Lifeguarding Courses

The City of Albuquerque offers the American Red Cross Lifeguard Training Program.  The American Red Cross Lifeguarding course teaches a preventive approach to lifeguarding as well as rescue and lifesaving techniques endorsed by the American Red Cross. This course includes Certifications in CPR for the Professional Rescuer and Standard First-Aid. These additional courses are taught in conjunction with the lifeguarding course.

Listed below are the course prerequisites and completion requirements necessary to help you prepare for the American Red Cross Lifeguard Training Course. As an applicant for a lifeguard certificate, you must fulfill each of the following requirements. Exceptions will not be made. Your instructor will elaborate on these during the first day of class or you may call the pool manager prior to the class. Please note that practice during this course requires strenuous activity. If you have a medical condition or disability that might prevent you from taking part in practice sessions, you should discuss it with your physician and your instructor.

Before Class Starts

• You must register for the course prior to the first day of class. The fee is $31.50.
• You must purchase the American Red Cross Lifeguarding manual and a resuscitation mask. The book price is $35 and the mask is $15. These are available through the American Red Cross.
• You must be at least 15 years old by the last scheduled date of the class in order to enroll.

First Day of Class

• Bring a swimsuit and a towel.
• You must swim 300 yards without stopping using the following strokes in this order: 100 yards front crawl using rhythmic breathing and a stabilizing, propellant kick. 100 yards of breaststroke using a pull, breathe, kick and glide sequence. The last 100 yards may be a combination of front crawl and breaststroke.
• Starting in the water, swim 20 yards using front crawl or breaststroke, surface dive 7 – 10 feet, retrieve a 10–pound object, return to the surface, swim 20 yards back to the starting point with the object and exit the water without using a ladder or steps, within 1 minute, 40 seconds.

To Successfully Complete the Class

• You must attend and be on time for every session. The total course time is approximately 31 ¼ hours. At the instructor’s discretion, additional hours may be scheduled for practice and review or to make up cancelled classes due to weather or unforeseen circumstances.
• You must pass 3 in-water lifeguard skill scenarios.
• You must demonstrate competency in all First Aid, CPR, AED, and lifeguard skill tests.
• You must pass the written test with at least 80% on each section. There are 3 sections to test.

Upon Completion

You will receive:

• An American Red Cross Lifeguarding / First Aid Certification, valid for 3 years.
• An American Red Cross CPR / AED for the Professional Rescuer, valid for 1 year.

Signing Up

Please sign up at the pool where the class will be held; if we don't have enough participants before the first day of class the class may be canceled, so sign up early!