Testing and training for East Hampton Town’s junior lifeguard program for ages 9 to 15 and lifeguard training and conditioning for those who will be 15 by July 1 will begin on Sunday at the Y.M.C.A. East Hampton RECenter pool.
All junior lifeguards, even those who have previously participated in the summer ocean safety program, must be evaluated to requalify. Those new to the program must do the training before being tested. Sunday sessions are from 1 to 1:45 or from 1:45 to 2:30. Both happen weekly through April 21; from April 28 through June 23 only the earlier session will be offered.
Participants new to the program learn and work on different strokes in preparation for a test that involves a timed swim and an evaluation of their freestyle, sidestroke, and breaststroke forms. Trainees may be ready for testing in a few weeks or may need the full spring to prepare; returnees are usually evaluated on the first day they attend.
Testing and training are free, but advance registration is requested. Participants must be between the ages of 9 and 15 as of July 1. The summer program takes place at ocean beaches in Amagansett and Montauk on Saturday and Sunday mornings in July.
For trainees who will be between 15 and 17 by the summer and are considering taking the still water or ocean lifeguard certification courses in April or May, training and conditioning sessions will be offered at the pool on Sundays from 2:30 to 4 in March. Sessions for those 18 and up are offered at the same time. There is a $50 fee.
“To start this training, you don’t have to be a ‘good’ swimmer,” the organizers note on the website. “We will correct your strokes and get you in good swimming shape during this training.”
The still water certification course starts at the Y pool on April 6, a Sunday. An ocean certification course (open only to those who will be 16 by the summer) starts at the Maidstone Club on May 31 and one for those who will be 16 as of Aug. 1 starts in mid-June at Indian Wells Beach in Amagansett.
Registration for all trainees is requested at bit.ly/43bnFop.
Nipper Guard training and evaluation, for younger children, will begin on April 13.