American Red Cross Water Safety and Basic Swim Instructor Training Classes

Swim Instructor Certification

Earn your certification to teach American Red Cross swimming and water safety, and gain the skills needed to teach courses and make presentations to swimmers of every age and ability. Through our Aquatic Instructor Training program, you can help recreational swimmers meet their goals, refine their skills and stay safe in, on, and around water. Choose the training that best meets your needs:

Basic Swim Instructor (BSI) course trains instructor candidates to teach the fundamental Learn-to-swim courses including Parent and Child Aquatics, Preschool Aquatics, Learn-to-Swim Levels 1-3 and private swimming lessons (for the courses listed). BSI candidates are not required to perform advanced swimming strokes and skills such as butterfly, backstroke and diving.

The Water Safety Instructor (WSI) course trains instructor candidates to teach all the courses presented in the Swimming and Water Safety program to all age groups; all of the courses listed above, plus Learn-to-Swim Levels 4-6 and Adult Swim. This certification is the gold standard and provides the most comprehensive training for swim instructors.

What You’ll Learn

During our swim instructor certification training courses, you’ll learn how to help individuals enjoy their time in the water safely – and in a wide range of ways. Throughout the courses we’ll focus on several key areas that can help you succeed as aquatics instructor, such as:

• Water safety at public pools, homes, natural bodies of water and more, including the Circle of Drowning Prevention and Chain of Drowning Survival.
• Hydrodynamics, including why some things float, resistance to movement and creating movement in water, swimming efficiency and laws of levers.
• Basic safety, survival and swimming skills to help children gain water competency.
• Helping people with disabilities and other health conditions enjoy the water safely.

Water Safety Instructors will also learn how to teach:

• Higher-level swim skills that help prepare people of all ages for any aquatic activity.
• Stroke mechanics for all competitive strokes as well as starts, turns and headfirst entries.
• Water safety certification courses, including Safety Training for Swim Coaches and Basic Water Rescue.
• Fundamentals of diving from a diving board.
• Aquatic fitness and training for people of any age.

Note: In order to participate in Basic Swim Instructor and Water Safety Instructor certification classes, participants must be at least 16 years of age by the end of the course.

Course Dates

• March 2020 (Saturdays and Sundays)
• April & May 2020 (TBD)

Cost for Course

• Cost $300 for 4-6 students
• Cost $450 for 2-3 students
• Cost $1200 for 1 student
• * Each candidate must pay an additional $38 Red Cross Registration fee to the Instructor Trainer.

Registration

• Candidate can email Ginny Harrison at info@harrisonswimschool.com to request a Registration form
• Upon receipt of your registration form, candidate agrees to pay $100 non-refundable deposit to Harrison Swim School to secure the reservation.
• Candidate agrees to pay the American Red Cross Registration fee of $37 to register online with the ARC.
• Candidate agrees to purchase necessary books from the ARC or download the ARC curriculum online.
• Candidate must meet the ARC requirements for Water Safety instructor or Basic Safety Instructor.

Workshops – A great way to increase your knowledge and skills as a swim instructor

• Who – Any instructor wanting to sharpen skills through continuing education classes
• What – Five workshops taught by Ginny Harrison with live individuals. Each workshop is 2 hours and 30 minutes long and will cover the following ages and categories:
  • Ages 6 months to 3 years
  • Ages 3 years to 5 years
  • Ages 6 to 12 years
  • Teens and Adults
  • Special Needs
• When – Saturdays in April
• Where – Harrison Swim School in Clermont
• Cost – Maximum attendance of attendees is 10 and minimum is 3.
  • Each workshop costs $40
  • Entire package costs $150
• Registration ends March 7^th, 2020. Please go to info@harrisonswimschool.com and request information about the workshops in April 2020.