Lifeguard Classes
- See Also: East Bay Regional Parks Junior Lifeguards
- Related Pages: Swim Classes for Teens & Pre-teens ... Summer Swim Camps
Parent Q&A
Archived Q&A and Reviews
Questions |
Lifeguard training/certificate for 16 year old
Sept 2011
Hi, Can anyone tell us where to get Lifeguard training with the certificate for our teen? We've queried the Berkeley YMCA and they only occasionally offer this (like, every 5 years or so). Any other ideas? I know there must be teens in/near Berkeley getting the certificate, but we'd love to know where! Thanks so much. Teen needs Lifeguard certification
I'd check in with the city of Berkeley Aquatics program (which I think is part of parks and rec). They should know where to go for this. Dianna
Try the East Bay Regional Parks District. http://www.ebparks.org/node/263 Anon
My son went to http://norcallifeguardtraining.com/home in Lafayette. She seems to offer only summer classes but may know of something else. I also had a difficult time finding a program. Ellen
The El Cerrito Swim Center is offering Lifeguard Training Classes starting Sept. 26th, Mon. and Wed. for 3 weeks and one all day Sat. on Oct 1. Also the Richmond swim center at Kennedy High starts on Sept 29th for 2 full weekends. Bridget Cooney Aquatics Supervisor City of El Cerrito 7007 Moeser Lane El Cerrito, CA 94530 Phone: (510) 559-7015 Fax: (510) 528-9413 bcooney [at] ci.el-cerrito.ca.us Another mom
Our 16 yr old son completed his lifeguard training at Mills College this summer. Laura
When we did this a few years ago, we found very few programs in the area. There was one at the Piedmont Pool, which we couldn't fit into the schedule. I took my daughter to the El Cerrito pool and that worked out fine. You might also try calling the Richmond Plunge, UC Berkeley and the City of Berkeley. Call every pool you can think of. At the time, lifeguarding was required to teach swimming to kids. My second kid taught swimming without the class. I don't know why that changed. anon
Junior Lifeguard camp through the East Bay Regional Parks
May 2011
I'm looking for feedback on the Junior Lifeguard camp through the East Bay Regional Parks. My 10 year old daughter is gung-ho, and an excellent swimmer, but my 9 year old son is not as enthusiastic. He is not as good a swimmer (but will easily pass the 25-yard swim test), and I'm thinking of pushing him to do it to get more comfortable in the water. Is it fun? Is it intense? Better for the 11-13 age range? Thanks! Melissa
My daughter attended the Junior Lifeguard camp at Lake Anza several years ago. It was very instructional and also very fun. The hard part was arriving in the early morning wind and fog and getting in the water. I think there were games in the afternoon. . . -Bee
My kids did Junior Lifeguard camp at Lake Temescal for a couple of summers -- it was a great camp for the older one (at ages 11 and 12), and I found it hard to find camps she liked at that age. Younger one, 9 and 10 when she went, liked it less, possibly because there were fewer kids that age, but she was okay with it. It fell into the category of ''camps I loved and my kids were okay with'' -- they work on swimming and fitness and learn some basic first aid and rescue skills; they get to hang out with cool lifeguards all day; they're in a beautiful place. (Every morning at dropoff I wistfully wished I could spend all day at the lake.) I also appreciated that it's reasonably priced and scheduled week by week so there's flexibility. Kathy
Berkeley Y offers a lifeguard certification class. There are skill tests at the end to get certified. Once she has the certification she will be able to get a job, and there will probably be some ongoing training.