By Kisean Joseph
The Beach Safety and Security Unit (BSSU) has reached a transformative milestone in its professional development, achieving complete self-sufficiency in lifeguard training through a partnership with Lifesaving Society Canada.
The programme, which began in 2003, has now reached a crucial milestone with the certification of ten local instructors, including two qualified examiners.
“We have now moved from a mere 15 lifeguards or 15 persons within the base safety unit to well over 60-plus persons,” said manager Elroy Daley, highlighting the significant growth since the initiative’s inception. The collaboration with the Canadian Life-Saving Society, which oversees lifesaving and lifeguarding within the English-speaking Caribbean, has proven instrumental in this achievement.
Patrick D’almata, International Development Coordinator for Lifesaving Society Canada, explained the strategic approach, “With Antigua, we started in 2022 and it was a three-year plan to make the Antigua lifeguard service self-sufficient. In the first year, we delivered the training directly. In the second year, we introduced instructors and examiners to the lifesaving level.”
The programme required participants to complete a 400-meter swim in 10 minutes or better, along with a combination run-swim-tow test.
“Run 100 meters, swim 100 meters, and tow your victim 100 meters; that too should be done in less than five minutes,” said Daley, emphasising its high-performance requirements.
A notable enhancement to this year’s training was the inclusion of swimming instruction certification. Lisa Adams, a national trainer with Lifesaving Society Canada, shared the importance of this addition.
“Our swim programme that we’ve introduced this year we now have 10 certified swim instructors on the island that can take this program and now teach locals how to swim and be safe in, on, and around the water,” she said.
The certification holds international recognition which enables qualified lifeguards to work throughout the Caribbean and Canada.
“Right now we realise that a lot of hotels are coming onstream and they need lifeguards; they need life-saving skills,” said Peter Slowe, one of the newly certified instructors, “and we’re ready, we’re prepared, and we can offer that with international certification.”
The programme’s scope extends beyond basic lifeguarding to include comprehensive water safety education. “Once someone knows that they’re capable of basically saving themselves from any water-related injuries in terms of drowning and so forth, it’s a good thing,” said Mclean Lawrence, another newly certified instructor who highlighted the focus on drowning prevention through swimming education.
