12 Essential Lifeguard Training Topics for a Successful Summer

Ready for a great summer? Start by planning the lifeguard training’s that your team needs to perform their best all season long. Here are 12 in-service topics to help you organize your weekly meetings and ensure your teams success.

Scanning – Start the summer off with a refresher on one of the most important lifeguarding skills. Guards with good scanning skills stop small problems from becoming big problems.

Emergency Action Plan – You’ve got an EAP your entire team can follow, now train to it. Going through the motions repeatedly increases success during real life emergencies.

CPR Refresh – Your lifeguard team likely recertifies in CPR every other year, if not more. That’s just not often enough. Add it to your early season training list. If you’re not qualified to teach professional level CPR, bring in an outside trainer who is.

AED Usage – See CPR above, same idea. Make sure your staff know the ins and outs of your AED. Using an AED-trainer (a mock AED that works just like yours, but is only used for training purposes) will help your team perform better in emergency situations. Consider real-life scenarios and practice this skill regularly.

Chemical Safety – Does everyone on your lifeguarding crew know what happens when you combine chlorine and acid? They should. Your chemicals are dangerous. Teach your team to use them safety, or not at all. Check out our article on pool chemical safety for the basics.

Advanced Rescues – Now that you’ve covered the basics, it’s time to loop back around to key points from lifeguard training courses that are the most challenging to succeed at. Make sure deep water rescues and spinal injuries are on the list.

Chemical Checks – If your guard crew is checking the chemicals, you’re relying on them for essential information. Proper chem checks are the basis for an efficient, clean and safe pool. Make sure everyone’s on the same page.

First Aid – Basic first aid doesn’t seem so basic when you’ve got a crowd around, a screaming child and blood on the pool deck. Like everything else, the more you practice, the better you perform in a real emergency.

Cross Training – Want a great in-service? Set up a cross training with your local first responders. Your team will get to watch the pros in action and when you do have an emergency, your fire department or local ambulance will be familiar with your facility, personnel and protocols.

Weather – This varies in severity and type depending on location, but it’s something we all need to consider. How will your crew handle the worst storm of the summer?

Rule Enforcement – Your pool, your rules. Make them as strict as you want and then make sure your staff feels comfortable enforcing your rules consistently and fairly.

Customer Service – It’s not our prime directive, but customer service keeps people coming back, and more swimmers is great for our aquatic community.

Questions about these training topics? We’re happy to help. Give us a call at 1-844-482-1777 for implementation tips and more ideas to help your team stay at the top of their game this summer.