Wherever there is an athlete, there is an instructor.
1. Why Be A Swim Instructor:
Becoming a swim instructor can be a rewarding and fulfilling career choice for several reasons:
Promote Water Safety: As a swim instructor, you have the opportunity to teach individuals of all ages how to swim, which is a crucial life skill. You help prevent drowning incidents by imparting water safety knowledge and skills.
Make a Positive Impact: Teaching someone to swim can be a life-changing experience. You may help individuals overcome their fears, gain confidence in the water, and improve their physical fitness. Knowing you've played a part in someone's personal growth and safety can be immensely gratifying.
Flexibility: Many swim instructors have flexible schedules, allowing them to work part-time, full-time, or seasonally. This flexibility can be advantageous for those with other commitments, such as students, parents, or people pursuing other interests.
2. Why work for Swim Fins?
Some of our current coaches shared some reasons why they love working for Swim Fins:
Competitive wages ($25 -$30 per hour).
30+ hours of paid training.
Small, family business where you feel appreciated.
Ready-made lesson plans are provided by our Head Coach that have been tried and tested.
Flexible scheduling of shifts that work around school schedules and volunteering.
Multiple locations to work at, across the Lower Mainland: White Rock, Cloverdale, Walnut Grove, Richmond, and Abbotsford.
3. The Certification Process
The process of becoming a certified swim instructor can start as young as 13 years old with only a few prerequisites and some hard work. Let's explore the journey to becoming a certified swim coach! See diagram below.
The first step (we recommend) to becoming certified is completing the Canadian Swim Patrol. After you’ve completed the Canadian Swim Patrol to their highest levels (Star Patrol) you can then do your Bronze Star which develops swimming proficiency, lifesaving skills and personal fitness.
Completing that moves you through the Bronze exams, which is the next step: completing your Bronze Medallion. This course works your judgment, knowledge, skill and fitness – the four components of water rescue.
Once passing that exam, you can do your Bronze Cross which begins the transition from lifesaving to lifeguarding and prepares candidates for responsibilities as lifeguards.
After this point, there are many different paths, careers, and opportunities for you! Any future jobs will see these accomplishments as a large amount of skill and responsibility.
To teach with us at Swim Fins we also need you certified in your NL, SI, and SFA.
NL - National Lifeguard is your lifeguarding certification. This means that you are able to provide effective safety supervision in swimming pool environments.
SI - Swim for Life Instructor is your certification, so you can effectively teach the Lifesaving Society’s Learn to Swim program properly with the tools given.
SFA - Standard First Aid and CPR-C is your most commonly used certification for how to properly respond to emergency situations.
All these certifications are required to be current and recertified when expired so that you have the most up to date knowledge possible. If you have any questions about certifications, please don’t hesitate to contact us, or the Lifesaving Society.
