What It Takes to Become a Beach Lifeguard

When you reach the beach you will typically see the lifeguard either standing in his tower or speaking with people participating in the beach. People don’t pay much mind to the guard the rest of the day unless naturally, you require assistance. (Thesis).

The fact is lots of people that participate in the beach don’t understand how difficult it is to keep tens of thousands of individuals safe at the beach every year. This speech will take you into what being a beach lifeguard is all about.

(Function Statement).

The function of this speech is to inform you on what it takes to be a beach lifeguard, and hopefully you come out of this with more understanding about the water and its risks. (Sneak Peek Statement):.

Initially, we will look at what lifeguarding is; what are the threats? What are the benefits? (Brotherhood) Second, we will look at the procedure to becoming a beach lifeguard. (Training) Finally we will take a look at implications of being a lifeguard.

Ben Carlson’s death (brotherhood).

Everyone was affected by this catastrophe. (All firms are lifeguards) Photos (Instagram- #bendidgo).
” It’s a brotherhood that’s extremely tough to explain,” Newport Beach Fire chief Scott Poster stated of the lifeguard community. “Unless you do it, you’ll never ever understand what it resembles.” (ktla5 news) Despite the fact that it’s sometimes a big swell and its scary but all lifeguards at the beach are positive that they could bring anybody to coast. The praise and thanks that we receive from member of the family or by standers at a rescue is indescribable. We are the first line of safety.

Transition:

Whenever I tell people that I am a beach lifeguard the first question I get is, “have you ever saved anyone!?” This past summer there were more than 200 rescues per day at Huntington Beach. That is just one beach. MP #2: To be a guard you have to be fit and a fast swimmer. You have to be dedicated and put time in to train and prepare before trying out. To tryout to become a guard you have to go through a series of swims and runs. (6 AM) 1,000-yard open water swim (under 20 min.)

Run-swim-run (600-yard run; 400-yard swim)
Huntington Beach Fire chief, Patrick McIntosh says, “Out of the 300 of you sitting here today, only 20 of you will be hired as a beach lifeguard; Good luck!” After you are physically drained from the tryout (if you make it past) the instructors tell you to go home and get ready for an interview. When you are dressed in a suit and ready for the interview, you come back and sit down with two State Park Police Rangers with nerves of steel. They ask different kinds of questions involving your personal and professional life.

They also put you through different scenarios about what it takes to be a lifeguard. Finally, if you make it through the interview, you are then emitted into an 8 day training program where you are trained how to be a beach lifeguard. Each day at training you arrive at the beach when the sun comes up, and you do not leave until it goes down. On average you will run and swim 8 miles each day.

After all the hard work is done and you graduate; you start working the best job of your life.
Transition: Receiving this job has not only affected my life in a big way, but it has also affected others. For someone my age it is a big responsibility to save someone’s life.

Implications:

Many teenagers can’t earn this much money and a regular paying job. $6,000 per summer
People use this job as a career
How many people have ever saved someone from dying?
Not many people can say that they have.

Personal story.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 2005-2009, there were an average of 3,533 fatal unintentional drowning deaths annually in the United States — about ten deaths per day.

Conclusion:

To be a beach lifeguard you are expected to be alert and focused at all times. You have to be responsible and study hard because everything that you learn in the classroom you will use to save someone’s life. First I described what lifeguarding was all about and the brotherhood and love behind it. Then we looked into how to become a lifeguard, and all the training it takes. Finally we discussed the implications of being a lifeguard and how not everyone is meant for this job.

Thesis:

Hopefully you all realize how hard it is to keep thousands of people out of danger each summer and have taken some interest in becoming a lifeguard. Closing Statement: The dangers of this job turn many away but there are a few amount of people that can do what we do. Being taught these skills has shaped my life and has lead me to find what I want to do for the rest of my life.