Lifeguard Training & Certification Courses
Surf Simply has teamed up with Era Adventures, the UK’s leading lifeguard training center, to offer an international beach lifeguard course, every November, here in Nosara, Costa Rica. The course is a legal requirement for anyone working as a beach lifeguard or a surf coach internationally. For most recreational surfers the lifeguard course serves to build your confidence in the surf and give you an essential foundation in ocean safety skills. The 5 day course is also a lot of fun and an incredibly rewarding challenge.
Dates & Prices
The 2011 course will run from Nov 2nd to Nov 6th inclusively. We’ve stripped the cost of the course down to a bare minimum and are running it this year on a non-profit basis. The idea is that it is accessible to anyone hoping to work as a lifeguard or surf coach in the coming year whether they are from the States, Europe, Canada or Latin America. There are two price options.
Non-residential (Course Only) – $500 – If you have your own accommodation at Playa Guiones in Nosara, then you will only need to cover the cost of the tuition and the admin costs of the certification.
Residential (Course + 6 Nights B&B) – $1100 – This price covers the cost of the course plus bed and breakfast at the beautiful Surf Simply Resort where the course is being held. You are welcome to arrive on Nov 1st and stay until Nov 7th.
We are also happy to help you arrange transport to and from Nosara although it is not included in either of the prices listed above
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What’s This Course All About Then?
Each day of the course will be a 50:50 split between practical training down on the beach, in the morning, and theory based classroom sessions in the afternoon.
The water work will involve rehearsing different rescue scenarios. It’s a lot of fun and you do not need to be beyond a level 2 surfer as you will not need to perform any maneuvers on the face of a wave or even catch a wave. However you will need to be able to paddle out on a long board comfortably in head high surf and still have a enough gas in the tank to drag your casualty up the beach using rescue boards and rescue tubes. A good rule of thumb is that you will need to be able to swim 400m in 8minutes in a 25m or 50m pool.
The afternoon theory sessions do not just involve understanding the surf zone and beach management. They will also cover a wide range of first aid theory, basic life support and spinal management, all of which are applicable to situations outside the beach/surfing outside. You will finish the course knowing how to deal with accidents and medical emergencies which occur away from the ocean, in every day life.
What Is The Qualification I’ll Get At The End?
The lifeguard award is held with the International Life Saving Federation (ILS) and The Royal Lifesaving Society (RLSS). It is valid worldwide as a beach lifeguard certification and is required in order to validate any surf instructor awards held with the International Surfing Association (ISA). Much more importantly though this course will build your confidence as a surfer and should be done by everyone who wishes to make surfing a sport for life.
