6 Tips for Your First Season Lifeguarding
Nervous? That’s understandable. But get excited — this could be the beginning of the best summer of your life! But, that’s only true if you allow yourself to let fun in! Here’s a few tips to help you get through your first season lifeguarding.
Tip #1: Be confident in whatever you do
Trust yourself and your training — you wouldn’t be here if you weren’t qualified. The pool is your kingdom, and you are lord of the realm. Guests may not always appreciate your rules; here’s some tips for handling that when it happens. You’re setting the tone for how the rest of the pool operates for the summer. For example, don’t do anything off-duty that you would blow a whistle at.
Know your zones, since your training is the most important factor in building your authority. You might be uncertain whether a guest is truly in distress. If you don’t know, GO! It’s better to be safe than sorry.
Tip #2: Prevention is always better than rescue
The thing about lifeguarding is that you’re expected to see the danger before everyone else. It’s easier to call out a child to stop running than to treat their head injury. It’s easier to whistle to break up breath-holding games than it is to perform CPR.
Always be rescue ready! One minute everyone poolside is barbecuing and having a good time, and the next you may need to jump in and make a save.
Tip #3: You’ll be surprised how powerful the sun is
It’s going to get HOT out there. Protect yourself from the sun to make sure you stay safe while keeping others safe, as well. Make sure you always have sunscreen, a hat or visor with a brim, polarized sunglasses, and a sealed water bottle at your stand at all times!
Tip #4: Bring a bag or backpack
Businesspeople have briefcases, and lifeguards have backpacks. Here’s a list of essentials that will help you get through a long shift, namely:
- Sun gear (sunscreen, sunglasses, water, hat)
- Lifeguard uniform
- Towel
- Snacks
- Sweatshirt
- Water bottle
- Sandals (if you hoofed it to work with sneakers on)
- A few bucks for the snack bar or ice cream man!
It’s a good idea to read the whole list, so you’ll be prepared for anything so even the most challenging shift runs smoothly.
Tip #5: Learn your guests’ names
Your new pool is a community, so get to know them if you haven’t already! It makes your job so much easier when you’re able to develop a good relationship with guests. When you take care of this tip, you’ll find it’s not so hard to develop your confidence in handling guests over the season.
Tip #6: Smile! You’re working the best summer job ever!
Lifeguarding is a fulfilling gig, and we’ve thought of a few ways to make it even more fun this summer!
Summer to Win, our lifeguard rewards program, is about recognizing the best of the best guards for all their hard work. Office leads and recruiters nominate guards based on several factors, including:
- Safety
- Reliability
- Guest relations
We don’t mean to brag, but we’re stoked about this year’s stellar prizes, too. If there were ever a good reason to go above and beyond, this is definitely it. All you have to do is your best this summer, and you could win!