Which Course Should I Choose for My Lifeguard Certification?

Like training and certification for any other job, there are a few choices you have when it comes to selecting your lifeguard certification course. The lifeguard certification course is offered by several entities including the American Red Cross, the YMCA, and the Boy Scouts of America among others. These three courses are generally accepted by most employers. As always, remember to check with the employer you'd like to work for and with the state requirements to make sure the course you select is acceptable to both.

There are many similarities in the certifications from the American Red Cross, the YMCA, and the Boy Scouts of America. All three courses have pre-course swim and fitness tests that are very similar. Typically, they require a distance swim using various strokes, a dive to recover an object, and treading water. After the completion of each course, you will be a certified as a lifeguard, in first aid, and CPR/AED for a period of two years.

The certifications are all very similar, but they do offer some differences that you may want to consider. The American Red Cross offers the most customization as they have a regular lifeguarding course as well as a shallow water lifeguarding course that you can choose from. Once you choose which course you'd like to take, you can select to take either the traditional in-person course or the blended learning course which includes portions of in-person and online learning. Once you are certified, they also offer the opportunity to take optional modules to learn Waterfront skills and Waterpark skills.

The courses from the YMCA on the other hand, are not as standardized. The courses will differ from location to location. Some YMCA's even offer the American Red Cross course. While they all result in the same certification, the amount of time in classroom learning, practical demonstration, and online training differs by location. Typically, Y lifeguard courses will include instruction in professional CPR, basic First Aid, and emergency oxygen administration. Check with your local YMCA for the syllabus of the course you are interested in.

The last course we focus on is provided by the Boy Scouts of America. Their course is broken up into 28 units which are each given an allotted amount of time. The course is designed to teach each lifeguard to know, comprehend, and apply the information and skills learned. The requirements to pass the course are a variety of skills that instructors can observe and measure you in. It also includes a test for which you must answer 80 percent of the questions correctly. The course offers you a very practical way to learn how to be a good lifeguard.

The lifeguarding courses described above all have several ways they are unique. While they tend to be the most popular lifeguard-certifying organizations, they are not the only ones. In order to get the most out of your course, you will need to consider the aspects of each course that are best suited to you. No matter which course you choose, you must remember that the requirements to be a good lifeguard will always be the same.

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