This year, the Center for Physical and Health Education, Si Wan College, National Sun Yat-sen University, launched a water lifeguard training credit course and became the only university in Taiwan offering a course of this kind. 11 of the 15 participating students have successfully completed the training in November and received training completion certificates. Previously, the lifeguard certification exam was suspended due to the epidemic, but after the lockdown, the students of the first cohort have successfully obtained the license. The students of the second cohort will also register for the lifeguard certification exam of the Sports Administration in late November.

The organizer of the water lifeguard course, Director of NSYSU Center for Physical and Health Education Kai-Yang Lo said that the campus has a unique geographical advantage among universities in Taiwan and that the Center is fully committed to promoting water sport courses at sea, with the water lifeguard course being the most important element of the puzzle and a base for the safety of the recently opened Sizihwan Marine Sports.

The 54-hour training 2-credit course is an intensive evening class that includes one weekend to teach basic life-saving techniques and rescue at sea. Before every class, the students have to complete the lifesaving medley on a distance of 1600 m. In addition to the concept of life-saving, self-rescue and drowning rescue, the students have to learn techniques required for life-saving: for approaching, defending, untying, and carrying people, and other important skills; they all require considerable effort. This semester, basic life-saving techniques were an important part of the course: the students used new equipment to practice such techniques as abdominal thrusts and CPR. What they learned is also very useful in first aid in daily life, not just in water rescue.

The second cohort of the training course was designed specifically for the Sizihwan Bay area, allowing the students to swim long distances and experience real wave conditions and currents. Many students said that if it wasn’t for the course, they would probably never try swimming in the Sizihwan Bay. Other units of the course included rescue training at sea with such equipment as SUP (Stand-Up Paddle Board), IRB (Inflatable Rescue Boat), water scooter, and beach buggy. This was a memorable experience for the participants.

A student of the course, a sophomore of the Department of Music Chia-Erh Teng said that the course was not easy; he learned about emergency situations and how to deal with them with calm, and about the potential dangers of water sports and how difficult the job of a lifeguard is. A senior of the Department of Sociology Liang-Ting Wu mentioned that he once dragged a person who was not breathing to the shore. “It feels like you are participating in a very important moment in somebody’s life.” He thought at that time, “if I could do more, what would I be able to change?” He registered for the course with this thought in mind and hopes to pass down the skills he learned and the spirit.

NSYSU News