Where to train as a Pool Lifeguard?

tomhenryford

Hi there,

Just wondering if someone can point me in the right direction.

I need to do some (brush up) swimming lessons and I want to complete the Pool Lifeguard Cert.

The only course I could find was Sligo Swim School which seems to run out of Yeats Hotel in Rosses Point which is too far out. I need somewhere in town i.e. Sligo Park, Clarion or Radisson at an absolute max.

Does anyone know of anything running soon?

sligo camper

Hi. Just saw your post. In a previous life was involved in HR. You need to be careful which swimming body there are two in ireland awards the cert qualification.. why.... most insurance companies only recognise one of the qualifications... it might be an idea to talk to the managers of swimming pools.. publc.. to find out which one is recognised,..before you take up the course....we had to decline suitable candidates on the insistence that insurance wouldnt cover them....do as much research as you can..good luck
,,

tomhenryford

sligo camper wrote: »

Hi. Just saw your post. In a previous life was involved in HR. You need to be careful which swimming body there are two in ireland awards the cert qualification.. why.... most insurance companies only recognise one of the qualifications... it might be an idea to talk to the managers of swimming pools.. publc.. to find out which one is recognised,..before you take up the course....we had to decline suitable candidates on the insistence that insurance wouldnt cover them....do as much research as you can..good luck
,,

Thanks Sligo Camper. Don't suppose you feel like telling me which of the two bodies is the one that most insurance companies insure?

sligo camper

tomhenryford wrote: »

Thanks Sligo Camper. Don't suppose you feel like telling me which of the two bodies is the one that most insurance companies insure?

As i said, its some years ago but if you check as advised you should be able to find out. I dont want to give you the wrong one

sligo camper

tomhenryford wrote: »

Thanks Sligo Camper. Don't suppose you feel like telling me which of the two bodies is the one that most insurance companies insure?

As i said, its some years ago but if you check as advised you should be able to find out. I dont want to give you the wrong one

sligo camper

tomhenryford wrote: »

Thanks Sligo Camper. Don't suppose you feel like telling me which of the two bodies is the one that most insurance companies insure?

As i said, its some years ago but if you check as advised you should be able to find out. I dont want to give you the wrong one

muirti

Afraid the above is untrue, there are 2 bodies that deliver the pool lifeguard qualification is Ireland IWS/RLSS both are recognised by the international lifesaving federation and will help you find work world wide.
Over the years false rumours were set out by trainers in both bodies which in turn managers and HR though were true. Both work fine, and both are as good as each other dependent on the trainer you get! I have been working in pools for 16 years.

The clarion hold courses every 3 months or so and the Avena hold one once year. There are 2 tutors in the IT in sligo who run courses for the sports and rec course there so ask as well! The next nearest is seamus in Ballyshannon pool (IWS) or water world Bundoran (rlss) Or check out lifeguards Ireland.

Its the norm to travel for a lifeguard course as there just isn't the amount of people in one are to make sure its cost affective to run.

Any questions just ask

tomhenryford

muirti wrote: »

Afraid the above is untrue, there are 2 bodies that deliver the pool lifeguard qualification is Ireland IWS/RLSS both are recognised by the international lifesaving federation and will help you find work world wide.
Over the years false rumours were set out by trainers in both bodies which in turn managers and HR though were true. Both work fine, and both are as good as each other dependent on the trainer you get! I have been working in pools for 16 years.

The clarion hold courses every 3 months or so and the Avena hold one once year. There are 2 tutors in the IT in sligo who run courses for the sports and rec course there so ask as well! The next nearest is seamus in Ballyshannon pool (IWS) or water world Bundoran (rlss) Or check out lifeguards Ireland.

Its the norm to travel for a lifeguard course as there just isn't the amount of people in one are to make sure its cost affective to run.

Any questions just ask

Thanks Muirti. I didn't actually go ahead in the end because it's the RLSS that runs in the Clarion and I didn't think I was anywhere near the standard. I was talking to a leisure centre manager and he said that the RLSS is so much harder than the IWS to get. He said that generally if you can carry out the task in a reasonable time with IWS they pass you but that the task are timed with RLSS and if you're as much as one second out they'll fail you.

I hadn't a pool membership at that time and when I realised the amount of practice the RLSS was going to take I just left it for the time being.

Would you agree with that information I was given?

ACL

Yes I would agree with that info But it comes to standards, the time limit on two of the swims is there for a reason, they are not actually that hard so if a person does not make them then lifeguarding is probably not for them. Sounds blunt I know sorry!
In reality there will never be a huge amount of swimming during a rescue in a swimming pool in the west of Ireland but the qualification that you achieve is for any pool internationally so for a better qualification they are there. It also gives you the confidence to know what you are able to do. It also gives the peace of mind for your employer. I would highly recommend the course for that reason alone. but again it comes down to who the trainer is not who the awarding body is

promethius

Yes it is true, if a person can't make the times for the swims they don't have any business being a lifeguard, i think one of them is 8mins for a 400m time trial, which is pretty slow, club swimmers would go under five on that for some context. i've qualified both routes, Irish Water Safety and RLSS, both are very good but different in some ways.

ACL

The 400m in under 8 minutes is for the beach lifeguard. The RNLI/RLSS recommend 7min 30 sec or under. This swim is done before a person can come onto a course as all the training is done in the sea.
I have had several club swimmers swim this in under 5min then when it came to the sea had no right being there at all, I have seen some club swimmers work as lifeguards and are completely useless.. I have had people do it in 7.59 and over took the club swimmers in the sea and be amazing lifeguards. It really depends on the person. The timed swim is more of a risk assessment of the people coming on the course but then also the time they achieve on the last day goes on their certificate so that when they look for a job, the employer can see a good time. It is always something to aim higher for and people end up wanting to beat previous times they achieved.