Pool Attendant certification replaces Wading Pool Attendant certification, which will be retired December 31, 2023. Affiliates may start offering Pool Attendant as soon as their Lifesaving Instructors have the award guide (link below) and are comfortable with the material.
The Lifesaving Society’s Pool Attendant certification is designed to provide lifesavers with the knowledge and skill to supervise wading pools, splashpads, waterslides and amusement devices.
Resources
A wading pool is defined as a body of water less than 0.75 metres (2 feet, 6 inches) in depth, that is held in a fill and dump facility or is re-circulated through a filtering and water treatment system. A slide can be stand-alone or part of a waterslide operation with a starting zone, channel and landing zone.
As a result of this training program, candidates will understand:
- roles and responsibilities of a Pool Attendant
- how to identify, control and eliminate risks and hazards through facility analysis
- the role and rescue skills needed to respond to emergency situations
Prerequisites: Minimum 14 years of age, Standard First Aid certification.
Evaluation and certification: Current Lifesaving Instructors teach and certify candidates.
Recertification: Pool Attendant is recertified by successfully completing a Pool Attendant course.
Candidate recognition: Certification card.
Required references: There are no required references for candidates. Use the Pool Attendant PowerPoint presentation and handout as appropriate to support key messages. You can also supplement with other handouts or references as applicable.
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Instructor references: Instructors require the Pool Attendant Award Guide, and PowerPoint Presentation. Where applicable, reference provincial regulations (e.g., the Lifesaving Society’s Guide to Ontario Public Pools Regulation).
Technical resources that support test item content are listed in the bottom of the Notes column. CLM refers to Canadian Lifesaving Manual, CFAM refers to the Canadian First Aid Manual, Alert refers to Alert: Lifeguarding in Action.
Some content required in the Pool Attendant award is not found in the current edition of the Canadian Lifesaving Manual. These content and additional resource handouts are provided in the Supplement, pg. 20.
Required equipment: Classroom supplies such as tables, chairs, flip chart paper, stand and markers, masking tape, and A/V equipment. First aid supplies including barrier devices, adult, child, and infant CPR training manikins, and AED Trainers.
Facility requirements: A wading pool environment with depths no more than 0.75 metres.
At-A-Glance
Test items:
1. The Lifesaving Society: Demonstrate knowledge of the Lifesaving Society and awareness of its training program opportunities.
2. Theory and practice: Through practical activities, candidates demonstrate an understanding of the following in a wading pool setting:
- Explain the role and responsibilities of the Pool Attendant in terms of role-modelling, public relations, accident prevention, rescue response, operations, maintenance, and challenges when working alone at a wading pool.
- Define the legal obligations of the attendant in terms of duty and standard of care, liability and negligence.
- Provide examples of regulations that govern workplace health and safety for Pool Attendants (e.g., WHMIS, Occupational Health and Safety, Worker’s Compensation) and legislation regarding harassment and violence in the workplace.
- Provide examples of regulations and guidelines that govern provincial wading pools, waterslides and amusement devices (e.g., Guide to Ontario Public Pools Regulation, Technical Standards & Safety Authority [TSSA]: Amusement Devices Act).
- Explain the hazardous nature of chemicals used in aquatic environments and the special training required for their safe handling.
- Documentation including but not limited to: bather load, incidents/accidents/injuries, fouling, customer complaints and maintenance logs (e.g., pH, chlorine, water clarity and weather).
Skill items:
3. Communication: Demonstrate effective communication with patrons (adults, teens, children), victims, other attendants, supervisors and emergency service personnel.
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4. Aquatic facility analysis: Demonstrate an understanding of:
- Features that vary from wading pool to wading pool (or vary from time to time) and how analysis of these affects their job.
- The role of water treatment systems in providing a safe and comfortable bather environment.
- Environmental hazards of wading pools, amusement devices and play structures.
- Inspection and operation of waterslides, amusement devices and play structures.
5. Drowning resuscitation: On a manikin, demonstrate single-rescuer adult, child, and infant drowning resuscitation including ability to deal with complications.
6. Victim recognition: In the water, simulate the appearance of an unconscious victim, and an injured victim.
7. Spinal injury management: Respond to a breathing or non-breathing suspected spinal-injured victim located in shallow water or on land.
Judgement items:
8a. Surveillance: positioning and rotation: Demonstrate effective positioning and rotation.
8b. Surveillance: scanning and observation: Demonstrate effective observation skills and scanning techniques.
8c. Surveillance: prevention and intervention: Demonstrate an ability to recognize situations in which early intervention may prevent a rescue emergency.
9. Management of an injured victim: Demonstrate effective management of an injured victim.
10. Rescue: non-breathing victim: Perform a rescue of a non-breathing victim located in the water at a wading pool. Remove victim and perform CPR on a manikin.