CPR/Swim Angel Training

Thank you for your interest in giving back to the swimming community by becoming a Swim Angel!

To become a Swim Angel, you must:

• Have previous experience as a Lifeguard.
• Be a competent swimmer
• Able to breathe on both sides so you can accommodate a single sided breather.
• Have open water experience
• Have the ability to tolerate cold

Your purpose, as a Swim Angel, is to assist swimmers in an open water swim that may not have participated in without your assistance. It is also to be present if a swimmer panics or needs support. This is not long-term therapy… this is getting a swimmer through a critical moment by understanding the fears of a beginning swimmer or triathlete

This training will cover:

How to approach a nervous swimmer

• What to say and ask, and what to avoid
• How to stay calm and be prepared
• Basic psychology of fear

Strategies for before and during the swim

• Understanding Water conditions, Current, Wind (direction and speed)
• Implications of water and air temperature
• What details of the race course to be familiar with

American Red Cross Lifeguarding review

The training will conclude with a practical exam. There will also be the standard written ARC First Aid/CPR/AED exam.

American Red Cross Lifeguarding manual can be found at:

http://www.instructorscorner.org/media/resources/l/lg_part_manual_landing.html

Lifeguarding will be briefly reviewed, but will focus on:

• Hypothermia – how to recognize the physical and verbal and what to do
• Preventing shock
• Signs and symptoms of a heart attack or stroke
• Conscious assists
• Unconscious assists – medical emergencies
• Removing someone from the water safely and effectively

Sign-up is free but please bring $40 cash (or be ready to Venmo) to pay instructor Bonnie Schwartz-Nolan.

If you cannot make this training but still want to be certified in CPR and/or Boat Observing, NY Open Water is offering training courses. We need boat observers for our long swims so please do consider taking this training as well.