BSA Lifeguard will be offered at Camp Greilick this summer!
- Participants will need to attend everyday from 10:30-12:00 at the aquatics area.
- They must be 15 years old.
- They will need to receive their Red Cross 1st Aid and CPR (a 7+ hour class) within 120 days of camp. WE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO OFFER THIS AT CAMP.
Introduction
For three-quarters of a century, BSA Lifeguard and its predecessor, Scout Lifeguard, served the needs of both units and summer camps for water safety leadership training. Over that time, more and more programs requiring specialized skills were added, and at one point, BSA Lifeguard requirements included the skills for the Swimming, Lifesaving, Canoeing, Rowing, and First Aid merit badges. The skills that define the standard of care for professional life guarding, such as spinal injury management, have also evolved significantly. These changes have made it increasingly difficult to meet all the needs of the unit leader and the lifeguard for summer camp and year-round aquatics programs in a single training course of reasonable duration.
As a result, the emphasis of BSA Lifeguard has changed. The primary purpose of this training program is no longer to provide units with the skills necessary to conduct safe swimming and boating activities. Swimming and Water Rescue and Paddle Craft Safety are two new programs designed to meet that need. This revised BSA Lifeguard program is now focused on the need to provide professional lifeguards for BSA-operated facilities, council aquatics committees, and year-round aquatics programming with training that meets the requirements of government agencies at regulated swimming venues. The program is open to all registered adults and older youth (age 15 and older). BSA Lifeguard is recommended for aquatics staff lifeguard training and for those who wish to work as lifeguards for BSA year-round aquatics programs, or who are supporting council aquatics committees, as the next step beyond the Aquatics Supervision programs for unit leaders. This manual, along with a new BSA Lifeguard Application, BSA Lifeguard card, test questions, BSA-referenced materials, and American Red Cross–referenced materials, are the required support materials necessary for the instruction of BSA Lifeguard.
Those familiar with American Red Cross lifeguard training will notice the basic skills required for BSA Lifeguard significantly match those of the revised ARC program introduced in December 2006. That association is deliberate. ARC training for professional lifeguards in non surf situations is widely recognized, and ARC professionals work closely with BSA professionals and volunteers. The BSA, however, has extensive experience conducting youth swimming activities both in camp and out and has program-specific needs that must be addressed. BSA Lifeguard training includes basic preventative strategies, such as universally applied swimmer classification tests, and other operating procedures that are not included in detail in ARC training.
BSA Lifeguard Requirements
To be trained as a BSA Lifeguard, you must successfully complete the BSA Lifeguard course and demonstrate the ability to perform each of the skills taught in the course.
Prerequisites
Before doing requirements 6 through 25, complete the following:
1. Submit proof of age. You must be at least 15 years old to participate.
2. Submit written evidence of fitness for swimming activities (signed health history).
3. Swim continuously for 550 yards, including at least 100 yards each of the following strokes in good form: front crawl, breaststroke, elementary backstroke, and sidestroke.
4. Immediately following the above swim, tread water for two minutes.
5. Starting in the water, swim 20 yards using a front crawl or breaststroke, surface dive 7 to 10 feet, retrieve a 10-pound object, surface, swim with the object 20 yards back to the starting point, and exit the water, all within 1 minute, 40 seconds.
Requirements
Complete the following requirements within a 120-day period:
6. Demonstrate reaching assists from the deck using an arm, a rescue tube, and a pole.
7. Demonstrate throwing assists using a throw bag and a ring buoy with a line attached. Throw each device such that the line lands within reach of a conscious subject 30 feet from shore.
8. Demonstrate:
a) Rescue of a conscious subject in deep water using a rescue board, kayak, rowboat, canoe, or other rescue craft that would be available at your local facility.
b) Repeat for an unconscious subject.
9. Demonstrate an entry and front approach with a rescue tube to a conscious subject in deep water 30 feet away from shore. Extend the rescue tube within the grasp of the subject and then tow the subject back to the entry point, providing direction and reassurance throughout.
10. Demonstrate an entry and rear approach with a rescue tube to a conscious subject in deep water 30 feet away from shore. Grasp the victim from behind using a scoop technique under the arms to support the subject against a rescue tube squeezed between the victim’s back and the rescuer’s chest. Reassure the subject and tow the subject to shore.
11. Demonstrate use of a rescue tube to assist two subjects grasping each other.
12. Demonstrate both front and rear head-hold escapes from a subject’s grasp.
13. Demonstrate a feet-first entry in deep water with a rescue tube and swim an approach stroke 25 yards within 25 seconds while trailing the tube.
14. Demonstrate an entry and front approach with a rescue tube to a face-down unconscious subject at or near the surface in deep water. Use a wrist tow to place the subject face-up on the rescue tube and use a one-arm tow to the closest point of safety.
15. Demonstrate an entry and rear approach with a rescue tube to a face-down unconscious subject at or near the surface in deep water. Use a scoop technique to position the rescue tube between the subject and the rescuer’s chest, then either lean back or rotate to bring the subject face-up. Tow the subject to the nearest point of safety using either a two-arm tow or switching to a one-arm tow.BSA Lifeguard Instructor Manual—8
16. Demonstrate an entry and approach with a rescue tube for use when an unconscious subject is submerged face-down at or near the bottom in 6 to 8 feet of water. Bring the subject to the surface and tow to the nearest point of safety.
17. Remove a subject from the water using each of the following techniques in the appropriate circumstances with the aid of a second rescuer:
a) Vertical lift at the edge of a pool or pier using a backboard b) Walking assist c) Beach drag
18. Participate in multiple-rescuer search techniques appropriate for a missing subject in murky water:
a) Line search in shallow water
b) Underwater line search in deep water without equipment
c) Underwater line search in deep water with mask and fins
19. Demonstrate head-splint (extended arm rollover) in-line stabilization for a face-down subject with suspected spinal injury in very shallow water (18 inches or less).
20. Demonstrate head-splint in-line stabilization for a suspected spinal injury in shallow water (waist to chest deep):
a) For a face-up subject b) For a face-down subject
21. Demonstrate head and chin support in-line stabilization for a suspected spinal injury in shallow water (waist to chest deep):
a) For a face-up subject b) For a face-down subject
22. Demonstrate in-line stabilization for a suspected spinal injury in deep water, swim the subject to shallow water, confirm vital signs, and with the assistance of three others, remove the subject from the water using a backboard with straps and a head immobilization device.
23. Correctly answer 80 percent of the questions on the BSA Lifeguard written test covering Safe Swim Defense, aquatics procedures at BSA camps, guard duties, emergency action plans, surveillance, and water rescue. Review any incomplete or incorrect answers.
24. Show evidence of current training in American Red Cross First Aid (valid for three years) and American Red Cross CPR/AED for the Professional Rescuer (valid for one year) or equivalent (includes any training for a camp health officer recognized by BSA national camp standards).
25. Serve as a lifeguard, under supervision, for at least two separate BSA swimming activities for a combined time of two hours. Afterward, discuss the experience with the life guarding instructor.
