City lifeguards train locally

alta's City Pool became the site for lifeguard training on Thursday, May 25. The two-day course trained eight lifeguards.

The crew was trained by Cindy LaMere, a Lifeguard Instructor Trainer from the Harlem / Fort Belknap area. Typically LaMere would have done the training in Harlem, but Malta's pool is unique.

"The reason I knew that I needed to come to this pool is because of the ledge," LaMere said. "It is different from every other pool."

According to LaMere, the blue ledge at the City Pool is higher than most pools and it presents a challenge for a new piece of equipment the lifeguards will use if needed, a green spinal board.

"I knew that training in this pool would be important," she continued. "Each pool is individualized. A lot of them are flat and generic, so we could train anywhere but with this ledge it is going to be harder."

LaMere is in her fourth year of training lifeguards and a couple of years ago, she saw the City Pool while attending the annual swim meet.

"I was here one year during a swim meet where a girl was doing flies, she cramped up and they had to get her out," LaMere said. "They had it under control and didn't use a backboard to get her out."

Malta Parks and Recreation co-director Julia Tatafu took the course for her re-certification.

"I took lifeguard training back in college," Tatafu said. "I haven't done it since, so I'm getting certified again as a lifeguard. It will be good to spend the summer at the pool."

The training event went from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 25 and the following day.

"We did first aid and CPR on Thursday and since the pool wasn't available we did all of the lifeguard videos that didn't pertain to swimming stuff," LaMere said.

On Friday the group covered entries, rescues, approaches as well as spinal back boarding. Taking the course allowed every lifeguard to earn a certification that goes beyond the swimming pool.

"They get their lifeguarding certification and they get their first aid / CPR certification," LaMere said. "And those are good for two years."

Lifeguards that have been trained before typically don't have to sit through the entire event. This year was different given the crew added the backboard.

The testing included a CPR and back boarding test. The swim test was a 300-meter freestyle/breaststroke swim, followed by a two-minute armless tread that includes another swimming event.

"They had to swim from three foot to 10 foot, rescue a 10-pound brick, bring it up to the surface, swim with the brick on their back to the other end, pull it out, jump out and then the time stops," LaMere said. "They have to do that in one minute, forty seconds."

Though they spent hours learning and relearning about saving lives, LaMere hopes that incidents can be stopped before they happen.

"What I focus on is prevention," LaMere said. "The best lifeguard is a dry lifeguard that enforces the rules so that nobody gets injured."