What You Need to Know Before Planning Your Next Water Themed Event
Guess what? Unless you’re a certified lifeguard, you’re not a lifeguard, it’s simple. Parents watch their children play in water sprinklers, shallow inflatable pools, and other small bodies of water while conversing with those adults around them. In a different backyard a group of parents sit in an outdoor living area while their children entertain themselves in a concrete pool ranging at one foot to six feet deep. The two situations have more than one thing in common. All of the adults are close by but no one is in the water with the kids. These adults are at least 10 feet away from the children in the water. Some of the kids have on water wings and others have pool noodles and inflatable toys. Some of the parents are conversing while others scroll on their mobile devices. If one or more of the children fall down or stay under water longer than usual, all the parents are too far away to make a possible full recovery. Even a fully certified parent in CPR standing far away from their water playing children is still too far away to make a difference if something out of the ordinary happens. You need to hire a freelance life guard before your simple at-home and public events become negatively memorable. Situations that change the course of our lives never announce they are coming, they just happen.
Lifeguards Must Qualify to be in Their Line of Work
For decades, major media projects focusing on the lives of life guards have left a glamorous impression in the minds of many. While this media shares a vivid snapshot of what can happen in the daily lives of those who choose to save the lives of water goers, there is an entire backstory of preparation that sets the foundation for real life guards. There’s more than just sitting in the sun and getting a sensational tan, these professionals hold themselves to the highest standards and are there to maintain general safety, and save lives if something drastic happens.
American Red Cross Qualifications for Life Guard
The process to watch over others in this space is not a one and done situation. There is a rigorous curriculum to complete and pass as well as ongoing certification. Here’s a snapshot of what a life guard candidate must complete in order to become a fully certified life guard, according to the American Red Cross.
According to the American Red Cross website, this is what a life guard re-certification process entails:
It’s a Great Idea to Hire a Freelance Lifeguard for Private Events
Let People Know You Care About The Lives of Those Around You
When sending an invitation to a private outdoor event with water activities, let guests know there will be a life guard on duty for optimal safety. Even if there are only a handful of adults and children requiring this type of safety supervision, they will be very safe as they enjoy the water. Informing guests of the presence of a life guard simply lets you know that you care about the safety of your family and theirs. After opening an event invitation and seeing that a life guard will be present, if they do not have an impending engagement, they will be at your event. This alone raises the bar for quality private events!
How to Know if You Need a Freelance Lifeguard
How Many Guests Will Attend Your Event?
You may need more than one guard if your event offers multiple activity stations throughout the day and into the evening. Having a guard focus on each station helps shift concentrated care focus on the guests who require specialized instruction and focus. If you plan events regularly at home or at a public facility, as with any solid service provider, get to know a group of reliable life guards and stay in touch with them for future reference. However many number of guests are present, if one person uses the pool with the lifeguard present, the event is a complete success!
Will Adults Engage in Water Activities?
Not all adults know how to swim but many do enter bodies of water socially. Many of these adults eat, drink, consume alcohol, and do not pay full attention to everything going on around them. Some are wise enough to slip into a life jacket before entering a boat. Some reach for a trendy inflatable float before jumping into domestic or natural bodies of water. Some share giant multi-person rafts. Others avoid simple safety measures before entering water such as not going into the water until 30 minutes after eating, or not consuming alcohol and engaging in water activity. Life guards see everything going on around them and are sticklers for safety and enforce all the water safety rules the entire time they are on duty.
Will Children Engage in Water Activities?
If your event involves the children of the parents who attend, yes, you need a guard. The added attention to this detail makes you a super hero planner to attending parents and your peace of mind at the end of the event. If children will be attending your water entertaining event, make sure to give them quality water wings, rafts, water rings, and inflatable toys that encourage buoyancy and general safety. Rest assured, one or more guard will see everything going on around them, enforce rules for all, and keep the event as balanced as super humanly possible.
Where to Find Your Freelance Lifeguard
Remember to plan your lifeguard hiring far enough in advance. Some guards work more than one job and the ones who work a single job work freelance work around a committed schedule. If you do not know someone who is a certified lifeguard, there are other ways of hiring a freelance profession. As of May 2026, there are three dedicated life guard agencies where freelance guards may be hired.
Hiring a life guard for a simple play date is a fully interactive process once the guard arrives. Freelance professional sites are incredibly detailed with their offerings and rates. According to Backyard-Lifeguards.com, an average event size is up to six children; off-peak booking hours are from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM; there is a $25 fee for each additional child up to eight children. After the lifeguard arrives, a child’s swimming skills proficiency evaluation is administered. While this is just one quote for one type of event, prices vary according to event, hours needed, and number of children or adults attending.
Raising the bar for personal backyard events may be the best move you’ve made in a very long time. Get to know your immediate resources and stay in touch with them on and off season. This single power move will take off like a flash, forcing others in your community to offer the best and safest options in care when hosting events. The safest movements start at home, where it matters.
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