Mon - Sat: 8:30-18:00
How Fast Do Lifeguards Need to Swim?
Last updated
How fast do lifeguards need to swim is the question that causes the most unnecessary anxiety, because the answer for the longest element is: not fast at all.
How Fast Do Lifeguards Need to Swim in Testing
The 300 yard swim: no time limit. You must swim it continuously without stopping, standing or holding the wall. Beyond that, pace is your own. Most candidates finish somewhere between six and ten minutes and nobody records it.
The brick sequence: about 1 minute 40 seconds. This is the only timed element. It covers a 20 yard swim, a surface dive to 7 to 10 feet, the retrieval, a 20 yard return on your back holding the brick, and the exit without a ladder.
The tread: two minutes minimum. A duration, not a speed.
What speed actually matters on the job
The 20 second half of the 10/20 standard. From recognising a problem, a guard has 20 seconds to reach the victim, including standing, signalling, entering and swimming. In a correctly sized zone that is a sprint of maybe 15 to 25 yards, which is a short burst rather than an endurance effort.
This is why the certification tests a slow long swim and a fast short sequence. The job is almost never a long fast swim.
Where candidates lose time in the brick sequence
Not the 20 yards out. Diving too early in the breath cycle, fumbling the grip at the bottom, and the return swim on the back, which is slow for everyone and disastrous for anyone who has not practised it. The exit costs another few seconds that candidates forget to budget.
Do not race the untimed swim
The single most common self-inflicted failure. Candidates sprint the 300 because they assume they are being timed, then cannot hold the tread that follows. Knowing how fast do lifeguards need to swim, and that the answer is not fast, is worth actual marks.
How fast do lifeguards need to swim: frequently asked questions
How fast do lifeguards need to swim?
The 300 yard swim has no time limit and only needs to be continuous. The only timed element is the brick sequence, which must be completed in about 1 minute 40 seconds including the dive, retrieval, return and exit.
Is the 300 yard swim timed?
No. You cannot stop, stand or hold the wall, but pace is your own and the time is not recorded.
What speed matters on the job?
The 20 second half of the 10/20 standard, which in a correctly sized zone is a short sprint of roughly 15 to 25 yards rather than a long endurance swim.
Reviewed by Jackie Stern, Lifeguard Instructor, Firefighter and EMT. Jackie Stern has taught lifeguarding for more than 20 years and works as a firefighter, EMT and swim instructor. She reviews course content, prerequisites and rescue standards against current certification requirements.
About Us
We are a nonprofit that trains and certifies in Lifeguarding, Waterfront Lifeguarding, Junior Lifeguarding, Shallow Pool Lifeguarding, Sexual Harassment Training, CPR/AED, CPR for Lifeguards, First Aid Emergency Oxygen, and swimming lessons.
© Copyright American Aquatics and Safety Training. All Rights Reserved