INUVIK - Rob Smith is back from Yellowknife with some skills that could help smaller communities with pools.

Smith is the supervisor at the Inuvik Family Centre. He said there is a need for outlying communities to have local lifeguards.

Family Centre supervisor Rob Smith just returned from a trip to Yellowknife where he was certified to instruct a shallow pool lifeguarding course. The course prepares people to be lifeguards in small pools, like those found in Aklavik or Tuktoyaktuk. - Dez Loreen/NNSL photo

The training program was designed to certify lifeguards for shallow water pools.

The program was led by the NWT Recreation and Parks Association.

Smith explained that the association works with small communities to bring lifeguards up from the south to work the summer season.

"The resources just aren't there to hire local, because of the level of certification you need," explained Smith.

He said it takes three years of training to become certified as a lifeguard.

"Some people might not want to stick with it that long and might drop out of the training before it's done," said Smith.

He said the program to certify lifeguards for shallow water pools is good because it builds within the community.

Smith explained that before candidates take the training to be a lifeguard, they need two things; the bronze medallion and the bronze cross.

"There is a lot of distance swimming skills for both certifications," said Smith.

He added that smaller communities have small pools that are only as deep as three feet.

"The pool isn't that long so they shouldn't need long-distance swimming," he said.

The short summer seasons in the small communities like Aklavik and Tuk is another factor.

"With such a small season, it's hard to pack so much learning into such a small time frame," he said.

Smith said it was during the Yellowknife trip that the association discussed what is really needed in small pools.

"You don't need to swim 500 metres," said Smith.

"You don't even need to swim that good, just good enough to fish the person out."

The NWT Recreation and Parks Association contracted the Canadian Lifesaving Society to create a training program for the North.

"It's specifically made for pools that are less than 1.4 metres deep," said Smith.

Smith and the association then called recreation co-ordinators in nearby communities to bring them for training.

"We contacted some communities and they forwarded us names for the course," said Smith.

He joined two lifeguards from Fort Smith and Yellowknife to be trainers for the course.

Smith said that there were 10 participants from the North who took part in the course.

"Tuk was there, Fort McPherson was there, there were representatives from all across," said Smith.

"This course had them tailormade for their pools in their home communities."

Smith said the certification is like any other lifeguarding certification. It expires in two years.

"It expires so we can keep everyone fresh and up to date," said Smith.

He said the certification only has the people trained for shallow pools.

"If they wanted to work in a pool like Inuvik, they would need more training," he explained.

Smith concluded by echoing that the program is aimed for capacity building in the smaller communities in the North.

"Before this, we had to fly in and out every lifeguard, now they can be trained in the region," he said.

Smith added that the training was a week-long course.

"We left on July 16 and got back on July 20," he said.