Get Certified this Fall
MacEwan University Sport and Wellness has a number of Aquatic Certification you can take part that focus on advanced swimming skills, aquatics leadership, 
lifeguarding and life saving and first aid. This fall we have several programs you can register for including WaterART Fitness, SwimAbilities Instructor, National Lifeguard/ Aquatic Emergency Care and O2 Original, Swim and Lifesaving Instructor, Bronze Medallion/ Cross courses and recertification courses.
The Lifesaving Society is the standard setting, certifying body for lifeguarding in Canada. The National Lifeguard certification is just that: national. Once certified, you can work as a National Lifeguard in any province. Lifesaving Society Swim for Life and Lifesaving Instructor certifications can also be transferred province to province.
The first steps to becoming both a lifeguard and swim instructor is to earn your Bronze Medallion, and then your Bronze Cross certifications. While these awards are two separate certifications, many facilities, including Sport and Wellness, co-deliver these programs. This means that you earn both certifications by registering for one course.
Once you have your Bronze Cross certification you have earned the first prerequisite for both your lifeguarding and instructor certification. However, you also need to be 16 years of age to be certified as either a Lifesaving Society lifeguard or instructor. Some facilities required you to be 16 years of age before you can register for the course, but here at Sport and Wellness you simply need to be 16 years of age before the last day of the course.
To become a National Lifeguard there is one additional prerequisite that you need to obtain: a government workplace approved Standard First Aid certification. Here in Alberta, the province publishes a list of approved first aid training courses on a quarterly basis. Some facilities will offer first aid training as a stand-alone course, here at MacEwan we co-deliver Aquatic Emergency Care (AEC), which is a government of Alberta approved Standard First Aid certification, along with National Lifeguard so you only need to register for one course to obtain both certifications.
Sport and Wellness has all the certification courses required for you to obtain both your lifeguard and swim instructor certification, so you can get fully certified. Register early and save with Early Bird pricing on all our Certification programs.
If you have questions about the certification process, please contact aquatics@macewan.ca.
By Victoria Mitchell
Victoria has been training lifeguards, and swim and lifesaving instructors in both Alberta and Ontario for over 12 years and is a Lifesaving Society National Lifeguard Trainer and Swim/Lifesaving Trainer. She is also MacEwan University Sport and Wellness newest Aquatic Programmer.
