The American Red Cross has been the leader in swimming and lifeguarding since 1914. Now the winning tradition continues with an exciting new collection of courses designed to make learning easier and to help you benefit from the latest research on instructional techniques.
The American Red Cross of Florida's West Coast Region's Swimming and Lifeguarding program consists of the following courses:
Developed for children 6 months to 5 years of age, American Red Cross Parent and Child Aquatics builds swimming readiness by emphasizing fun in the water. Parents and children participate in several guided practice sessions that help children learn elementary skills, including water entry, bubble blowing, front kicking, back floating, underwater exploration and more. Once children can perform basic skills without parental assistance, they may begin Learn-to-Swim courses.
The new American Red Cross Learn-to-Swim classes provide instruction to help swimmers of all ages and abilities develop their swimming and water safety skills. It is designed to give students a positive learning experience. Learn-to-Swim teaches aquatic and safety skills in a logical progression. The objective is to teach people to swim and to be safe in, on and around the water. Skills are categorized in the following way:
- Water Entry and Exit
- Breath Control and Underwater Swimming
- Buoyancy
- Changing Direction and Position
- Treading
- Swimming on Front, Back and Side
- General and Personal Water Safety
- Helping Others
Are you 15 or older and looking for a great summer job or a challenging career? American Red Cross Lifeguarding is the best place to start! Lifeguarding puts you in an exciting position, working as part of a team to help people safely enjoy the water. Lifeguarding will help you develop skills and experience that will be valued by colleges and future employers. It's a great way to demonstrate what you can offer. Colleges and employers look for applicants who can deal effectively with people, who have a take charge attitude and who are willing to work to develop new skills.
American Red Cross GuardStart: Lifeguarding Tomorrow is designed to prepare 11- to 14-year olds to take Red Cross Lifeguarding certification programs and for future work as lifeguards. The GuardStart program helps participants build a foundation of knowledge, attitudes and skills that they will need to be responsible lifeguards. Lessons are grouped into five main areas: prevention, fitness, response, leadership and professionalism.
The American Red Cross Water Safety Instructor Course provides instructor candidates the training needed to teach courses in the American Red Cross Swimming and Water Safety Program by developing their understanding of how to use the course materials, how to conduct training sessions and how to evaluate participants' progress.
The American Red Cross Safety Training for Swim Coaches course was developed in collaboration with USA Swimming to educate swim coaches and other aquatic professionals how to prevent and respond to emergencies while on the pool deck.
The American Red Cross offers five water safety presentations to teach individuals how to be safe in, on and around the water as well as stress the importance of learning to swim. The following presentations can be customized to fit a group’s needs.
- Water Safety Today (2 hours) and General Water Safety (30 minutes) teach individuals how to recognize, prevent and respond to emergencies in, on and around water.
- Home Pool Safety (30 minutes) provides information for pool owners on how to keep families, tenants and guests safe in an aquatic environment.
- Parent Orientation to Swimming Lessons (30 minutes) is an orientation for parents about American Red Cross swimming lessons offered at local aquatic facilities.
- Longfellow's WHALE Tales (K-6th grade) is taught in a classroom setting and helps children learn safe behavior in, on and around the water. Each lesson is reinforced with color posters, worksheets, activities and a video that features Longfellow, the animated whale.
Designed to increase safety wherever and whenever water sports are enjoyed, the Water Safety Handbook includes easy-to-remember safety tips for pools, spas, water parks, lakes, rivers, oceans and more. The handbook is ideal for parents, the general public, youth in grades 4-12 or youth organizations, and people who participate in activities in and around the water, such as camp staff and campers.
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