Mike
Sandusky, OH
Male, 20
I worked at an extremely busy water park for about two years straight and a summer camp as a beach lifeguard. Working at a water park operating 365 days a year as well as on a beach, I've seen my fair share of interesting scenarios. I've been the good guy with the band-aid, and the bad guy who yells at your kids (for good reason trust me). I'll do my best to answer any questions you have.
Well first of all, I've never heard anyone say to just go limp when being carried by a current so I can't specifically answer your question.
What I can tell you is that there are basically two different types of currents that plague swimmers; the rip current, and the undertow. Rip currents are most common and usually occur in a lake or ocean with moderately heavy waves. These currents will pull you out further to sea and you should swim parallel with the shore until you've escaped the current and can swim back to shore. Undertows, although they may sound more dangerous, are usually fairly mild and only are a problem for inexperienced swimmers. Undertows occur in the same setting as rip tides but they will pull a swimmer under the water for a few seconds. In these scenarios, it is best to remain calm while swimming toward the surface.
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If anything it was the water park guards that had a superiority complex due to the amount of rescue activity we would see. While an open water guard might have 4 or 5 rescues in their entire career, it was not uncommon to have 5-10 rescues a day in the water park depending on your position for the day.
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Wendy Peffercorn from The Sandlot is the first one that comes to mind, although I'll have to take points off for not checking for a pulse or breathing before starting CPR. Other than that I've got to go with Baywatch.
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I would suggest swimming as much as possible to increase your skills. You can try swimming timed laps in order to keep track of your improvement. Look up the swimming tests needed to earn a certification and practice those tasks. Swim 300 to 400 yards continuously, dive to depths of 7 to 10 feet to recover a 10 pound item, tread water for as long as possibly using just your legs.
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Private Detective
Has anyone ever caught you surveilling them, and what happened?
Wills and Estates Lawyer
Can I leave everything to my pets?
Pharmacist
Have you ever given someone the wrong prescription?
The training will vary slightly based on the organization doing the training. Like I've said before, I've done guard training through three different organizations but they're all pretty similar. There is a lot of classroom instruction covering various medical topics as well as some in-water training that covers different rescues and what not. The written tests are all pretty easy. If you pay attention in training it's really easy and most of the questions are common sense regardless. The hardest tests for me to pass were the timed swimming events. As long as you're a strong swimmer you'll be fine with those.
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Personally, no, I did not become a lifeguard to pick up chicks. I became one out of living by the water and enjoying aquatics related activities. On the other hand, I do know some who did, and long story shortyes, it does work.
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That would be completely frowned upon. You're there to watch the water and make sure no one gets hurt. Water parks will often have music playing though.
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