UNF Aquatic Center Hosts Spring Break Lifeguard Camps

Joanna Norris, Assistant Director

Department of Media Relations and Events

(904) 620-2102

            The University of North Florida Aquatic Center will be offering a lifeguard training camp during Duval and St. Johns counties public school spring break weeks for high school students in Northeast Florida.

The first lifeguard training camp will be held during St. Johns County’s spring break, starting Monday, March 29, and running through Friday, April 2. The second training camp will be held during Duval County’s spring break, starting Monday, April 5, and running through Friday, April 9.

Both camps begin at 9 a.m. and end at 4 p.m. at the UNF Aquatic Center on campus, which is located next door to the UNF Arena. Cost for the camp is $150 and is open to high school students ages 15 and up. Class size is limited to 14 people.

Prerequisites for the lifeguard training camp include the following:

• Swim Endurance Test—swim 300 yards continuously using these strokes in the following order: 100 yards of front crawl using rhythmic breathing and a stabilizing, propellant kick. Rhythmic breathing can be performed either by breathing to the side or front; 100 yards of breaststroke using a pull, breathe, kick and glide sequence; and 100 yards of either the front crawl or breaststroke.
• Brick Swim Test—starting in the water, swim 20 yards using either the front crawl or breaststroke, surface dive 7 to 10 feet, retrieve a 10-pound object, return to the surface, swim 20 yards back to the starting area with the object in both hands and exit the water without using a ladder or steps, within 1 minute, 40 seconds. Please note that the brick swim can be a challenging skill. It must be performed without goggles and the participant must be able to completely get out of the pool without assistance within the assigned time to complete this prerequisite skill.

For more information about the lifeguard training camp or to register for either spring break camp, contact the UNF Aquatic Center at (904) 620-2854.

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