To pass the lifeguard pretest I need to swim 300 yards continuously. I've never swam competitively before, and very few laps. I'm 16, male, and 130 pounds. I'm not in excellent shape, but I'm not in terrible shape either. Could I guy with little swimming experience do this? Thanks.
6 Answers
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As many have already stated, swimming 300 yards is not so easy for someone who is out of practice. Chances are you'll lose your breath halfway through and it all goes downhill from there. I'll also give you another warning, swimming slow might work for you, but it has some definite and real pitfalls. For starters, this 300 yard swim is the prerequisite test, this is your first impression that you'll make on your instructor and your classmates. When I first took my pre-req test in high school, I was swimming semi-competitively and in all honesty I got smoked by some of the other students in my class. I say this as a warning, not that you have to be the best, but that when you're swimming with skilled people you don't know, you may instinctively become more competitive to make yourself appear "worthy of the group." This is especially true if your class is large and you all take the test at the same time. (No one likes that feeling when people are done and walking around on the deck when you still have four laps left). My warning is simple: if you can swim 300 yards slowly then ignore everything around you and swim your pace. My advice is simple: Practice and see if you can do the swim test. If this is difficult, then perhaps lifeguarding isn't for you. Most guards are rather comfortable with a 500 yard swim.
Also, be aware that the pretest includes a timed swim. Usually a shallow water entrance, 20 yard swim, dive down and retrieve a weight from the deep end (7-10 ft deep) and then swim back with the weight in under 60 seconds.
Best of luck on your test!
Source(s): Red Cross certified lifeguard w/ 3 years of experience -
If you never do laps, your screwed and will not be able to do it continously no matter how in shape you are. You are going to need some practice, just test it out in a pool at the local YMCA and see how you do, its harder than it looks.
Good luck!
Source(s): Varsity Swimmer -
It may be depending on how fast you're trying to swim. Swimming in slow paste should be easy.
Source(s): Varsity swimmer in HS -
For a beginner, there's no way you can continuously do it.
For someone with experience and training, it's easy.
Train for it and you'll be okay. Good luck!
Source(s): Competitive Swimmer -
If there is no time limit you should be fine.
Source(s): Swimmer -
Not hard at all. You can do it 🙂
