Junior Lifeguard Program at Cape Cod National Seashore

Date: May 17, 2016
Contact: Gordon Miller, North District Lifeguard Supervisor, 508-487-2100 x 0923

Cape Cod National Seashore will once again offer its Junior Lifeguard Program for boys and girls ages 13 to 17 this summer. The purpose of the program is to promote water safety and provide job-specific training on Cape Cod through area youth. Past junior lifeguards currently work as lifeguards for Cape Cod National Seashore and several towns on Cape Cod.

Participants in the Junior Lifeguard Program will be instructed by National Park Service lifeguards in CPR/AED, first aid, and lifeguard training. Approximately 16 applicants will be selected to participate in the program. Participants who will be 15 years old or older before the end of the program, and who satisfactorily complete training requirements, will receive American Red Cross certifications in CPR/AED, first aid, and ocean lifeguard operations.

The program begins on Wednesday, July 6^th, and runs through Wednesday, August 10th. Participants meet at Marconi Beach in Wellfleet on Monday, Wednesday and Friday each week, from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The program is free, but contingent upon satisfactory completion of a 1/3 mile open ocean swim followed immediately by a 1/2 mile run at Marconi Beach on the first day of the program. Water temperatures at Marconi Beach are usually between 55 and 60 degrees (F) in early July, and the use of wetsuits will not be allowed for the initial swim-run.

Participants will learn about a range of interesting topics beyond formal lifeguard and emergency medical training. Other sessions may include various aspects of prescribed fire, fire effects on the landscape, and fire extinguisher use, taught by National Park Service wildland firefighters; regulation enforcement, taught by commissioned park rangers; and marine rescues, taught by United States Coast Guard members at Station Provincetown.

The Junior Lifeguard Program includes arduous physical activity, occasionally in high surf conditions. Participants may swim in rip currents and complete beach runs of up to five miles. All these activities are performed under the watchful eye of seasoned lifeguards from the national seashore.

All applicants must contact Gordon Miller, North District Head Lifeguard, by calling [phone], ext. 0923, or by sending an email to e-mail us. A pre-course interview and program register assistance will be scheduled.