The other problem is that the lifeguards are usually not very fit.
They probably are strong enough to rescue some kid, but if one of my swimming aids were to break I got my doubts they could rescue me.
My weight is probably double many of the lifeguards weight.
They should introduce minimum strength tests on those guys
The one I worked with was pretty fit
It’s just that a lot of the time he’s absent…
I’m no life guard but there’s a lot of floating devices at the pool
I think with these they could get you outta the water maybe?
Perhaps, but if my swimming aids break in the middle of the pool I’ll probably still ingest a lot of water.
Do you know if they give mouth to mouth if needed, and how do they always have one of each gender present so the mouth to mouth is not icky ?
No I do not know that
Is that required by the law?
A lot of pools only have one guard since they don’t have a lot of visitors
Plus I think most places have the masks for CPR
and I think the SOP for CPR has also changed
I’m not even sure if mouth to mouth is required anymore
Here
No more mouth to mouth according to the latest guide
So no need to worry about the yikes anymore 
If you get to the point you need a mouth to mouth, ickiness is that last thing you need to worry about.
Do you have this in English ?
Also, is it okay to start with the kids pool? Or is that weird ? I mean, will parents think it’s odd if I go to the kids pool?
So for some reason I can’t link to the guide but I got this instead
And it’s not weird to swim in the kiddy pool
Think of it as a beginners pool
Everyone starts at the beginners pool and slowly work their way up to the lanes
So there’s no need to be shy 
If you’re actually drowning, a floatie is not going to save you.
~former lifeguard (if you’re able to grab a floatation device and it’s in a swimming pool, a lifeguard’s not even going to get their hair wet “saving” you)
Really, I know someone here who wasn’t required to do his military service because he was too overweight (and couldn’t do an Asian squat) and he was a lifeguard. I avoid all pools here and I’m (should make that past tense) a strong swimmer. The last thing you need is to have some unknown medical condition make its presence known while you’re swimming and the lifeguard is napping. I rescued NCAA swimmers at least once a season when I was in college – seizures and asthma attacks can happen to anyone. Meanwhile the 85 year old women never had trouble…
Why do you avoid pools when you’re a strong swimmer?
Think you missed the part about how perfectly competent swimmers still have mishaps in the pool… and I have experience with rescuing some.
*[quote=“nz, post:31, topic:191574, full:true”]
Think you missed the part about how perfectly competent swimmers still have mishaps in the pool… and I have experience with rescuing some.
[/quote]
I won’t leave the house without a medically trained bodyguard with a defibrillator.
I won’t leave the house without a medically trained bodyguard with a defibrillator.
[/quote]
I made a right dog’s breakfast of quoting that. Surely somebody should have helped me sort it out?
If I collapse on the sidewalk for no reason, ideally I’m transported via ambulance to take advantage of my NHI at the nearest hospital. If I collapse in the swimming pool with worthless “lifeguards”, I drown.
Or maybe the one death our pool experienced when I was a lifeguard has forever made the danger of swimming pools a bit more clear to me? Lifeguards who sleep, play with their phones, or come to work high as a kite are worse than no lifeguards at all.
don’t imagine strength matters so much in the water, does it?
I was doing a first aid course not so long ago and everyone there was saying how if they a stranger needs CPR they’re not going to do it as they don’t want to risk their own health
What’s the big deal? I leaned it when I was younger and they said just cup your fist so you don’t need to touch lips
Disintegration of societal trust and fear of infectious disease is my guess
Not so bad as other places at least
reminds me I saw a video of a child drowning in a chinese swimming pool - pool full of patrons, that is. They simply ignore him until his bobbing up and down with his back facing the ceiling
Somebody died when you were on duty as a lifeguard?
I’m not a lifeguard, but I ended up saving 2 kids on 2 separate occasions when there was no life guards and no one else noticed quick enough.
I think as long as people are at the pool, it’s ok. And people should really learn to swim if they want to go into the pool.
What I meant is perhaps the floatie could help the lifeguard to pull a person out of the pool.
I’m not sure if it works that way though.
So is it really not safe for a big guy to go to a pool since a regular lifeguard wouldn’t be able to handle the emergency?