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by Cathy Scheder
An application comes across your desk for a staff member
who has been a lifeguard at a community pool for the past two summers.
Enclosed with the application are photocopies of her certifications, which
include American Red Cross Lifeguard Training; American Red Cross First
Aid Training; and American Heart Association Community CPR, AED, and O2
certification. WOW! This looks great — a staff applicant with all
the certifications to work at the pool and on the waterfront.
As if hiring staff wasn't challenging enough —
interpreting the standards and the certifications required for waterfront
and aquatics staff adds another dimension that you need to consider as
you wade through applications. As the staff recruiter, do you know what
to look for and what to ask when hiring aquatics staff? Do you just look
to see if the person is certified, make the decision to hire, and worry
about it later? What certifications are required for swimming, canoeing,
waterskiing, windsurfing, SCUBA, and sailing? Will a lifeguard certification
be enough or is a different set of skills or certification required?
When identifying staff for your aquatic environment keep these things
in mind:
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Is the applicant appropriately and currently certified for the aquatic
activity for which you are considering them?
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If the applicant is certified, is the certification approved by
the American Camping Association (ACA) in meeting the aquatics standards?
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Is the applicant strong in one or more areas of aquatics, and could
he or she be certified in the appropriate area before camp starts?
Appropriate Certifications
What certifications fit for each particular aquatic area?
Will a lifeguard suffice for your waterfront director or sailing instructor
— or is there more to it than that?
ACA has a set of standards which applies specifically
to aquatics. Which of the following aquatics staff positions apply to
your waterfront?
Aquatics Supervisor
The ACA standard for Aquatics Supervisor Qualifications PA-1 stipulates
that the camp should have an overall supervisor for the waterfront who
must meet three requirements:
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He or she needs to hold or have held an approved certification in
lifeguard training or swim instruction (such as Water Safety Instruction
[WSI] or AUSTSWIM) or be an instructor or instructor trainer from
a boating or watercraft organization or hold an equivalent certification.
-
He or she needs to have at least six weeks of previous experience
in a management or supervisory position at a similar aquatic area
or have completed additional aquatics management or supervision training.
In other words, if your staff member has experience in training and
supervision in a pool facility but will be working on your lakefront,
he or she doesn't necessarily have the appropriate experience in "a
similar aquatic area."
What can you do? The American Red Cross provides a lifeguard management
course and a waterfront module that will help meet this part of the
requirement. Other organizations such as the Boy Scouts of America
and the YMCA also have aquatic management courses.
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He or she needs to be at least twenty-one years of age, although
this is the least important of the three requirements.
Lifeguards
The ACA Lifeguard Qualifications standard PA-15A-Mandatory for swimming
activities requires certification from a nationally recognized certifying
body. Not only do they need to have lifeguard certification, but their
training must include standard first aid and CPR for the professional
rescuer. Be sure they have all three certifications. Some organizations
include the first-aid training on the lifeguard certification card; others
hand out separate certification cards. Generally, CPR certifications expire
(typically valid for one year) before lifeguard and first-aid certifications
(typically valid for three years). Be sure to check that all applicants
have all appropriate and current certifications before beginning work
with your camp or organization.
The Instructional Swimming (as opposed to recreational swimming) ACA
standard PA-19 requires a swim instructor certification from a nationally
recognized certifying body and a lifeguard or lookout needs to be out
of the water continuously watching over the activity if the instructor
is in the water. If you are hiring staff for swimming, make sure you also
have certified lifeguards available during instructional time.
Watercraft Supervisor
A watercraft supervisor is different from the aquatics supervisor. Water
craft activities include all use of small craft (canoes, rowboats, sailboats,
kayaks, windsurfers, etc.) and additional activities such as tubing, water
skiing, wake boarding, rafting, etc. According to ACA standard PA-20-Mandatory
for Watercraft Supervisor Qualifications — Youth, to supervise each
watercraft activity, a staff member must hold one of the following: instructor
rating in the appropriate craft from a nationally recognized body or lifeguard
training from a nationally recognized certifying body or other acceptable
certification or license, such as a rafting guide license. Additionally,
the watercraft supervisor must have documented training and/or experience
in rescue skills specific to that craft.
Instructional Boating Staff
The ACA standard for Watercraft Instruction PA-26 for instructional boating
staff (as opposed to recreational boating staff) requires an instructor
rating in the appropriate craft from a nationally recognized certifying
body or documentation of experience indicating knowledge and skill in
teaching and supervision specific to the activity being conducted. As
an example, a staff member who has an instructor rating from the American
Canoe Association, or has documented skills indicating his or her experience
in canoeing, can teach canoeing but is not appropriately certified to
teach sailing.
SCUBA Instructors
The ACA standard for SCUBA Diving PA-18-Mandatory requires SCUBA Instructors
to have a current SCUBA Instructor rating from a nationally recognized
certifying body.
Current Certification
Most aquatic certifications are valid for a period from one to three
years, depending on the certification and the sponsoring body. On the
application form or in the interview, ask the applicants when their certification
expires and request to see a photocopy of those certifications. If at
all possible, they should bring their actual cards or certificates to
camp with them.
If lifeguard training is comprised of not only the water rescue skills
but also CPR and first aid, it is good practice to make sure your staff
have all the appropriate certifications for which they were trained. Common
sense would tell the camp director that if a lifeguard is trained in first
aid and CPR as part of his or her coursework, and theoretically would
be the first to respond to an incident or accident on the water, he or
she should hold current certifications in all the skills areas in which
he or she was trained.
Forged Certifications
How do you know that the certification your staff member possesses is
authentic or that the staff member has the skills the certifications imply?
According to Will Evans of Markel Insurance, some camps have run across
false certification cards. So how can you be sure that your staff has
actual training in the certification they hold? You verify their skills
upon arrival at camp and before they begin working with your campers.
ACA Standards PA-15 and PA-20 require that the staff have documented skills
and training in water rescue and emergency procedures specific to the
location and activities. If your staff were trained in a pool (most lifeguards
are) and you have a lakefront, the staff need to have participated in
specific training in a lake environment.
What to Do about Noncertified Applicants?
Don't hedge your bets and wait for certification approval before deciding
on an applicant. The process can sometimes take weeks or even months —
depending on the response from the sponsoring agency and review committee.
If you have an applicant who is a strong candidate for your aquatic and
waterfront environment — with the skills and experience required
but no certification — it's not unusual to consider enrolling the
applicant in a certification course after hiring and before camp starts.
Recognize that just because a staff member is certified does not guarantee
competency in and on the water. Precamp verification and in-service training
are crucial to keep your waterfront staff on their toes and practicing
their skills. More information on this will follow in the May/June issue
of Camping Magazine — "Building Blocks to In-service Aquatic
Training."
The waterfront is one of the highest risk areas in camp. Hiring diligent,
certified, and competent aquatics staff is the first step in providing
the safest aquatics environment possible.
Originally published in the 2004 January/February
issue of Camping Magazine. |
