Hopkins Community Education

Become a Certified Lifeguard with Our Free Comprehensive Course

This free course teaches participants the skills and knowledge needed to become a lifeguard. After completing the course, youth may be eligible to become paid interns with Hopkins Community Education.

During the course, candidates will learn how to recognize prevent and respond quickly to aquatic emergencies. The training also includes CPR for the Professional Rescuer AED and First Aid. Certifications will be awarded after attending all class sessions and passing the written exams water skills and final tests.

Prerequisites:
Participants must be between 15 and 21 years old and able to pass a swim pretest that includes:
• Swimming 300 yards continuously using rhythmic breathing and breath control
• Treading water for two minutes using only the legs
• Completing a timed event within one minute and forty seconds that involves swimming twenty yards starting in the water, diving to a depth of seven to ten feet to retrieve a ten-pound object, swimming back twenty yards on the back while holding the object, and exiting the water without using steps or a ladder

Certifications received upon successful completion of the course and a passing score of eighty percent or higher on the final written exams include Lifeguard CPR with AED and First Aid. These certifications are valid for two years and must be renewed every two years.

This is a blended learning class. A link to the online curriculum will be emailed one week before class begins. An email address is required to participate.