As you may or may not be aware, our lifeguards are trained and licensed through Jeff Ellis & Associates, they are an international lifeguard training company that is on the cutting edge of the highest standards possible for lifeguards. Being a client of Ellis & Associates, we have standards that we have to comply with on a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual basis. One of these standards is performing Vigilance Awareness Training otherwise known as VAT Drills. Each one of the 13PortlandParksand Recreation aquatic facilities has to perform a minimum of 8 manikin drops and 4 Live Action Rescues a month.
Timmy is the name of the manikin that we drop into the pool. He might be in an area where you maybe swimming. Please don’t be alarmed, we are testing and continuing to train our lifeguards. There will be times that Timmy will be in the water waiting for the next lifeguard to rotate out and there will be times he will be for the lifeguard who is already on the pool deck scanning and watching their area of the pool. During these drills, a supervisor will be on the pool deck and additional staff members will be off deck ready to cover the zone of the lifeguard who has entered the water.
Our Live Action VATs, are exactly that, a live guest struggling actively in the water. The lifeguard will then recognize this and will go in and respond to that guest. Typically the guest is another staff member.
We would like to thank you in advance for your patience during these drills as we are making sure we have best lifeguards around to watch the water and our patrons. Feel free to stop by your local pool office if you have any further questions.
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