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All Departments Administration Corrections Development Services Facilities Management Human Resources Information Technology Library Services Management and Budget Services Natural Resources Management Neighborhood and Human Services Parks and Recreation Public Safety Public Works Veterans Services Waste ServicesEscambia County's Pensacola Beach Lifeguards recently completed the requirements for the United States Lifesaving Association Open Water Lifeguard Agency Certification Program, following guidelines for the highest quality open water lifeguard training standards.
To qualify for this certification, Pensacola Beach Lifeguards had to ensure compliance with USLA's required elements, which include minimum standards for lifeguard training, policies, medical and rescue equipment, record keeping and reporting. The USLA Open Water Lifeguard Agency Certification Program accounts for the unique challenges faced by lifeguards who safeguard natural bodies of water, such as waves, water currents, dangerous animals and weather.
Pensacola Beach Lifeguards join some of the most respected lifeguard agencies in the country that use the USLA system. The certification will remain active until November 2020, provided that lifeguard training is conducted in a manner consistent with USLA standards.
Escambia County Water Safety Chief Dave Greenwood said the Pensacola Beach Lifeguards have always upheld high standards for training, but it's great to receive recognition from a national organization.
"Our lifeguards have a really difficult job out there, and they're faced with a lot of new experiences and challenges," Greenwood said. "The training helps them be better prepared to meet those challenges in an open water environment."
Greenwood said that the Pensacola Beach Lifeguards program will continue to uphold the USLA standards and exceed them wherever they can.
"We are always looking for ways to improve our training so we can continue to meet our number one goal of maintaining public safety on Pensacola Beach," Greenwood said. "The better trained our lifeguards are, the more prepared they will be to keep our residents and visitors safe."
USLA does not certify individual lifeguards or instructors, but instead certifies lifeguard employers, including their training programs and standards which follow USLA guidelines. The USLA certification system is essentially an accreditation system for local lifeguard training programs.
For more information about the United States Lifesaving Association, visit usla.org.
For more information about Pensacola Beach Lifeguards, click here or like Pensacola Beach Lifeguards on Facebook.
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