Lifeguarding

Learn how to be a lifeguard. YMCA Lifeguarding class participants must be at least 16 years of age at the start of class. Participants must pass a swimming test, which is held during the first lesson. American Red Cross CPR, First Aid, Oxygen, and A.E.D. certifications are included. Please call 869-0151 or contact Sarah Martin for class times.

YMCA Lifeguard Course Registration Form
Contact Sarah Martin for more information 336-869-0151

Stay tuned for the next available class!

Prerequisites:
Bring your swim suit!
You must pass the following swimming test the first night:

Perform a long, shallow front dive, then swim five hundred meters, including one hundred meters each of: sidestroke, front crawl, breaststroke, sidestroke kick with one arm forward, and inverted breaststroke kick with arms on the stomach.
Tread water for two minutes with legs only.
Surface dive head first and feet first in eight to ten feet of water and swim underwater for fifteen feet.

As a lifeguard, you must be able to accomplish these tasks:

Remain alert, with no lapses of consciousness
Sit for extended periods, including in an elevated chair
Move to various locations, including in and around an elevated chair
Communicate verbally, including projecting the voice across distances and communicate swiftly and effectively with emergency personnel over telephones and in person.
Hear noises and distress signals in the aquatic environment with background noise
Observe all assigned sections of the water environment
Perform all needed rescues and survival skills
Think in the abstract, solve problems, make decisions, instruct, evaluate, supervise, and remember.
Operate alone as a lifeguard, without other lifeguards for support