Help with lifeguardingg from any experienced lifeguardss!!?

Question

ok...i'm doing lifeguard training rite now...it is a 2 week course...mon-thurs....11:00 - 3:00. We swim most of the time and i was doing fine until we got to the active drowning victim rescue. We had to do a stride jump in and rescue a 250 pound man (a member of the YMCA staff that volunteered to be a victim). I got in, and i gripped him under the arms and tried to pull him onto the red long lifegurad buoy thing, but I couldn't get him all the way....so i gripped him and tried to swim back, but i wasn't moving!! What do i do? Is there an easier way...like a different way to position the buoy? Cuz i no that there are lifguard skinnier and weaker than me that can do thiss.... much help is appreciated!

thx!

Answer 1

when i was lifeguarding, i  had the same situation. i put the buoy under their back (from left rib to right rib) if they were knocked out. if they are awake i asked them to hold it. the only other thing is you gotta do a lot of swimming and different styles everyday

Answer 2

Try asking that staff member what you could have done differently - he was there & could answer better than anyone else.  

If he was conscious, ask him to just hold the PFD/buoy & tow him in.  If he was supposed to be unconscious, that's obviously harder.  I tried getting under my victim a couple times in training by gripping the underarm from behind, putting my shoulder at the bottom of his neck, and supporting him a bit with my bent arm across part of his back (sorry, it's a bit hard to descrie).  This would keep my other arm available to help me swim.  That's just my 2 cents, ask your instructor what the propper procedure would be.

Don't forget to call for more help while in the water.  The reality is, no matter how big you are, there are a lot of people still too big for you to handle alone.

Answer 3

yeah we all had to do that. you'll have to seriously use all your energy to push the rescue tube underneath the guy. you'll have to do it quickly though so you have some momentum to swim back. just use those leg muscles!