Safety Skills
Aquatic Head Instructors are responsible for teaching all safety topics to their class throughout the session. Safety topics such as calling for help, CPR, cold water considerations, heat related emergencies, wave; tide, and current safety, and other safety topics outlined within the skill sheets and provided lesson plans can all be covered at the beginning or end of other class periods. On safety day review lifejacket safety and reach and throw assistance. KidSpirit’s lifejackets are located in the equipment storage room in the Women’s Building pool. The lifeguard on duty should have the key to open the storage room.
Basic Water Rescue Techniques
During the basic water rescue techniques lesson, teach students how to assist a live victim with a ring buoy (located directly across the pool from the men’s locker room in the Women’s Building), lifeguard tube, and various other objects, such as an oar, to reach a swimmer in trouble.
After instruction and demonstrations, have the students form two lines, one behind each piece of rescue equipment (oar and ring buoy). For the younger classes, the instructors and camp counselors act as the victims. Each student takes a turn rescuing the instructor with each piece of equipment. For the classes with more advanced swimmers the first person in line jumps in to become a victim while the second person becomes the rescuer. The rescued victim then moves to the next line and this cycle of rescuer to victim continues until everyone has done both for each skill.
Lifejackets
The lifejacket section covers a variety of topics. These topics include…
State laws regarding life jackets
All children 12 and under must wear a U.S. Coast Guard-approved lifejacket at all times while on an open deck.
How to select and properly fit a lifejacket.
Lifejacket specific survival techniques. (Survival floats, the help position, floating with another person, floating with a group.)
Safety Day
Safety day is generally conducted on the Friday of week one each session. Lesson plans for safety day are found on The Brain (Shared🡪Aquatics-Swimming Lesson Plans🡪Aquatics Daily Lesson Plans).