By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
The cold season is still underway but swim weather is on the horizon. March is an important month for young people who are interested in becoming lifeguards. Great Bend Rec Aquatic Director Megan Hammeke said a pair of certification courses are scheduled for the pool at Barton Community College.
"There are a couple of different lifeguard certification companies in the United States that people use, but the American Red Cross is what the pools around our area use," she said, "so if you want to lifeguard you have to take the course. It's a 25-31-hour course that requires an online portion as well as three days of in-person coursework."
The certification will cover everything from how to properly enter the water with a tube to rescuing an unresponsive drowning person at the bottom of the pool. An online portion of the training will handle CPR and first aid.
"Then they come in person and we go over those skills in person where I actually have them practice the breathing on mannequins and how CPR is performed," Hammeke said. "The in-water portion is really what you would think of when you think of lifeguarding and having to save someone from the water."
The classes are set for Spring Break, with one course running March 10-12, and another course running March 13-15. Lifeguards must be recertified every two years, and a recertification class is scheduled for March 16.
Participants must be 15 years of age or older, be able to swim 300 yards continuously, complete a timed dive to retrieve a brick, and tread water non-stop for two minutes without using their ands. Registration for the training courses is $175, and registration for the recertification class is $85. The enrollment deadline is March 1. Contact Hammeke at (620) 793-3755, Ext. 210, or by emailing mhammeke@gbrec.net to register.
Those unable to certify locally may be able to attend classes in Salina or Hays at a later date.