3 R's of Lifeguarding

Andrew Vaughan
Apr 4, 2018
6 min read

Master these 3 simple techniques to become a better Lifeguard and Lifeguard Manager

Introduction

There is a growing trend and concern that Lifeguards and lifeguard management may face criminal negligence charges when a life-threatening incident occurs.

In any accident investigation involving a pool lifeguard the following 3 questions always come up in one way or another.

Did the lifeguard recognize the victim in time?

Could the lifeguard have prevented the incident?

Did the lifeguard respond correctly and in a timely fashion?

We’ll address How a Lifeguard or pool attendant can use the 3 R’s to avoid or minimize tragic incidents.

Firstly though we need to address 2 main factors that affect the 3 R’s

Unsafe conditions

An Unsafe condition is an unsatisfactory physical condition existing in an environment immediately before an accident that was significant in initiating the event.

Some examples would be:

Sharp edges on tiles
Broken handles on a waterpark tube
Slippery surfaces

Unsafe conditions should be evaluated:

Prior to opening the facility by a formal safety inspection
When arriving at a new position during a lifeguard rotation
When scanning your zone of responsibility

Unsafe behaviors

These are observable acts that fall into the following 3 categories:

Safe behaviors
At risk behaviors
Unsafe behaviors

Examples of unsafe behaviors in a swimming pool would be:

Swimming in a deep pool especially with wave action while wearing a lifejacket
Extended breath holding
Diving into shallow water

When you are scanning your area quickly and appropriately categorize swimmers into one of the 3 behaviors listed above and look for changes

Unsafe behaviors in unsafe conditions

Potential for injury greatly increases when these two factors are combined for example,

Running at a high speed on a slippery floor

Recognize

Lifeguard recognition

Every lifeguard must be able to recognize when someone is in trouble in the water. It is important to understand the behaviors that a victim shows when in distress or drowning.

Some victims may struggle at the surface for a short time or just disappear without any signs of struggle or distress.

Knowing these behaviors enables lifeguards to recognize quickly when someone needs help.

A generally held industry standard is for a lifeguard to be able to recognize and respond to a victim in their area of responsibility in a set time frame such as 30 seconds.

Positioning

You have to always be in a position to recognize a life threatening condition. When arriving on stand evaluate the following

Glare

Glare is a ongoing swimming pool problem. It creates a visual barrier into the pool from the surface.Glare can come from the sun or an artificial light source, outdoors or indoors.

It may even be that direct sunlight is not the culprit, as bright hazy days and improperly placed interior lighting can also cause significant problems. Whatever the source, glare can create an almost impenetrable visual barrier for lifeguards that not only prevents them from seeing what is happening underwater, but also increases fatigue and decreases attentiveness. It is one of the greatest obstacles to ensuring a safe swimming experience for your patrons.

It may not be possible to completely eliminate glare you can address the follow ways to minimize

Pools when designed and built should factor in east west direction for sun movement
Whenever possible, face lifeguards away from any significant light source
Move the lifeguards' stations on the pool deck as the sun's position changes during the day
Indoor guards should have their back to windows or other bright light whenever possible
Outdoor guards should be provided with hats and with shade whenever possible
Guards should wear polarized sunglasses for outdoor or bubble-enclosed pools; they may be helpful in some indoor pools that have extensive glass windows or transparent roof covers
Elevate the guard's position as much as possible (while maintaining safe entry to the water);
Use (preferably portable) elevated chairs so the guard's eyes are at least 5'-6' above the deck
Standing guards should be at the pool's edge, to increase the sight angle into the water and to remove blind spots at the pool's edge
Alleviate the effect of disruptive light sources, whenever possible

2. Know your zone of responsibility

In a single person guarded pool the lifeguard will be responsible for the entire pool.
In a multi guarded pool there should be no confusion of which area is scanned by whom.
Zones should overlap slightly for maximum coverage

3. Patron Load & Activity

A lifeguard must be aware of the,

Amount and types of people in the zone of responsibility e.g. a large childrens group in a shallow activity pool
The amount of activity swimmers are making in their zone

4. Lifeguard Scanning & Surveillance

A scanning pattern is an organized system that you follow when you sweep your eyes across the zone. Maintaining a scanning pattern helps you stay alert and provide consistent coverage of all areas of your zone.

Sweep your eyes and turn your head so that you can see every area of the zone every 10 seconds.

5. Victim recognition

Be aware that in a aquatic environment swimmers can go from an ok status to life threatening conditions in a matter of seconds.

If children are left unattended.
If they are crawling hand-over-hand along a pool wall.
Weak swimmers or non swimmers that can quickly turn into submerged victims
It’s important to pay attention if they are bobbing in or near water over his/her head.
If wearing a life jacket improperly.
Hyperventilation or extended breath holding
Persons who are under the influence of alcohol

According to the American Red Cross Lifeguard training program there are 3 stages for a drowning victim which are:

Distressed swimmers

A swimmer can become distressed for several reasons, such as exhaustion, cramp or sudden

illness.

Distressed swimmers usually are able to:

Keep their face out of the water
To call for help
To wave for help
To use something to support themselves.

Quick recognition can prevent the distressed swimmer from becoming a drowning victim.

If a distressed swimmer is not rescued, he/she may become a drowning victim. Therefore the fast reaction of a lifeguard is the most important.

Active drowning victim

An active drowning victim behavior is very easy to recognize.

This universal behavior is called the ‘’instinctive drowning response’’.
The victim is struggling to remain at the surface and try to keep mouth above the water in order to breathe.

A drowning victim usually:

Can’t call for help
Works to keep the face above the water
Has arms extended to the side or front, trying to support themselves
Might continue to struggle even underwater
After a short period of time will stop moving.

Once it is recognized that a victim is drowning, the lifeguard must perform an immediate rescue.

Passive drowning victim

Some victims do not struggle at all. They just slip under water. This is usually caused by some medical condition.

The most common causes of passive drowning are:

A heart attack or stroke
A seizure
A head injury
A heat-related illness
Hypothermia
Hyperventilation
Use of alcohol or drugs

Signals of passive drowning victims are:

They may have a slight convulsive type of movement
Have no arm or leg action
No locomotion and no breathing
May appear floating at the surface
May sink to the bottom

Anyone who shows one of these signals for 30 seconds should be considered as a drowning victim, and immediate rescue must be performed.

Reduce

Once a potentially dangerous condition or behavior has been RECOGNIZED the potential for injury, illness or life-threatening conditions can be REDUCED.

The most important task that every lifeguard should accomplish is to intervene quickly to stop potentially dangerous behaviors that could result in an emergency. This is also known as preventive lifeguarding, and can prevent most unwanted situation.

Look for ways to reduce the risk of a life-threatening incidents.

How to enforce rules fairly and consistently

Firstly there is no one approach that works every time in every situation, but using the following everytime works more than not

If you tell some a negative command such as no! Or stop! Then always use a please at the end or beginning
Tell someone the consequences of their actions such as, ‘if you continue to run you will hurt yourself or someone else’
If possible offer an alternative such as , ‘ your child doesn't meet the height requirement for this ride but can use the designated children's pool’.

Respond

Lifeguard Response

The type of response will depend in the conditions that are found.

Know ‘when to go’
Rehearse in your mind the first and last step of the emergency response
‘If in doubt, pull them out’. This means that if you are not sure if the person requires you to respond or not it is better to error on the side of overcaution.

Best practices of the Recognize, Reduce, Respond technique

Participate in all in-service activities
Mentally rehearse likely and unlikely scenarios while on stand
Think about the 3 R’s at least once during each rotation during your shift
Communicate with other guards in a multi guard pool especially with clear hand signals, whistles when activating your emergency action plan when executing a rescue and covering zones when a guard has left their position
Do you have a diagram of your pool zones of responsibility that is reviewed and updated at least yearly.
Scan your area of responsibility while moving your head not just your eyes
Learn as many scanning techniques from asking other guards at your and other facilities
Do you have a tracking device where locations, types of rescues and a diagram of incidents occur?