Beach Alert Junior Lifeguard Camps

Vancouver is a port City - water related injury and death are preventable given the appropriate knowledge and skills.
The Beach Alert Jr. Lifeguard Camps empower children, allowing them to keep themselves and others safe in and around the water.

Beach Alert Jr. Lifeguard Camps teach young lifesavers the skills they need to stay safe and to respond to an aquatic emergency, with a focus on fun, fitness, first aid,
water safety, and leadership. Taught by certified lifesaving instructors, the course runs weekly from 9:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m.weekday mornings throughout the summer.
Children between the ages of 9 and 15 are encouraged to participate in the program.

The VLA Beach Alert camps train Jr. Lifesavers in three different environments preparing participants for first aid emergencies on land, water rescues in pools, and safety on the beach and in the ocean. This dynamic approach provides well-rounded exposure to the different elements of lifesaving and introduces candidates to the fundamentals of Lifeguarding, including an introduction to lifeguard-specific skills, such as hand signals and communication. Through relay races and simulated rescue, Beach Alert candidates have fun as they learn, using specialized Lifeguard equipment such as paddleboards, rowboats, kayaks, and rescue cans.

The Beach Alert program is also an excellent introduction to basic skills if your child is preparing for Bronze Medallion, and is an excellent review of material in preparation
for NLS. Getting hired as a lifeguard in Vancouver can be difficult because so many young people are certified each year with the minimum requirements for the job.
As a program recognized by the Vancouver Park Board, your child can get an edge on the competition by boosting their resume with the Beach Alert Program.

In the classroom at KYC, participants will learn: • Safety related to performing first aid. • How to make efficient calls to EMS (9-1-1). • CPR and choking procedures. • First aid for burns, sprains, bleeding, stroke, heart attack. • Leadership and efficient use of bystanders in an emergency. In Kits Pool, participants will learn: • How to use the “Rescue Ladder” to save a drowning person while keeping themselves safe. • Lifesaving skills such as eggbeater and ‘reverse and ready’. • Efficient movement in shallow, mid-depth, and deep water. • How to retrieve an unconscious victim. • Lifeguard fitness items, such as a practice Run, Swim, Tow. On the Kits Beach and in the ocean, participants will learn: • Fun fitness games, such as Beach Flags. • Communication and hand-signals. Using a loud “lifeguard voice.” • How to use paddleboards, rowboats, rescue cans, and kayaks efficiently in rescues and races. • General water safety around the beach. Why the rules exist and how they keep people safe. And much more. The weeks that Beach Alert will run for summer 2011 are: Week 1 July 04 - July 08 Week 2 July 11 - July 15 Week 3 July 18 - July 22 Week 4 July 25 - July 29 Week 5 Aug.08 - Aug.12 Week 6 Aug.15 - Aug.19

Cost for one week is $155. per child.  This includes a Beach Alert t-shirt and registration in two exciting Jr. Lifeguard Competitions throughout the Summer, on July 23
(Schon Cup) and August 20 (Beach Alert Competition). These events will give each participant the chance to show off what they have learned, and also to experience the thrill of competing in fitness and first aid events. Please contact James Bodnarchuk at beachalert@vancouverlifeguards.com for more information on the Beach Alert camps.

Please call the Vancouver Aquatic Center or Kits Pool to register in upcoming months.  VAC:  604 665 3424.  Registration is now open!!
We hope to see your child in one of our Beach Alert weeks!

Thanks!
e-mail: beachalert@vancouverlifeguards.com

Unsure about the camp? More questions about Beach Alert?  Bring your child to our free Beach Alert day at 9:00am-12:00pm on Thursday June 30 at Kits Beach! 
We will have the paddleboards out for free lessons, instructors and volunteers to answer questions and provide introductory lessons, and a first aid demo to get the children excited about exciting lifeguarding competitions. Come and check the program out on Thursday June 30!