American Red Cross courses

Interested in a great summer job or a challenging career as a professional lifeguard? Through videos, group discussion and hands-on practice, you’ll learn teamwork, rescue and surveillance skills, first aid, CPR and AED training along with other skills necessary to succeed as a professional lifeguard.

This course teaches the duties and responsibilities of lifeguards to prevent and respond to aquatic emergencies in a professional manner. The instructor will send participants the link to the online content after course registration is complete. The online content will take seven and a half hours to complete. Your proof of online completion will need to be brought to the first facility session.  

Successful completion results in a two-year certification in lifeguarding that includes first aid and professional-level CPR and AED in one certificate. Digital certificate available upon successful completion of course. 

Overall course length  

Lifeguarding Course: 27 hours  

• This estimate includes the time it takes to complete the online course. (6 hours online content and 21 hours in person skills.)

Dates

• Fall 2025  

Registration

• $250 per participant
• Registration date opens

Requirements

• You must be at least 15 years of age.

Prerequisites

• You must be able to swim 300 yards continuously using these strokes in the following order: 100 yards of front crawl stroke, 100 yards of breaststroke and 100 yards of either front crawl or breaststroke or a combination of both. All 300 yards must use rhythmic breathing with your face in the water and a stabilizing, propellant kick.
• You must be able to swim 20 yards using front crawl or breaststroke, surface dive to a minimum depth of 7 feet, retrieve a 10 lb. object, return to surface and swim back to starting point with the object within 1 minute and 40 seconds. When returning to the starting point, you must hold the 10 lb. object with both hands and keep your face above water.

Minimum class size

• A minimum of six participants is required to conduct a class. 

The Lifeguard Review (lifeguard recertification) course is designed to review the lifeguard skills and core knowledge points required to re-certify in lifeguarding. This course is taught as a blended learning course. Course content review is completed online before the skills session. Skills sessions will be held at the University of Idaho Swim Center.

Topics covered include:  

• Patron surveillance  
• Rescue skills  
• Victim assessment  
• CPR/AED  
• Care for head, neck and spinal injuries

Course length

• 10 hours

Dates

• Fall 2025  

Registration

• $150 per participant

Prerequisites

• Current Red Cross Lifeguarding/First Aid/CPR/AED or Shallow Water Lifeguarding/First Aid/CPR/AED certificate.

Note: If your Lifeguarding/First Aid/CPR/AED certificate is expired, you must take the full Lifeguarding or Shallow Water Lifeguarding course.

Minimum class size

• A minimum of six participants is required to conduct a class.

This course prepares instructor candidates to teach basic level Lifeguarding, Lifeguard Management, CPR/AED for the Professional Rescuer, Administering Emergency Oxygen, Bloodborne Pathogens Training: Preventing Disease Transmission and Basic Water Rescue courses.

Course length

• 25 hours  

Dates

• Spring 2026  

Registration

• $300 per participant

Requirements

• You must be 17 years of age by the last day of class.
• You must attend all class dates.

Prerequisites

• You must hold current American Red Cross Lifeguarding/First Aid and CPR/AED certification.
• You must successfully complete the pre-course session — this includes passing the pre-course written exam with a score of 80 percent or higher for each of the three sections and demonstrating competency in the pre-course skills and scenarios evaluation.

No exceptions or refunds due to failure to complete prerequisites.

Minimum class size

• A minimum of six participants is required to conduct a class. 

This course will teach you skills that may save a life, gain terrific work experience as an aquatics professional, earn money or volunteer while you help people learn valuable skills. You will learn organizational and presentation skills that will help you in any career and make a difference in people's lives.  

Water safety instructors are authorized to teach:

• Red Cross Learn-to-Swim levels 1 to 6
• Parent and Child Aquatics
• Water Safety Outreach
• Basic Water Rescue Course
• Water Safety Today Presentation
• General Water Safety Presentation
• Home Pool Safety Presentation
• Parent Orientation to Swimming Lesson Presentation
• Swim Coaches Safety

Water Safety Instructor Authorization is valid for two years.

Whether you want to splash around with kids while teaching them to swim, help children and adults refine their strokes or teach diving safety techniques, you can achieve your goals as an American Red Cross Water Safety Instructor.

Course length

• 30 hours

Dates

• Fall 2025  

Registration

• $250 per participant
• Free to U of I students who work for the University of Idaho Swim Center.

Requirements

• You must be 16 by the first day of class.
• Candidates must attend all sessions to pass this course.

Prerequisites

• FIT (included in course).
• You must successfully pass the skills pretest — based on a proficiency level equal to Level 4 of the American Red Cross Learn to Swim Program:
  • You must be able to swim 25 yards each of Front Crawl, Back Crawl, Breaststroke, Elementary Backstroke, Sidestroke and 15 yards of Butterfly.
  • You must maintain position on your back for 1 minute in deep water (float or sculling).
  • You must be able to tread water for 1 minute.
• If you hold a current certification in Basic Water Safety and/or Lifeguard Training you must still undergo pretesting.

Minimum class size

• A minimum of six participants is required to conduct a class. 

This course helps to fulfill the Coaches Safety Education requirement for USA Swimming and Y-USA with a two-year certification.

The Safety Training for Swim Coaches course offers up-to-date content on safe sport policies, emergency planning and first aid, including:

• Maintaining a comfortable and safe environment for swimmers
• Preventing accidents and emergencies
• Responding to ill or injured swimmers in water or on land

Course length

• 3 hours  

Dates

• This course is available on request.

Registration

• $125 per participant

Requirements

• You must be at least 15 years of age by the end of the course

Prerequisites

• You must be comfortable in chest-deep water.

This course includes both an online portion and an in-water skills session. To determine whether you need to complete both parts, please see below for requirements based on current certification status:

• New coaches or those with expired certifications need 3 hours of online courses, and three hours of in-water skill sessions.
• Coaches with current Safety Training for Swim Coaches need three hours of online courses, and 50 minutes of in-water skill sessions.
• Coaches with current Lifeguarding/First Aid/CPR/AED* need three hours of online courses and are not required to participate in the in-water skill sessions.
• Coaches with current Shallow Water Lifeguarding/First Aid/CPR/AED* need three hours of online courses and are not required to participate in the in-water skill sessions.

*Eligible to enroll in Safety Training for Swim Coaches online-only course.

Minimum class size

• A minimum of six participants is required to conduct a class.