The Water Safety Ireland (WSI) National Pool Lifeguard Award is the nationally and internationally recognised qualification required to work as a Pool Lifeguard in Ireland or abroad.
This award is recognised by the International Life Saving (ILS) federation, the International Federation of Swimming Teachers’ Associations (IFSTA) and the International Maritime Rescue Federation (IMRF).
The WSI National Pool Lifeguard Award consists of three broad sections.
Theory – A series of lectures along with supplementary worksheets cover the theory behind everything from rescues to pool water testing and observation techniques. There is a strong emphasis here on the practical knowledge that a Pool Lifeguard will need to perform their duties.
BLS – Basic Life Support is taught as a key skill for Pool Lifeguards in dealing with major emergencies. Training manikins and bag valve masks (BVMs) are used to allow candidates to get practical experience of giving chest compressions and ventilations as well as the use of trainer AEDs and oxygen administration.
Water Work – Pool and classroom time are dedicated to working on a set of core rescue techniques, key to any Pool Lifeguard’s skills. Among the techniques practised are land-based rescues, swimming rescues, escapes from drowning grips, in-water resuscitation and spinal injury management.
Course Features
- Lectures 17
- Quizzes 0
- Duration 5 weeks
- Skill level Intermediate
- Language English
- Students 606
- Assessments Yes
Requirements
- Candidates should be 16 years of age or older.
- Candidates should be strong swimmers, especially in deep water.
- Candidates should be able to swim head-up front crawl, side stroke, inverted breast stroke and surface dive to the deepest part of the pool.
- Candidates should be able to swim 50m front crawl in under 60 seconds.
