What is the lifeguard doing? The profession of pool lifeguards is plagued by chaos: unlicensed workers still play with mobile phones, men drowning for 9 minutes before being discovered. Qualification certificate | Swimming pool | Lifeguard

The man drowned in the indoor constant temperature swimming pool. The lifeguard at the swimming pool lowered his head as if playing with his phone, but did not notice the drowning situation. It took 9 minutes for rescue to be carried out, and the man ultimately drowned and died.

This is a recent drowning incident that occurred in a public swimming pool in a club in Zengcheng District, Guangzhou. The local authorities told the media that the swimming pool operator has admitted to being irresponsible, but the two sides have not reached an agreement on the compensation amount. Currently, the parties involved in the incident are still in communication and negotiation.

As summer approaches, swimming has become an important form of leisure and entertainment for people, and the tragedy has once again focused people's attention on the lifeguards in the swimming pool.

A reporter from the Legal Daily found through investigation that there are many problems with the use and management of lifeguards at present, such as a shortage of qualified lifeguards, some swimming places not having enough lifeguards due to cost considerations, or allowing lifeguards to hold multiple positions; The qualification certificate representing the professional ability of lifeguards can be purchased as a fake certificate for a few hundred yuan; The clearly defined annual review system for lifeguard qualification certificates has become an empty paper

Inadequate allocation of lifeguards

Some are buried playing with their phones

According to media reports, the family of Mr. Zhuge, who drowned, saw in surveillance footage retrieved by the police station that Mr. Zhuge entered the swimming pool in Zengcheng District, Guangzhou at around 3:30 pm on June 4th, did warm-up exercises, and then went swimming in the water. After swimming about two laps in the pool, he suddenly began to struggle in the water and experienced drowning.

The surveillance video showed that the lifeguard on the sidelines kept their heads down, suspected of playing with their phones. It took about 9 minutes to discover the problem and then called on the sidelines to rescue Mr. Zhuge. However, the best rescue opportunity had already been missed, and Mr. Zhuge ultimately died despite rescue efforts.

In March of this year, a swimming pool drowning incident also occurred in Jiangyou City, Sichuan Province. The family members of the deceased checked the surveillance footage at the time of the incident and found that the deceased had a convulsion in the swimming pool and then lay motionless in the water until being rescued by other swimmers. During this time, no lifeguards from the swimming pool appeared. Regarding this, the swimming pool staff stated that the incident occurred earlier and the lifeguards had not yet arrived on duty.

Every summer is a high incidence period for drowning, and as an important line of defense to ensure the safety of swimmers, the presence of lifeguards is crucial. According to reports, on May 31st alone, lifeguards at Shenzhen Dameisha Beach Park rescued 8 drowning tourists.

Hu Jian, who works as a lifeguard in Beijing, told reporters that after a drowning occurs, the drowning person will experience symptoms such as mouth and nose water ingress, cessation of breathing, dilated pupils, and body convulsions around 60 seconds. From 4 to 6 minutes, brain cells will begin to be damaged, and after 10 minutes, brain cells will die. For the allocation of lifeguards in public swimming pools, when setting up observation stands in standard swimming areas, at least 4 observation stands should be set up according to the division of the lifeguard observation area, based on the principle of not leaving blind spots and blind spots, which means 4 lifeguards. Meanwhile, according to different regulations in different regions, if the water surface area of the swimming pool is 250 square meters or less, at least 3 lifeguards should be equipped; If the water surface area is above 250 square meters, an additional person should be added for every 250 square meters or less in area.

"However, currently public swimming pools, especially those in some gyms, have problems with the lack of lifeguards or insufficient number of lifeguards." Hu Jian said that generally speaking, swimming pools in gyms are non-standard swimming places. According to the requirements of the Vocational Skills Appraisal Guidance Center of the General Administration of Sport of China and the China Life Saving Association, non-standard swimming venues should be equipped with lifeguards according to the principle of key layout and observation area division without leaving blind spots or blind spots. During the peak period of mass swimming activities, lifeguards on mobile duty should be added.

Hu Jian used the swimming pool he worked for as an example: because the pool area was less than 250 square meters, it was equipped with three lifeguards. Usually, two lifeguards sat on lifechairs to observe, while another lifeguard patrolled around the pool.

"Sitting on a 1.9 meter high lifeguard chair, you can observe everyone in the swimming pool. During work, you must maintain a high level of mental tension. If you realize that you are tired, you should actively exchange with the patrol lifeguard, walk a few laps in the end, and stay clear." Hu Jian said, "The lives of dozens of people are related to you, and you cannot slack off at all."

However, not every lifeguard can be so responsible.

As a swimming enthusiast, Zhao Dan, a Beijing resident, told reporters that he often sees lifeguards at some swimming venues who are on duty but are "drifting". "Last time I was at a swimming pool, five or six children were swimming in the pool, and there was a lifeguard sitting on the observation deck, while another lifeguard lowered his head and played with his phone not far away, lasting for more than 10 minutes.".

Xiong Wei, who has been a swimming coach in Beijing for many years, told reporters that the number of people learning to swim during the summer has skyrocketed, and some swimming pool operators and coaches only focus on teaching progress and neglect safety management. Although there are sufficient lifeguards as required, some lifeguards may not have a strong sense of responsibility and may play with their phones, doze off, or become distracted while on duty. When an accident occurs, if lifeguards react slowly, it is easy for them to fail to rescue in time and accidents may occur.

The proliferation of fake qualification certificates

Pre job training goes through the motions

According to relevant professionals, swimming lifeguards are a profession issued by the state to implement the national vocational qualification certificate system in the sports industry. Lifeguards are required to hold the National Professional Qualification Certificate for Swimming Lifeguards when they are on duty.

"The professional ethics standards for swimming lifeguards require them to be loyal to their duties, strictly abide by discipline, unite and cooperate, and work together to complete their duties. Loyalty to their duties, conscientious performance, strict adherence to their positions, and obedience to commands are also essential for swimming lifeguards to fulfill their duties." Hu Jian explained that the recognition of this lifeguard qualification certificate has also undergone certain changes. Swimming lifeguards were supervised by industry associations before being included in the National Occupational Encyclopedia. Afterwards, due to swimming being included in high-risk sports by the country, the certificates originally issued by industry associations were abolished. Lifeguards need to pass exams and meet the standards set by the country before they can work and obtain a qualification certificate.

Hu Jian told reporters that swimming pool lifeguards must undergo training, assessment, and obtain a professional qualification certificate for lifeguards before they can serve. Regular swimming pools also require applicants to hold a lifeguard qualification certificate when recruiting lifeguards. Those who work without a certificate or with fake certificates will be severely punished once verified by relevant departments, but such personnel still occasionally appear in the industry.

A recent investigation by reporters found that fake lifeguard qualification certificates are rampant and can be easily purchased.

The reporter consulted several sellers of fake certificates found through keyword searches on the internet and found that the price of lifeguard qualification certificates ranges from 150 yuan to 400 yuan. Some merchants also expressed that there are discounts available for doing more. The reason for the price difference is that for fake certificates with slightly higher prices, scanning the QR code on them can scan the personal information that needs to be matched; On fake certificates with low prices, the QR code will display blank content after scanning.

"Send your personal information and state the desired date of issuance, and you will immediately generate a simulated certificate." After contacting a journalist and a merchant engaged in the processing of fake lifeguard qualification certificates, the first sentence is to request personal information, while promising that "the truth cannot be seen with the naked eye, and this QR code can scan the real information.".

After sending the fake lifeguard qualification certificate sample to the reporter, the merchant also repeatedly promised: "Except that the certificate number can not be found, other places are exactly the same as the real certificate. As long as you don't go to the official website to query, you can't find it is a fake certificate at all."

In addition, some merchants also remind that whether fake certificates will be discovered after processing is the buyer's own responsibility, and there is no guarantee that they will not be detected. Once detected, the merchant is not responsible.

In addition to the proliferation of fake certificates, reporters have noticed that some recruitment companies do not attach great importance to the qualifications of lifeguards.

In some job search platforms' recruitment information about swimming pool lifeguards, many recruiters do not clearly indicate in the job requirements that they need to hold a lifeguard qualification certificate to work. Regarding this, the reporter conducted a phone verification as a candidate.

"Of course, applying for a lifeguard position requires a lifeguard qualification certificate. If you don't have a lifeguard qualification certificate, you can choose other positions, such as assistant coach, etc." said the HR director of a large swimming and fitness club in Zhengzhou, Henan.

However, some recruiters are not concerned about this. When asked by reporters if a lifeguard qualification certificate is required to apply for a position as a lifeguard, a recruitment specialist at a swimming gym in Chaoyang District, Beijing responded clearly: "The peak swimming season has arrived, there are too many courses, and there is an urgent need for recruitment. Even without a lifeguard certificate, one can apply for a position and undergo intensive training."

Another recruitment agency located in Zhengzhou, Henan only asked, "Can you swim?"? After receiving a positive response, immediately arrange an interview time with the reporter. When the reporter asked if relevant documents were needed, the other party said, "Just bring your ID card, nothing else is needed.".

In addition, when asked how some recruitment agencies can verify the authenticity of lifeguard qualification certificates, most recruitment specialists stated that they need to check the lifeguard certificate of the interviewee and search for their certificate number on the official website of the General Administration of Sport of China. But there are also recruiters who are more "casual". For example, when a journalist sends a sample code sent by a merchant who provides a false lifeguard qualification certificate to a recruitment party located in Henan, the other party does not scan the QR code on the certificate for verification, nor does they log in to the official website of the General Administration of Sport to verify the code on the certificate. They only check the appearance of the lifeguard certificate and immediately reply, "It is this certificate. You can talk about the specific time of employment."

In the survey, some recruiters also expressed the need for lifeguards to serve multiple roles, both as "coaches" and "lifeguards", and some even as "administrators" and "fee collectors". Some recruiters have stated that both the swimming pool coach and assistant coach must serve as lifeguards, so they need to hold a coaching certificate but may not have the corresponding lifeguard qualification certificate.

"For example, swimming pools hire lifeguards and even part-time swimming coaches after joining. However, swimming coaches require a coach's certificate. If relevant departments come to investigate, the caliber is' I am a lifeguard ', and no one will manage it. They can continue teaching. In fact, according to relevant regulations, both lifeguards and coaches in swimming pools need to display their lifeguard and coach's certificates in the venue, but in reality, there are not many swimming pools that do so," said Ma Teng, who works as a lifeguard in Beijing.

The annual review regulations have not been implemented

Management system to be improved

It is worth noting that according to the requirements of the relevant documents of the General Administration of Sport of China, the professional qualification certificate for swimming lifeguards adopts an annual review and registration system, with a validity period of 3 years. The lifeguard qualification certificate needs to be reviewed once a year before it can continue to be used. There is no provision for the cancellation of registration certificates that have not passed the annual review registration assessment or participated in the annual review registration to be valid for life.

However, several industry insiders interviewed admitted that many so-called certified lifeguards did not undergo annual audits as required. Ma Teng, who has been in the industry for many years, bluntly stated that "there is no need for an annual review" and "after completing the lifeguard qualification certificate, he has not been notified of the need for an annual review".

Recently, the reporter consulted swimming pools as a candidate on this issue and found that some swimming pools require lifeguards to have a lifeguard qualification certificate during the recruitment process, but do not require the issuance time of the qualification certificate, nor do they have annual review requirements.

"The lifeguard qualification certificate is universal nationwide, and some places require annual review while others do not. Our company does not require annual review, just hold the certificate for an interview," said the Human Resources and Administration Director of a fitness service company in Hangzhou, Zhejiang.

A swimming pool in Fengtai District, Beijing also stated to applicants that their lifeguard qualification certificate has not been reviewed yet, "It's okay if the qualification certificate has been valid for one year. We don't require an annual review."

Regarding this, Hu Jian told reporters that the interviewed practitioners also mentioned a phenomenon to the reporter. In summer, many outdoor swimming pools in the community are open, but some people who have obtained the lifeguard qualification certificate are unwilling to work in small outdoor swimming pools like the community.

"Many certified lifeguards are migrant workers and college students who work part-time during holidays, while small outdoor swimming pools in residential areas are usually only open in summer, and lifeguards are 'idle' during the rest of the time. This is not attractive for those who want to find stable jobs." Mr. Cheng, who works as a swimming pool contractor in a certain residential area in Hainan, said that in fact, lifeguards who are willing to work in the community swimming pool are more likely to have no qualifications. "Their salaries are generally low, and certification requires money, and many people are unwilling to take the exam.".

"If there are no full-time or professional lifeguards in the swimming pool, hiring part-time or mobile lifeguards can pose significant risks. Firstly, unfamiliarity with the on-site environment may affect the effectiveness of rescue operations. Secondly, part-time lifeguards often lack solid rescue experience and find it difficult to choose reasonable rescue methods in a timely manner when encountering drowning situations. Thirdly, their lack of professional awareness makes it easy to overlook drowning situations while chatting and playing with people on their phones at work, leading to tragedies." Hu Jian said.

Yin Peigen, a teacher at the School of Physical Education at Hainan University who previously wrote "Research on Issues Related to Swimming Safety and Lifesaving Education," told reporters that the composition of swimming safety lifeguards in China is currently complex. The majority of lifeguards are physical education teachers from fitness clubs and relevant departments of higher education. Among them, there is a very small proportion of personnel with professional lifesaving knowledge and skills, and there is a high turnover of personnel. Most of them are members and coaches of fitness clubs, and have not received professional swimming safety education and training. Their professional quality is not high, and they rely more on their personal experience when providing rescue services. From some perspectives, they cannot be considered true swimming lifeguards.

"In addition, the gender ratio of lifeguards is imbalanced, with more males and fewer females. The lack of educational requirements for lifeguards leads to a lower overall cultural level and lower overall quality, resulting in laziness in behavior habits. When implementing rescue measures, the risk factor increases, leading to significant safety hazards in swimming rescue work." Yin Bacon said.

According to Yin Bacon, the early establishment of the Lifeguard Association in China was nominally to provide training and management for all domestic swimming lifeguards. However, in the actual operation process, the management system is not perfect and is only limited to lifeguards and lifesaving training bases. The management of lifeguards and lifeguards is limited, and currently, the training for lifeguards mainly focuses on the lifesaving work content of swimming pool venues, neglecting the training of marine lifeguards.

"In the future, we hope to establish relevant management regulations based on the actual situation of the development of China's domestic life-saving industry, improve the system of swimming safety education and training, and establish strict review and supervision institutions to enhance the supervision of swimming safety education, in order to ensure the orderly progress of safety education work." Yin Bacon suggested that funds can be raised through some reasonable channels to provide sufficient material support for the construction of life-saving institutions, so as to ensure the normal operation of life-saving training institutions and promote the healthy development of the life-saving industry.