Water Safety Instructor Training

Water safety instructors, or WSI, are swim instructors who have been certified to teach basic water rescue, learn to swim classes and parent/child water instruction. The American Red Cross offers water safety instructor training throughout the country.

  1. Prerequisites

    • You must be at least 16 years of age to enroll in the program. The American Red Cross requires WSI candidates to take a pre-course entitled Fundamentals of Instructor Training. The course goes over the history, activities, structure, policies and procedures of the Red Cross. It also introduces candidates to the many different water safety programs that are offered for a diverse population.

      WSI candidates can take a Strokes and Skills clinic that covers basic strokes and diving.

    Water Safety Training Instruction

    • Training covers how to teach the six different swim strokes--front crawl, back crawl, sidestroke, breaststroke, sidestroke and butterfly. Instruction on how to teach the basics of water safety skills (such as entering and exiting the water) and basic movements in the water are also covered. Instructors are trained to teach stroke refinement, diving and starts and turns. Candidates will also learn how to instruct parent/child classes.

    Instructor Options

    • Certified water safety instructors can teach swim lessons at a local aquatic center, private lessons or work with local homeowner's associations that have swimming pools. WSIs may work at a summer camp or colleges and universities that offer swim instruction.