International Lifeguard Appreciation Day Date in the current year: July 31, 2024

Lifeguards are rescuers responsible for supervising the safety and rescuing people in an area of water. They are the heroes of beaches, rivers, lakes, water parks, and swimming pools. Sometimes lifeguards are assigned secondary responsibilities at their place of work, such as checking pH and chlorine levels of a swimming pool, filing paperwork, cleaning areas around the beach or pool, etc. However, a lifeguard’s secondary duties must never interfere with their primary responsibilities of preventing drowning and injuries, rescuing people, and delivering first aid.

Being a good swimmer and undergoing rescue training aren’t the only requirements for being a lifeguard. Professional lifeguards are first responders, which means that they are trained and certified in first aid, emergency oxygen administration, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and automatic external defibrillator (AED) use.

In order to maintain their knowledge and skills, lifeguards are often required to complete refresher training. In addition to refresher training courses and seminars, there are special lifeguard competitions that encourage continuous training and adherence to professional standards, help lifeguards exchange professional experience, and serve as a social activity.

The job of a lifeguard may look like chilling in the sun all day, but this is just a common misconception. Working as a lifeguard entails massive responsibility because these professionals risk their own health and safety on a daily basis to save the lives of others. Lifeguards must stay alert and attentive at all times to ensure that swimmers and bathers are safe; ideally, they should be able to prevent incidents that result in the need to rescue someone from drowning or injury.

The celebration of International Lifeguard Appreciation Day was launched in 2020 by Ellis & Associates, a US-based aquatic service provider that focuses on aquatic risk management and safety. Its main goal is to highlight the importance of what lifeguards do and thank them for saving lives.

How can you observe International Lifeguard Appreciation Day? Thank lifeguards at your local beach, neighborhood pool, water park, gym or aquatic facility for everything they do to keep you safe and give them a shout-out on social media with the hashtags #InternationalLifeguardAppreciationDay and #LifeguardAppreciationDay to spread the word about the holiday.

The observance is also a great occasion to brush up your knowledge on water safety and commit to improving your swimming skills. If you’ve been meaning to take a first aid/CPR course for a while but haven’t done it yet, International Lifeguard Appreciation Day is the perfect day to make a resolution to do it soon and find a course near you.