Since everything shut down, questions about how to go about renewing or extending your lifeguard certification have been common. The American Red Cross came out with a few different solutions.
Recently, they released the definitive way to renew your certification even if you are past previous grace periods.
They are calling it the Provisional Certificate Lifeguard Review. I put together a quick video on how it works.
The most popular time of the year for people to take courses is between March and June. That also means that most certifications are expiring during those months as well.
Here’s what the current guidance is from the American Red Cross.
I put together a quick video on how to extend lifeguard certifications and spell out the details above.
KEEP READING BELOW AFTER THE VIDEO
** The extension has been extended from 90 to 120 days AND you are eligible to take the online module if you expired between March 1st and June 30th.
Here’s how to sign up for the 120-day extension:
Once that is completed, you will receive an email verifying you completed the module and it will be added into your Learning Center account.
When you go to take a Lifeguard Review, you will need to show this AND your original certification to the Instructor to be able to take the course. If you do not do it and your certification is beyond the 30-day window, you will need to take a full course again.
Final important piece – it is 100% up to your employer to allow you to work with only the 120-day extension. It does not mean you are still able to work. All that it does is give you the ability to take a review course if your certification is past the expiration.
If you have any questions, email me at nick@blueoceanaquaticsny.com or call 631-835-7017.
Please forward this to your fellow guards and instructors. If your workplace has brought up questions or concerns, have them give me a call and I can help them work through as well.
Almost every full course I teach has at least 1 person who let it expire and unhappily is taking the full lifeguard course again.
Don’t let that happen to you. If you let your certification expire, you have to take a full lifeguard class all over again.
The Red Cross maintains an online database of certifications. That means you must keep up to date and there is no way around it.
To know what you have to do to stay up to date, first you must know what you are certified in. Upon successful completion of an American Red Cross lifeguard course, you are certified in lifeguarding, CPR, AED, and first aid.
No need to endlessly hunt through emails or dig through your papers. The American Red Cross has made a simple online system to find your certification. All you need is your name and the year you took your course!
To participate in an American Red Cross Lifeguarding course, you must take and pass a pre-course skills test. There are certain skills you must have prior to participating – the pre-course skills test shows the instructor you are capable of being a lifeguard.
