Virgin Islands National Park will offer a free American Red Cross Lifeguard Training course beginning Sunday that will prepare participants for lifeguard certification. The classes will meet from 9 a.m. to noon Sunday mornings at Trunk Bay Beach and from 3:30 to 6 p.m. Wednesdays in Cruz Bay at the park conference room, through Oct. 25.
The course is only offered at the park every couple of years; its key features include patron surveillance, equipment-based rescues, spinal injury management, first aid and CPR.
Participants must be 15 years old by the end of the course; be able to swim 500 yards continuously using the crawl, sidestroke and breast stroke; be able to dive down to a depth of seven feet to pick up a 10-pound object; and be able to tread water for two minutes just using legs.
The course is free and sponsored by the National Park Service; those in the class will need to purchase two books for about $30 total.
For more information, call Laurel Brannick at the park at 776-6201, ext. 257.