StarGuard Lifeguard Course Question
and answers already passed 2026
Complacency - correct answer ✔being content and satisfied with the way things are while being
unaware or uninformed of potential dangers or defects
Where is the majority of lifeguard time spent? - correct answer ✔looking for distress and drowning,
and enforcing rules to change patrol behavior.
Prevention - correct answer ✔Everything that is done to keep an emergency from happening
Surveillance - correct answer ✔Scanning for distress or drowning, monitoring guest behavior,
recognizing emergencies
Response and Rescue - correct answer ✔The plans and best practices need to manage an emergency
Emergency Care - correct answer ✔Provideing first aid and Basic life support until emergency medical
services (EMS) arrives
Workplace Expectations - correct answer ✔The site-specific training, supervision, and culture at your
workplace
What are prevention, surveillance, response and rescue, emergency care, and worplace expectations all
apart of? - correct answer ✔Risk Management
Authorities and Manufacturers Prevention - correct answer ✔Provide regulations for built-in safety
features and operational standards
,Your employer and leadership prevention - correct answer ✔Determine the warnings, rules, and
policies that will be in place and provide training and oversight of staff.
Parents, Caregivers, and Group leaders prevention - correct answer ✔Provide direct supervision of
children in their care
Patrons (guests) prevention - correct answer ✔Follow rules and policies
Warnings - correct answer ✔signs, announcements, educational materials
High risk behaviors of injury - correct answer ✔Running; rough play; collision; diving in shallow water;
striking the wall, diving board, or other equipment
High risk behavior of drowning - correct answer ✔lack of close, direct, and dedicated adult
supervision; extended or repeated breath-holding activities; bobbing or wading into deeper water which
submerges the mouth and nose and the person cannot breathe; being a nonswimmer/weak swimmer
without a lifejacket; slipping of a flotation device, being trapped underwater; a medical emergency such
as a seizure, cardiac arrest, heart attack, stroke, or other sudden illness; not resting and becoming
exhausted; being under the influence
Should children be left unattended? - correct answer ✔no
Why are pool parties a bad idea? - correct answer ✔responsibility may be turned over to lifeguards,
children may not know how to swim, leaders/party hosts may be distracted, peer pressure and high
energy
Safety briefing - correct answer ✔If possible, a safety briefing may be given to a group. This includes:
identifying group leaders, defining the responsibilities of the leaders, defining the possibilities of
assigned "child watchers", pointing out the water depths, explaining the rules and policies, give a
swimming screening to see who can swim, explaining restrictions to nonswimmers, and locating
lifejackets
,Methods of reducing risk while conducting a nonswimmer screening - correct answer ✔understand
that a person's self-assessment may not be accurate; test in water that is no more than waist deep; have
the person swim next to the wall, dock, or shoreline while you walk along the edge to watch; there
should be no sudden drop offs or submerged objects; allow only feetfirst entry- no diving; test no more
than two swimmers at a time; make sure rescue equipment is ready; have an action plan for those who
do not pass; maintain records of swim tests
When sizing a lifejacket, if a lifejacket rides up more than ___________________ readjust the straps or
select a smaller size - correct answer ✔the width of two fingers
Sudden underwater blackout/hypoxic blackout/shallow water blackout - correct answer ✔when a
swimmer passes out underwater because of lack of oxygen.
Diving or entering headfirst into shallow water can cause severe injure and lifelong paralysis. A person
may be paralyzed from the waist down (_______________) or neck down (_____________) and be
unable to walk again - correct answer ✔paraplegia; quadriplegia
Signal - correct answer ✔use a whistle or other signal device to get a patron's attention
Communicate - correct answer ✔use verbal and nonverbal communication to let the patron know
their behavior is unacceptable
Rules for Individuals with sensory or processing challenges - correct answer ✔Speak in small phrases
with pauses such as "First wait...when safe... then jump"
Proactive interventions - correct answer ✔taking action before something happens
Standard Operating Procedures (SOP's) - correct answer ✔these provide guidance for routine tasks
, Mechanical Lifts for water entry - correct answer ✔Understand how lifts work and what assistance
you can provide
Know how to identify hazards - correct answer ✔Be familiar with your facilty and report anything out
of the ordinary including damaged or missing equipment, unusual noises, rides or equipment not
performing normally, etc.
Understand electrical Hazards - correct answer ✔Keep electrical devices and cords away from the
water and know where the main power switch is located so you can shut off power
Monitor Lightning and Severe Weather - correct answer ✔Understand how your facility monitors
weather and what procedures are in place for lightning and severe weather
Prevent Entrapment - correct answer ✔Entrapment may occur when hair, jewelry, bathing suits, body,
limbs, etc. is held. To reduce this risk, pools must be designed to prevent entrapment pool drains and
lifeguards should be aware of other possible means of entrapment such as pool covers, ladders, etc.
You're scanning your zone and notice a child that seems to be a weak swimmer in the deep end of the
pool without a life vest on. What do you do first? - correct answer ✔Look for a parent or guardian,
signal for them to come to you, and suggest a life vest for the child. Maintain eye contact with the child
while signaling for their parents.
You look for the parent or guardian, but you can't find them. What do you do? - correct answer
✔Politely ask the child to exit the pool until they can bring a parent or guardian to you.
Later that day, the child you asked to exit the pool comes to you with a parent, and the parent asks you
why you asked their child to exit the pool. What do you say? - correct answer ✔'For the safety of your
child, we ask that they are supervised at all times and if they are not a strong swimmer, to wear a life
vest."
and answers already passed 2026
Complacency - correct answer ✔being content and satisfied with the way things are while being
unaware or uninformed of potential dangers or defects
Where is the majority of lifeguard time spent? - correct answer ✔looking for distress and drowning,
and enforcing rules to change patrol behavior.
Prevention - correct answer ✔Everything that is done to keep an emergency from happening
Surveillance - correct answer ✔Scanning for distress or drowning, monitoring guest behavior,
recognizing emergencies
Response and Rescue - correct answer ✔The plans and best practices need to manage an emergency
Emergency Care - correct answer ✔Provideing first aid and Basic life support until emergency medical
services (EMS) arrives
Workplace Expectations - correct answer ✔The site-specific training, supervision, and culture at your
workplace
What are prevention, surveillance, response and rescue, emergency care, and worplace expectations all
apart of? - correct answer ✔Risk Management
Authorities and Manufacturers Prevention - correct answer ✔Provide regulations for built-in safety
features and operational standards
,Your employer and leadership prevention - correct answer ✔Determine the warnings, rules, and
policies that will be in place and provide training and oversight of staff.
Parents, Caregivers, and Group leaders prevention - correct answer ✔Provide direct supervision of
children in their care
Patrons (guests) prevention - correct answer ✔Follow rules and policies
Warnings - correct answer ✔signs, announcements, educational materials
High risk behaviors of injury - correct answer ✔Running; rough play; collision; diving in shallow water;
striking the wall, diving board, or other equipment
High risk behavior of drowning - correct answer ✔lack of close, direct, and dedicated adult
supervision; extended or repeated breath-holding activities; bobbing or wading into deeper water which
submerges the mouth and nose and the person cannot breathe; being a nonswimmer/weak swimmer
without a lifejacket; slipping of a flotation device, being trapped underwater; a medical emergency such
as a seizure, cardiac arrest, heart attack, stroke, or other sudden illness; not resting and becoming
exhausted; being under the influence
Should children be left unattended? - correct answer ✔no
Why are pool parties a bad idea? - correct answer ✔responsibility may be turned over to lifeguards,
children may not know how to swim, leaders/party hosts may be distracted, peer pressure and high
energy
Safety briefing - correct answer ✔If possible, a safety briefing may be given to a group. This includes:
identifying group leaders, defining the responsibilities of the leaders, defining the possibilities of
assigned "child watchers", pointing out the water depths, explaining the rules and policies, give a
swimming screening to see who can swim, explaining restrictions to nonswimmers, and locating
lifejackets
,Methods of reducing risk while conducting a nonswimmer screening - correct answer ✔understand
that a person's self-assessment may not be accurate; test in water that is no more than waist deep; have
the person swim next to the wall, dock, or shoreline while you walk along the edge to watch; there
should be no sudden drop offs or submerged objects; allow only feetfirst entry- no diving; test no more
than two swimmers at a time; make sure rescue equipment is ready; have an action plan for those who
do not pass; maintain records of swim tests
When sizing a lifejacket, if a lifejacket rides up more than ___________________ readjust the straps or
select a smaller size - correct answer ✔the width of two fingers
Sudden underwater blackout/hypoxic blackout/shallow water blackout - correct answer ✔when a
swimmer passes out underwater because of lack of oxygen.
Diving or entering headfirst into shallow water can cause severe injure and lifelong paralysis. A person
may be paralyzed from the waist down (_______________) or neck down (_____________) and be
unable to walk again - correct answer ✔paraplegia; quadriplegia
Signal - correct answer ✔use a whistle or other signal device to get a patron's attention
Communicate - correct answer ✔use verbal and nonverbal communication to let the patron know
their behavior is unacceptable
Rules for Individuals with sensory or processing challenges - correct answer ✔Speak in small phrases
with pauses such as "First wait...when safe... then jump"
Proactive interventions - correct answer ✔taking action before something happens
Standard Operating Procedures (SOP's) - correct answer ✔these provide guidance for routine tasks
, Mechanical Lifts for water entry - correct answer ✔Understand how lifts work and what assistance
you can provide
Know how to identify hazards - correct answer ✔Be familiar with your facilty and report anything out
of the ordinary including damaged or missing equipment, unusual noises, rides or equipment not
performing normally, etc.
Understand electrical Hazards - correct answer ✔Keep electrical devices and cords away from the
water and know where the main power switch is located so you can shut off power
Monitor Lightning and Severe Weather - correct answer ✔Understand how your facility monitors
weather and what procedures are in place for lightning and severe weather
Prevent Entrapment - correct answer ✔Entrapment may occur when hair, jewelry, bathing suits, body,
limbs, etc. is held. To reduce this risk, pools must be designed to prevent entrapment pool drains and
lifeguards should be aware of other possible means of entrapment such as pool covers, ladders, etc.
You're scanning your zone and notice a child that seems to be a weak swimmer in the deep end of the
pool without a life vest on. What do you do first? - correct answer ✔Look for a parent or guardian,
signal for them to come to you, and suggest a life vest for the child. Maintain eye contact with the child
while signaling for their parents.
You look for the parent or guardian, but you can't find them. What do you do? - correct answer
✔Politely ask the child to exit the pool until they can bring a parent or guardian to you.
Later that day, the child you asked to exit the pool comes to you with a parent, and the parent asks you
why you asked their child to exit the pool. What do you say? - correct answer ✔'For the safety of your
child, we ask that they are supervised at all times and if they are not a strong swimmer, to wear a life
vest."
