Photo Credit: © Can Stock Photo / Voyagerix
Noah was a freshly minted lifeguard who was starting his first summer job at the local park district. When he arrived at the beachfront, it looked nothing like the clear pool setting he had seen in his American Red Cross lifeguard training earlier that spring. Even though he had completed the waterfront module, the big, open span of water marked with buoys and float lines looked quite foreign.
Waterfronts and beaches are among the most popular areas in recreation settings—especially on hot summer days. Many park and recreation areas and camp programs employ certified lifeguards to provide a layer of safety for the public in activities such as swimming, sailing, canoeing, kayaking, Stand-Up Paddleboarding, and many more. While lifeguards are trained to perform rescues in water the majority of lifeguards are trained in pool settings and may lack an understanding of the nuances of a different aquatic environment. Park and recreation professionals must provide staff members with additional training for this situation.
Nuances Of Open-Water Environments
There are several considerations that lifeguards and supervisors need to be aware of in open-water environments, including: