Part-time Lifeguard course

Part-time Lifeguard course

The Irish people, god bless 'em, are a tenacious lot. Come the first sunny day in April, they are off to the nearest beach, armed only with a light green bath towel, a bottle of factor 30 and JWT's summer brochure. They, too, need to be saved if they get into difficulties, if only to preserve the tradition down future generations.

And there is also the chlorine-addicted to consider. Ireland has a large amount of pools, both corporation-run and in gyms. Who else but lifeguards can tell the public when to get out, to straighten up their legs and to take the water wings off their feet?

With a beach lifeguarding part-time course, you will learn how to judge tides, weather systems and currents and how to prevent an emergency situation from developing. You should also be instructed in open-sea rescue skills, cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR), spinal injury prevention and first aid. The basic skills you will be taught on a pool lifeguarding course are similar but you also learn how to supervise diving and other poolside activities.

In general, to become a lifeguard, you will need to be over 16 years of age, be basically fit and confident in the water. The Royal Life Saving Society (RLSS) Ireland offer well-recognised qualifications for both pool and beach lifeguards. Both courses last a minimum of 32 hours and an independent appraiser will assess your skills.

Approximately 1,000 RLSS National Pool Lifeguard Qualification certs are awarded each year. This part-time course consists of two units - the foundation module and the site-specific module. The foundation module is delivered by qualified RLSS trainers, who have undergone specialist training and teaches candidates the essential lifeguarding skills necessary to supervise a pool.

After this, the course participants undergo 14 hours of site specific training at the pool where they work or where they attended their course. The RLSS qualification is endorsed by the world governing body for lifesaving, ILS, and it is widely recognised in Britain and also in the US and Australia.

To complete the RLSS National Beach Lifeguard Qualification, participants must already be able to comfortably swim 400 meters in under 8 minutes (soon to be revised and changed to 7mins 30sec), with a split time below 3mins 30sec; and also complete a 200m run, 200m swim, and tow a casualty 200m in one single test.

Bear in mind that becoming a lifeguard won't necessarily afford you the Baywatch lifestyle. Red swimsuits and sexy mix-ups with your colleagues will not be the order of the day. It will be tough. Lifeguards work in incredibly difficult and variable conditions, and use all available time to train beyond their limit to confidently complete and prevent emergency situations.

Still interested? Then why not give it a go. It's what Mitch would want...