State Lifeguard Standards Sought

There is no state law requiring lifeguards to pass a certain level of training, but Eric Bauer, Newport Beach’s lifeguard captain, is trying to change that.

Early this year, Bauer approached Assemblyman Tom Harman (R-Huntington Beach) with an idea for a bill to regulate lifeguard training standards statewide. The bill, AB 1961, will be heard in the state Assembly Judiciary Committee today, Harman said.

The bill, written by Harman, would require that open-water lifeguard and marine safety agencies meet standards recommended by the United States Lifesaving Assn. Open-water areas refer to natural bodies of water.

The group, which has promoted standards for beach lifeguard training since the early 1980s, certifies lifeguard agencies, not the individual lifeguard. Certification lasts three years.

Its standards include at least 40 hours of lifeguard training, 21 hours of first-aid training and eight hours of CPR training.

According to the group, New Jersey is the only state to have passed this regulation, which it did 10 years ago.

There are several small beaches in California -- such as Oceanside in San Diego County and Port Hueneme in Ventura County -- whose lifeguard agencies don’t comply with the standards, said association President B. Chris Brewster. Typically, the reasons cited are fewer hours in first-aid and CPR training than mandated by the association, Brewster said.

Backers of the bill say the discrepancies among agencies may cause safety lapses.

Harman contends that if police and firefighting departments in California must pass statewide standards, lifeguards should have a similar requirement.

The bill does not require lifeguard agencies to become U.S. Lifesaving Assn.-certified, but to be able to prove that their lifeguards passed the group’s guidelines. About 95% of agencies in California already do, Brewster said.