Using GuardStart to Help Create a Lifeguard Haven in the Plains

Hutchinson, Kansas is a city of about 40,000 people, located in south central Kansas. This is a part of the country with vast expanses of land and miles of underground caverns created by the mining of salt. Hutchinson is the home of the Kansas State Fair and the National Junior College Athletic Association's Men's basketball Tournament. This isn't typically the type of area that leaps to the minds of most people when they are asked to locate a progressive aquatics program.

During the past few years, while most of the rest of the nation was suffering from a lifeguard shortage, the Hutchinson Recreation Commission was able to be much more selective than most in their process of recruiting and selecting lifeguards. In fact, just the possession of a certificate stating a candidate was certified as a lifeguard did not guarantee a job or even a serious look. The Hutchinson Recreation Commission was looking for candidates that had successfully completed the GuardStart program. These candidates have proven to be a more efficient hire than other candidates. The GuardStart participants have needed less upfront energy from the facility management to be ready to be effective lifeguards.

Ted Nelson, Aquatics and Youth Programs Superintendent, states that the Recreation Commission has run this program for three summers now, coinciding with the opening of their aquatic center. Mr. Nelson sees the GuardStart program as a necessity for future staffing needs. This is a wonderful opportunity for the aquatics department and the kids of the community to familiarize themselves with each other. Participants in the GuardStart classes not only learn some of the basics of lifeguarding, but they learn the facility and department's operating procedures, expectations and gain an appreciation for the management and operation of an aquatic facility.

Each summer, there are about twenty participants per GuardStart class, with a waiting list of others wanting to get into the classes. The classes have been held on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:30 - 11:30 a.m. with a total of 14 - 20 hours of class time per summer. The Hutchinson Recreation Commission incorporates the practice of having the participants "shadow-guard" with senior-level aquatic staff. Mr. Nelson states that the lifeguards view being paired with the GuardStarters as a compliment and recognition by the recreation department that they are high achieving lifeguards.it's become a sort of status symbol.

GuardStart nicely fills the gap between the Red Cross Learn-to-Swim and Lifeguarding programs, as well as provides facilities with early recruiting and training efforts future staffing needs.

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