WSI prerequisites

Red Cross prerequisites for the American Red Cross Water Safety Instructor class are:

Be at least 16 years of age on or before the final scheduled session of this course.

Have successfully completed Fundamentals of Instructor Training. (This is included in the De Anza class.)

Demonstrate the ability to perform the following swimming skills:

1. Swim the following strokes consistent with Stroke Performance Charts, Level Four:

    Front crawl (also known as freestyle) - 25 yards (The big pool at De Anza is 25 yards wide.)

    Back crawl (you might know back crawl as racing backstroke)- 25 yards

    Breaststroke - 25 yards

    Elementary backstroke - 25 yards

    Sidestroke - 25 yards

    Butterfly - 15 yards

2. Maintain position on back 1 minute in deep water (floating or sculling).

3. Tread water for one minute. (You can use a breastsroke kick, scissors kick or eggbeater, and if you want to show off, can tread without using your hands, but we will not accept a flutter kick for treading.)

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This course is not designed to teach you to swim. A moderate ability at swimming is required for Water Safety Instructor Candidates, but your swim strokes don't have to be swim team quality.

(The Red Cross has six levels of swimming ability, WSI candidates strokes need to be at level four.)

If you take a look at the level four stroke performance standards below you will see, for example, during the recovery for butterfly it is okay if your hands/arms/fingers touch the water. (The recovery is the part of the stroke when your arms are coming back into position to start a pull--the power phase--again.) Also, your pull does not have to go all the way back to your hips, it can finish at your waist. You can even have a little flutter kick occasionally with your dolphin kick. Some students joke when they finish the required 15 yard swim that they did not really swim butterfly, but instead struggled through more of a 'drowning moth'.

You do not have to know how to do a springboard dive or racing dive or use a starting block, but you might learn some diving skills during the class and you can expect your strokes to improve.

FAQ: I haven't swum elementary backstroke in five years...or...I was on swim team and I never swam elementary backstroke!

Answer: no worries, people with a good backstroke (also known as racing backstroke or back crawl) easily learn or re-learn elementary backstroke, often in as little as a half hour.

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Descriptions and pictures of swim strokes for your review are in the American Red Cross Swimming and Water Safety Manual, which you can download or print (for free) at: http://editiondigital.net/publication/?i=55928 (It had no index, so I wrote one: Swimming and Water Safety 2009 index).

Freestyle starts on page 94, back crawl (backstroke) on page 100, breaststroke on page 102, butterfly on page 107, elementary backstroke on page 112, and sidestroke on page 115.

Drills we may do in class, and that you could do outside of class to improve your strokes, include those at: WSI class drills

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American Red Cross Level Four performance standards for swim strokes:

Front Crawl (freestyle) body position: Body horizontal to 15 degrees from surface; performs body roll; occasional side-to-side motion of trunk and legs acceptable

arms: Above-water recovery with arm bent at elbow - arm straight at elbow acceptable; hands enter above the level of the head, fingertips first shoulder-width apart; arm extends fully after entry; arm bent at elbow during power phase; power phase finishes beyond the hip

legs: Continuous kicking that starts from the hips; ankles and knees extended but not rigid; feet remain below the surface - moderate splash acceptable

breathing and timing ; Face in water; breathing to the side; exhale under water on each breath; arms alternate - slight hesitation during breathing acceptable

Back Crawl (backstroke) body position: Trunk horizontal to 30 degrees from surface; ears may be out of water, chin on chest; hips may be bent; rudimentary body roll; slight side to-side motion between shoulders and hips

arms: Above-water arm recovery - elbows below surface acceptable; hands may enter at or above shoulder level; arm straight at elbow during power phase acceptable

legs: Continuous kicking; occasional bicycling action acceptable; legs bent at knee acceptable; feet may break surface of water

breathing and timing: Occasional breath- holding acceptable; arms in opposition - hesitation at finish acceptable

Breaststroke body position: Trunk horizontal to 30 degrees from surface during glide

arms: Hands may begin catch wider than shoulder width; arm bend at elbow increases as hand moves toward waist - hands may be level or slightly deeper than elbows; hands may sweep beyond the shoulder, but not beyond waist

legs: Legs bend at the knees bringing heels toward buttocks; knees may be wider than hips and ankles; heels may break surface of water; ankles may bend throughout power phase; occasional scissors kick acceptable; legs may be partially bent at the knees at the end of the power phase; occasional flutter kick during glide position acceptable

breathing and timing: Rudimentary form of pull, breathe, kick, glide sequence; minimal glide with some forward motion acceptable; Trunk horizontal to 30 degrees from surface during glide

Butterfly body position: Trunk may be horizontal to 30 degrees from the surface; face in water

arms: Above-water arm recovery - arms may contact the water; hands may enter wider than the shoulders; arms may be straight at the elbow during the recovery and catch actions; palms face backwards throughout pull; power phase finishing at waist acceptable; arms may be bent at elbow during finish

legs: Legs may be partially extended at the knee during the downbeat; minimal movement of the hip during the downbeat acceptable; legs may bend at the knees during upbeat - feet may break the surface; some flutter action acceptable

breathing and timing: Arms pull and recover with minimal leg kick; arms may hesitate at side before recovery

Elementary Backstroke body position: Body horizontal to 15 degrees from surface; trunk and legs are aligned; slight chin tuck, ears near or below the surface

arms: Hands remain under the surface and recover near or at the side of the body; arms may extend at or be above shoulder level; arms nearly straight at elbow at beginning of catch; arms partially bent at elbow during extension - wrists may be bent; power phase ends at the level of the hips

legs: Knees remain below the surface of the water; knees and hips aligned; knees may be wider than ankles; heels drop by bending knees; ankles rotate outward with toes wider than the heel of the foot; lower legs move symmetrically in a circular pattern as knees return to a fully extended position; legs together, toes pointed with minimal movement

breathing and timing: Relaxed rhythmic breathing pattern; arms and legs begin recovery at same time; some glide occurs at end of power phase

Sidestroke body position: Trunk horizontal to 30 degrees from surface; hips may roll away from midline; bottom ear may be out of water with head raised

arms: Leading arm: hand may break surface of the water; elbow may be straight during catch; hand may continue past upper chest. Trailing arm: hand may break surface of the water; elbow may remain close to body; hand may pass by thigh and recover past shoulder of leading arm; arm may be partially bent at elbow

legs: Elements of breaststroke or flutter kick acceptable; legs may separate slightly as knees bend in recovery; any type of foot and ankle position acceptable; legs may bend at the knees and be held loosely together during glide

breathing and timing: Any type of breathing pattern with minimal breath-holding; arms and legs may move simultaneously; arm action may be continuous; some glide occurs at end of power phase