What to expect at Junior Lifeguards

Our commitment to safety

We don't just put keiki in the ocean and teach them to swim. We teach them to read the conditions around them, manage risk, and turn an unsafe situation into a safe one. Every day on the beach is backed by ocean safety professionals and rescue equipment.

1. 1

   Drone surveillance

   A drone check is flown before participants enter the water to assess conditions and spot hazards: brown water, dangerous conditions, foreign objects, dangerous wildlife, sharks and more.

2. 2

   PWC rescue watercraft

   A rescue watercraft is in the water whenever keiki are doing ocean activities.

3. 3

   Certified rescue watercraft operators

   Rescue watercraft operations are run by certified operators.

4. 4

   Certified Advanced Open Ocean Lifesaving Instructors

   Our keiki are supervised and taught by people with advanced ocean lifesaving training and experience.

Our goal is keiki who respect the ocean and feel confident in it, so they enjoy it instead of fearing it.

What keiki learn

Keiki learn the history of lifesaving in Hawaiʻi, from Duke Kahanamoku and the first Waikīkī lifeguards in 1941 to Buffalo "Kaloloʻokalani" Keaulana, the first lifeguard at Mākaha Beach.

JG training curriculum

Every trainee takes part in and completes each exercise.

1. House rules
2. Swim test
3. Lifeguard stamina training: running, swimming, treading water, calisthenics, burners and more
4. Rescue equipment familiarity
5. Risk assessment
6. R.R.C.C.S.S. (Recognize, Respond, Contact, Control, Signal, Save): rescue guidelines
7. S.T.D.'s (Suck, Tuck and Duck): safety and defense tactics
8. Rescue tube training, conscious and unconscious
9. Rescue board training, conscious and unconscious
10. Bodyboard rescue training, conscious and unconscious
11. Shortboard rescue training, conscious and unconscious
12. Water entry: never dive into the ocean headfirst, it's always a stride or leg entry
13. Water extrication: proper ways to take a person safely out of the ocean
14. Ocean and shoreline current patterns
15. Rescue grabs and holds
16. Break aways and push aways (defense)
17. PWC (jet ski) rescue pickups
18. CPR
19. Beach flags

Pack water, a towel and reef safe sunscreen each day.

The Certificate of Completion

To earn the MMMF Junior Lifeguard Certificate of Completion, each keiki must:

1. Attend at least four of the five days of JG, with one day including CPR training
2. Show a good attitude and willingness to learn
3. Complete all JG exercises
4. Follow all house rules

Only coming a few days? Your keiki are still welcome and will learn a lot, but they won't receive the certificate that session. You can add days from your dashboard.

Looking toward the future

This program is about more than lifeguarding. It's about building people. We want keiki to learn to:

• Respect the ocean
• Protect one another
• Serve their community
• Become leaders
• Take responsibility for their actions
• Build confidence and discipline
• Pass knowledge on to the next generation

Our hope is that keiki who come through become lifeguards, first responders, coaches and caretakers of the ocean. We'd love to see them back next session.