Lifeguard Training

About the Course

The American Red Cross Lifeguarding course provides participants with the knowledge and skills to prevent, recognize, and respond to aquatic emergencies, as well as to provide care for breathing and cardiac emergencies and injuries until advanced personnel take over. Participants who successfully complete the course will receive a 2-year certification in American Red Cross Lifeguarding, First Aid, and CPR/AED for Professional Rescuers. This certification is required for employment as a lifeguard with Santa Cruz County Parks.

The course is taught using a blended learning format, with independent online coursework followed by in-person skill sessions. In total, the course takes about 28 hours to complete. We offer the course multiple times throughout August to May.

Participants must be at least 15 years of age by the first day of the course.

Pre-Course Swim Assessment

The assessment evaluated your endurance, strength, and comfort in the pool. Participants must pass the following to take the class:

• Swim 150 yards continuously using the front crawl (freestyle), breaststroke, or a combination of both. Then, maintain position at the surface of the water for 2 minutes by treading water using only the legs. After 2 minutes, swim 50 yards using the front crawl (freestyle), breaststroke, or a combination of both.
• Complete the following event within 1 minute and 40 seconds without goggles: swim 20 yards, surface dive to submerge to a depth of 7 to 10 feet to retrieve a 10-pound object, return to the surface and swim 20 yards on the back to return to the starting point, holding the object at the surface with both hands and keeping face at or near the surface, then exit the water without using a ladder or steps.

For safety reasons, candidates who cannot complete the pre-course swim assessment before the class begins are not eligible to continue in the American Red Cross Lifeguard course and will receive a full refund.