Pool Life Guard Course
Certification valid for two Days only.

Course Duration: 4 days including first aid training.

The purpose of the Pool Lifeguard Specialty Course is to teach students the skills needed to help recognize, prevent, and respond to aquatic emergencies and to provide care for breathing and cardiac emergencies, injuries, and sudden illnesses until Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel take over. This includes on-land and in-water rescue skills along with the essential CPR and first aid skills to ensure people employed as lifeguards at swimming pools can work individually and as team members and undertake their duties in a professional and customer-focused manner, thus ensuring the safety of users. The Pool Lifeguard training program has been developed as a leading practice to fairly measure the knowledge and proficiency required for the safe and effective lifeguarding of pools.

The following GOALS have been identified as potential benefits of this professional lifeguard certification:

• Fewer drowning accidents, injuries, and fatalities;
• Reduced risk of loss;
• Assurance of lifeguard’s abilities and standard code of practice;
• Less property damage;
• Improved safety records;
• Enhanced public image of lifeguards (prevention through education).

The following practical skills shall be taught at the poolside:

• Basic Water Rescue Skills
• Effective water entry with or without equipment.
• Assists and Rescues
• Effective water rescue skills on the surface, below the surface, and on the bottom for conscious and unconscious and suspected spinal injury rescues.
• Escapes
• Front and rear escapes
• Inland Casualty Care
• Using skills taught in the BLS/First Aid approved portion.

Lifeguard Candidate Prerequisite

1. Minimum Prerequisites

To enroll in a lifeguard course, candidates must:

1.1 Age Requirement

• Be of age according to UAE laws.

1.2 Swimming Skills

• Shallow Water Lifeguard (max depth 1.5m): Swim 50m nonstop in a comfortable manner.

• Pool Lifeguard (depth over 1.5m): Swim 100m nonstop in a comfortable manner.

• Beach/Waterfront Lifeguard: Swim 200m nonstop in a comfortable manner.

1.3 Surface Dive and Weight Recovery

• Shallow Water Lifeguard: Recover a 4 kg weight at 1.5m depth.

• Pool Lifeguard: Recover a 4 kg weight at 3m depth, or the facility’s maximum depth.

• Beach/Waterfront Lifeguard: Recover a 4 kg weight at 5m depth.

1.4 Treading Water

• Pool Lifeguard: Tread water for at least 5 minutes.

• Beach Lifeguard: Tread water for at least 10 minutes.

Note: Certification bodies may set higher prerequisites but not lower.

2. Lifeguard Training Requirements

2.1 Basic Life Support (BLS) and First Aid

Training (theory and practical) must cover:

• Scene assessment

• Barrier use / Standard precautions

• Primary assessment

• CPR (Adult, child, infant – including 2-person CPR and use of resuscitation mask)

• Rescue breathing

• Choking (conscious & unconscious, all age groups)

• Serious bleeding and shock management

• Spinal injury management (inland and in-water with spine board)

• AED (Automated External Defibrillator) use

• Emergency oxygen use (per DCAS classification)

• Injury and illness assessment & response

• Basic bandaging

• Immobilization (dislocations or fractures)

If a candidate has prior CPR/First Aid certification, they may be assessed on these skills or trained again as per the training provider.

3. Minimum Education Requirement

• Basic Conversational English

4. Lifeguarding Course Content

4.1 Theory Topics (May include)

• Incident management

• Incident prevention

• Hazard recognition

• Basic risk assessment

• Pool lifeguard duties

• Equipment usage

• Communications and signals