Water Safety Instructor Course

Course description Prerequisites Certification Requirements: Required Online Course:

Course description

This course trains Water Safety Instructor candidates to teach courses and presentations in the American Red Cross Swimming and Water Safety program by developing their understanding of how to use the course materials, how to conduct training sessions and how to evaluate participants progress. The courses and presentations include Parent and Child Aquatics Levels 1 and 2, Preschool Aquatics Levels 1 – 3, Learn-to-Swim Levels 1 – 6, three adult courses as well as the Basic Water Rescue and Personal Water Safety courses and more. To enroll, instructor candidates must be at least 16 years of age on or before the last day of the instructor course. 

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Prerequisites

  • Water Safety Instructor candidates must be at least 16 years old 
  • Demonstrate the ability to perform the following swimming skills (on the first day of class): 
    • Swim the following strokes consistent with Level 4: 
    • Front Crawl, Back Crawl, Breaststroke, Elementary Backstroke, Sidestroke – 25 yards 
    • Butterfly – 15 yards 
    • Back float for 1 minute (floating or sculling) 
    • Tread water for 1 minute 

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Certification Requirements:

  • Complete the online Orientation to the Swimming & Water Safety Program 
  • Complete the online Water Safety Instructor course 
  • Attend all class sessions 
  • Demonstrate competency in all required skills and activities 
  • Correctly answer at least 80 percent of the questions in the final written exam 

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Required Online Course:

  • Prior to the in-class date, all Water Safety Instructor candidates must complete an online course through the Red Cross Learning Center. 
  • Information on completing the online course will be emailed to Water Safety Instructor candidates upon registering for a class. 

Course Resources: 

Water Safety Instructor Manual: WSI Manual 

Swimming and Water Safety: Swimming and Water Safety 

Certificate Issued: 

American Red Cross Water Safety Instructor Certified 

 

Register for a Class Near You:

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We are working to get you the courses you need! Please fill in the form below and we will let you know when courses become available