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Lifeguard Safety: Effective Scanning
Friday, June 14th, 2013
As schools are letting out for the year and the summer season is picking up, it is important to remember how essential lifeguarding is to the pool community. It is easy to get into a routine and forget to focus on some of the basics – like effective scanning.
Effective Scanning is core to your ability to be a safe and successful lifeguard at any pool or body of water. Below is a refresher on that important skill.
Don’t get distracted
As a lifeguard, it is your job to not be distracted by pool games or commotion on the pool decks. You must stay alert and attentive when sitting in the chair. Periodically adjusting your body to appropriate positions will make you more alert and allow you to actively scan the pool and deck area.
Don’t forget to use your eyes and head to scan.
Events may happen in your periphery that you would only catch if you turn your head to face it, and while things may be going well on the surface, someone might be struggling below the water, so you need to be able to see everything that is going on.
Be aware of your area at all times
High risk or crowded areas require that you be extra alert and attentive as signs of distress or drowning may be lost in a crowded area. But while it is good practice to focus attention on such areas (crowded areas, little kids in the shallow end, diving boards, etc.) it is important not to neglect any areas to which you have been assigned.
Review your skills
If you have a skill review book, be sure to use it to review your lifeguard training. Unexpected emergencies can happen at any pool, so be ready and alert!
One last thing to remember, and perhaps the most important, is that while you are on duty, you are at work, and people are depending on you to keep the pool area safe. Safety is the biggest responsibility, but it is also important to have fun and become an important part of the pool community.
Lifeguards Compete in Mid-Atlantic Championship
Wednesday, July 25th, 2012
REHOBOTH BEACH — A “victim” is at a buoy in the ocean, approximately 150 meters from the shore.
A “rescuer” attached to a landline swims out to meet the “victim.”
Once they meet and the victim’s arm is raised, two lifeguards on land pull the landline to bring the victim and rescuer back to shore.
It’s all timed and in the end, there’s a winner: whoever finishes the task the quickest.
This is known as a landline rescue race, and it’s one of nine events lifeguards from Virginia to New York came to Rehoboth Beach to partake in Wednesday during the United States Lifesaving Association’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships.
“It’s a good community of lifeguards we have all along the East Coast,” said Jordan Lingo of the Rehoboth Beach Patrol. “Everyone takes their jobs very seriously and they like to compete. It’s definitely an exciting event.”
The events are designed to test the lifeguards’ skills and strengths and emulate the day-to-day experience of being on a beach patrol.
“It keeps everyone in top guard, working out for competitions,” said Sgt. Rick Cawthern of the Ocean City Beach Patrol.
“It also helps us promote safety on our beaches.”
The landline rescue race was a popular pick when beach patrol members were asked which event was their favorite. That rescue method is used when victims need to be rescued in rough surf.
“It really separates the men from the boys in this one,” said Troy Cannatelli of the Dewey Beach Patrol. “It’s not just the strongest guys or the guys with the most endurance. It’s really who can maintain the strength for the full three-, four-minute pull, which is really difficult toward the end. You really get gassed.”
Other events include runs and swims, a rescue board race, and beach flags an event in which competitors line up facing down in the sand, and then on the start command, the competitors rise, turn and sprint to flags 20 meters away.
…Continue Reading at DelmarvaNow.com
News & Updates
Meet The 2012 U.S. Olympic Swim Team
Get Educated About Rip Currents
Lifeguards Train for Olympic Trials
Lifeguards Train for Olympic Trials
Tuesday, June 19th, 2012
OMAHA, Neb. -For one week this summer, Omaha will be at the center of the competitive swimming universe.
More than 1,000 Olympic hopefuls will be in town trying for a coveted spot on the U.S. Olympic team that will compete in the summer games in Great Britain.
Although these are some of the top athletes in the world, someone has to be charged with keeping them safe.
“An accident can happen at any time,” said Dayle Nervig, Prairie Life Fitness water supervisor.
The chance to watch over greats such as Michael Phelps is what made lifeguard Jake Kruger volunteer to work at Omaha’s Olympic Trials.
“Last time, when the trials were here, I had a really good time watching, and I wanted to see what it was like behind the scenes,” he said.
Kruger is one of about 40 certified lifeguards who plan to work at the week-long event. Guarding part of two pools inside Omaha’s CenturyLink Center should be a far cry from the practice pool at Brownell Talbot where the lifeguards are training.
“It’s intense,” said lifeguard Amanda Kettle. “I never really thought you’d need to jump in at all, but during practice, when they’re in the practice pools, they collide a lot.”
Coordinators said the practice time is invaluable for the lifeguards.
Lifeguards get ready to leave the beach
Wednesday, August 31st, 2011
OCEAN CITY — The majority of the area’s lifeguards will soon be gone from the beaches, during the part of the season in which still-warm weather clashes with troublesome waters.
Most beach patrols in the area end their full-force vigilance at the end of Labor Day weekend, in the thick of hurricane season when tropical storms and other weather systems often help generate substantial waves and currents that can be threatening to swimmers who aren’t able to handle them.
One of Ocean City Beach Patrol’s mantras for residents and visitors is, “Keep your toes in the sand until the lifeguard’s in the stand,” something Lt. Ward Kovacs says the organization vigorously stands by.
“That’s typically when drownings occur, when guards are off-duty,” Kovacs said.
Dewey Beach Patrol Capt. Todd Fritchman recommends swimming in the presence of lifeguards if possible, but hesitates to tell visitors to stay out of the water since it’s essentially the main draw for most people who visit resort towns in Delaware and Maryland.
“That’d be like saying, ‘Don’t come here,’” he said. “We want people to go in the water. You just have to be understanding of the environment you’re in if the beach isn’t guarded.”
Fritchman urges beachgoers to pay attention to weather and surf reports so they can find out if rip currents or large waves are in the vicinity of their beach. He also suggests visitors be accompanied by an experienced ocean swimmer. Personal assessments are important as well, he said.
“It’s a matter of common sense. You have to ask yourself, ‘Can I handle this size wave or this size current or not?’” Fritchman said.
If caught in a rip current, it’s important to remain calm to conserve energy, to think clearly and to not fight the current, according to the Fenwick Island Beach Patrol’s website.
If a lifeguard is not present when you see someone in trouble, call 9-1-1 immediately.
Originally posted on http://www.delmarvanow.com/
Guards get exercise in education
Friday, July 29th, 2011
By Eleanor Bailey The Almanac Sports Editor ebailey@thealmanac.net
During the dog days of summer, lifeguards across the region can be taxed by record-high temperatures and humidity, not to mention overflow crowds seeking relief from the extreme heat.
However, some scored high marks recently for their pool patrol during the second annual Lifeguard Showdown held at the Community and Recreation Center (CRC) at Boyce May-view Park.
The team of Jonathan Quinn, Mike Kelly and Lilly Olsakov-sky, representing the host facility, captured the Golden Whistle, trophy and other prizes as champions while their co-workers from the center–Mary Eddins, Tim Mancini and Sam Mesinere–finished as runners-up. The representatives from the Whitehall Borough community swimming pool–Caitlyn Brown, Enrico Caparelli and Ed Lippl–took third place.
Contestants were challenged in seven disciplines.
After completing a 65-question written exam, teams competed in a swim relay as well as a rescue relay, testing their abilities to reach, throw, row and go while negotiating the obstacles the facility features, such as the lily pad and sand areas. They also towed a 10-pound brick on their stomachs.
Continue Reading this story >>
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Did you know? Hot Water Freezes Faster Than Cold Water
Ocean City lifeguards win Cape May County title for 13th time in 28 years
Did you know? Hot Water Freezes Faster Than Cold Water
Friday, July 15th, 2011
Water, good ol’ H2O, seems like a pretty simple substance to you and me. But in reality, water – the foundation of life and the most common liquid – is really weird and scientists actually don’t completely understand how water works.
Take two pails of water; fill one with hot water and the other one with cold water, and put them in the freezer. The hot one would be frozen before the cold one. But wait, you say, that’s counter-intuitive: wouldn’t the hot water have to cool down to the temperature of the cold water before proceeding to freezing temperature, whereas the cold one has “less to go” before freezing?
In 1963, a Tanzanian high-school student named Erasto B. Mpemba was freezing hot ice cream mix in a cooking class when he noticed that a hot mix actually froze faster than a cold mix. When he asked his teacher about this phenomenon, his teacher ridiculed him by saying “All I can say is that is Mpemba’s physics and not universal physics.”
Thankfully, Mpemba didn’t back down – he convinced a physics professor to conduct an experiment which eventually confirmed his observations: in certain conditions, hot water indeed freezes before cold water*.
Actually, Mpemba was in good company. The phenomenon of hot water freezing first, now called the “Mpemba effect” was noted by none other than Aristotle, Francis Bacon and René Descartes.
But how do scientists explain this strange phenomenon? It turns out that no one really knows but there are several possible explanations, including differences in supercooling, evaporation, frost formation, convection, and effects of dissolved gasses between the hot and cold water.
*In reality – of course – it’s much more complex than that: hot water freezes first (it forms ice at a higher temperature than cold water), whereas cold water freezes faster (it takes less time to reach the supercooled state from which it forms ice).
More info on this can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mpemba_effect
This article was originally published here.
News & Updates
Ocean City lifeguards win Cape May County title for 13th time in 28 years
Lifeguard positions foster work ethic
First leg of lifeguard championships to take place in Ocean City
Ocean City lifeguards win Cape May County title for 13th time in 28 years
Wednesday, July 13th, 2011
WILDWOOD CREST – Dylan Kosten’s busy night helped the Ocean City Beach Patrol win the Cape May County Lifeguard Championships on Sunday.
Kosten and partner Andrew Mockaitis were second to Avalon in the doubles row and Kosten returned to get third in the singles, a race won by Avalon’s Erich Wolf.
Then Kosten finished up by anchoring Ocean City to victory in the surf dash, giving O.C. its only win and the team championship by one point over Wildwood Crest.
“We thought about (winning the team title) before the surf dash because we knew we had the doubles row tiebreaker over the Crest if it ended up tied,” said Kosten, a 22-year-old sixth-year lifeguard. “Our surf dash won last year with practically the same lineup. The difference was my brother (Ian Kosten, a substitute).”
Ocean City, the defending champion, has won the Cape May County title 13 of its 28 years. Ocean City finished with 19 points, and Wildwood Crest was second with 18. Stone Harbor didn’t win a race but finished third with 17 points. Avalon was fourth with 16.
The crowd at the Rambler Road beach had kept a special watch on Wildwood Crest’s John Maloy and Avalon lifeguard Shane McGrath.
The event was postponed Friday due to lightning. The delay meant that the County Championships would be held the day before today’s exhausting Superathlon in Cape May, and Maloy and McGrath figured to be two of the top contenders at both events. Would they pace themselves at the County Championships? How many races would they enter Sunday?
Maloy delighted the hometown crowd with back-to-back victories in the swim and the run-swim, and McGrath won the doubles row with partner Craig Whitehead to start the evening.
But ultimately the day belonged to Ocean City’s Kosten, who will be in his first Superathlon today.
The O.C. surf-dash team consisted of Tony Mehalic, Dan Casey and the Kosten brothers. Ian Kosten took the team from sixth place to third with his third leg and Dylan Kosten, a rower and swimmer, won it with his anchor.
“I went a little south to stay out of a hole (on the surf dash course),” Dylan Kosten said. “I wanted to get to the flag and get back as fast as I can. I’m an OK runner. I never ran track except in grade school, but my dad (Paul) ran track. I do the best I can, and I focus on one thing at a time. First it was the rows, then the surf dash, and now it’s the Super. I did my best in the rows, but Avalon was better.”
Ocean City won the county title for the eighth time since 2001.
“We showed our depth today,” said Jeff Garbutt, an OCBP senior lieutenant and coach. “We have a lot of people on our patrol and we used some new guys today and they stepped up. This is a great event and we always love coming here. It’s like the Daytona 500, the first event of the season.”
In the doubles row, Avalon’s Whitehead and McGrath led Ocean City by two-boatlengths and held on after O.C. caught a little wave.
“It was nice rowing,” said Whitehead, the bow. “It felt like an early-season row, and there’s room for improvement, but we were happy about it.”
Wolf, a 13th-year lifeguard, held off Stone Harbor’s Darrick Kobierowski in the singles race to win by just more than two seconds.
“It’s nice to win on opening day, whether its baseball or rowing,” Wolf, 25, said. “I know what good rowers Ocean City and Stone Harbor are, but I had to row my own race. I was a little worried about not being in good enough shape, since I was teaching at Simon Gratz High School (in Philadelphia) until two weeks ago. I do my best to stay in shape when I’m there.”
Maloy easily won the swim, and with about 10 minutes of rest, he won the run-swim by more than a minute.
“The points are what it’s all about,” Maloy said. “I do what I can for the team. The Superathlon is for the team, too, but this was a situation where I want to help us as much as I can. I think I had too much on my plate last year (doing three races and only winning one.). I felt good today.”
Sea Isle City’s Jeff Buyse was battling with Ocean City’s Dan Callaghan as the paddleboard part of the rescue-board race neared its end in the box-course race. Buyse caught a wave and got ahead. Buyse did a pretty good 150-yard run to the finish line and won by 10 yards.
Visit pressofatlanticcity.com to view the scoring results and to read the rest of this article.
News & Updates
Lifeguard positions foster work ethic
First leg of lifeguard championships to take place in Ocean City
College hiring returns after two-year lull
Lifeguard positions foster work ethic
Monday, July 11th, 2011
A great piece was written by the heraldandnews.com about the lifeguard work ethic. We have provided a snippet below.
As a lifeguard at the Ella Redkey Pool, Brycen Franklin gets to boss around people twice his age, keeping swimmers in line if they violate the pool’s list of rules. But the job is anything but a laughing matter for the 16-year-old, who watches over the poolside for hours at a time.
It can be the difference between life and death,” Franklin says of his job.
Working for 31 hours per week over the summer, Franklin says his lifeguard position has taught him discipline, and is helping him prepare for life as a member of the workforce.
It’s also taught him that, when it comes to the current job market, he’s lucky. According to the national Bureau of Labor Statistics, three out of every four teenagers looking for jobs this summer won’t find one.
Click here for the full article.
News & Updates
First leg of lifeguard championships to take place in Ocean City
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Top 10 Best Summer Sports
Thursday, June 23rd, 2011
No. 10: Ultimate Frisbee
Actually, this sport is now referred to as just Ultimate now.
It is similar to football, except players are not allowed to run with the Frisbee and can only move one foot to pivot. It takes lazily throwing a disc around the quad to the next level.
No. 9: Lacrosse
Lacrosse is the national summer sport of Canada and the chosen sport for many teenagers. This sport has greatly increased in popularity in the United States.
No. 8: Triathalon
Running, biking and swimming are all fun exercises that an individual can enjoy by themselves. These activities can be leisurely, or a battle of wills against yourself.
But for the serious competitors in the world, triathalons not only give a person the opportunity to test themselves, but also the ability to compete against others.
No. 7: Sand Volleyball
Regular volleyball is fun in itself. But throw in some sand and some sunshine, and you have a grand old time.
Because of the smaller courts, only a few players can usually fit in, which means it doesn’t get boring because the ball is probably headed your way. Making spectacular diving plays without paying the price of seething in the shower is great too. Plus, this is a great co-ed sport to play.
No. 6: Rollerblading
In 1979, Scott and Brennan Olson from Minneapolis, Minnesota decided to take the wheels of roller skates and align them. In 1983, they founded Rollerblade Inc.
Shortly after roller blades were invented, millions around the globe shared a collective “Why didn’t I think of that.” Not too long ago during my adolescence, the Disney Channel original movie Brink! inspired me to believe that roller blading was the coolest thing of all time.
No. 6: Skateboarding
The sport of skateboarding has gone through a quick revolution since the days of Dogtown. It is a sport that has sparked an entire rebellious culture all its own.
And all you need is a board, some places to grind and ramp, and you got yourself something to do.
No. 5: Soccer
It might be considered a fall sport for high schoolers, but after always seeing a gargantuan amount of small children between the ages of 5 to 12 playing youth soccer in the summer, I am declaring soccer a summer sport.
Kicking the ball around with some friends or getting a competitive game going is always a good decision to pass the time during the hottest days of the year.
No. 4: Tennis
Once considered a rich man’s game, tennis has become more economically friendly as its popularity has risen.
Whether you’re casually volleying with a friend, or hiring a personal trainer to teach you how to blaze serves by your opponent, this game is a blast in 90 degree weather.
It’s also a wonderful cardiovascular workout. That is, if you can get it over the net consistently.
No. 3: Watersports
Surfing. Water skiing. Wake boarding. Wind surfing. Swimming.
All warm weather sports. All in the water. All awesome. It would be a waste of a summer if you didn’t go out near a body of water at least once to attempt one of these insanely fun activities.
No. 2: Golf
Once the joints and ligaments get to the point where they aren’t what they used to be, participating in active sports like basketball can get dangerous. Even deadly.
There isn’t a game that can transcend the generation gap like golf.
Even though it can get very expensive, there aren’t too many things better than shooting a round with the old man or a group of buddies while taking in the stunning landscape on a sunny day.
No. 1: Baseball/Softball
In the age of instantaneous communication and food, as well as children growing up with constant movement and non-stop action with video games, baseball has become too boring for many.
But as of now, nothing spells summer like sitting down with a cold beverage, a hot dog, and conversation while drama unfolds on a baseball diamond.
Not to mention, playing softball with friends is also a ton of fun.
Originally Posted on Beachreport.com.
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Did you know about these fun June 2011 “holidays”?
Wednesday, June 8th, 2011
It’s the start of summer and when you’re not at work you’re eager to have fun, so what holidays can you celebrate in June? Well, there aren’t any major holidays but there are plenty of fun celebrations you can observe this month.
World Environment Day
Celebrated every year on June 5th, World Environment Day is a United Nations holiday that celebrates Earth and our environment. This year’s theme for World Environment Day is “Kick the Habit! Towards a Low Carbon Economy” and festivities will be held in Wellington, New Zealand.
Donald Duck’s Birthday
Donald Fauntleroy Duck‘s birthday is officially recognized as June 9th. On this day in 1934, he debuted in the Silly Symphony cartoon, The Wise Little Hen. This year Donald will turn 73!
Superman Celebration
Are you a big Superman fan? Then have we got a celebration for you! In 1972, the city of Metropolis, Illinois was declared the Home of Superman by the Illinois legislature. It took seven years to get the party started but in 1979, the very first official Superman Celebration was held and has been an annual event ever since. This year the festival will be held June 10-13th, 2010♦. For more cool info on the Superman Celebration check out this site.
Father’s Day
Buy your present now because Father’s Day is fast approaching. On Sunday June 19, 2011, take a little time out of your busy schedule to let your dad know you care. If you can’t think of what to pick up for your pop, check out these nifty gadgets.
Flag Day
Flag Day is said to have first been celebrated way back on June 14, 1885, when schoolteacher B.J. Cigrand had his class celebrate the flag’s birthday. It was officially declared a holiday by President Harry Truman in 1949.
Summer Solstice
The summer solstice is the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, which means there are over 13 hours of daylight. Summer Solstice falls between June 20 and 23 of every year and has different significance for various religions. The ancient Chinese for example, celebrated the Earth, femininity and yin (the dark, passive element of the yin/yang balance) forces on the summer solstice.
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