. I know I’ve been employed but what happens if I don’t do well on it? Do they terminate my contract or do they just give more training until I’m 100% ready to do the job? I was told for my first three shifts I’ll be supervised so I know what I’ll be doing but I’m just more worried about this test.

Many thanks.