Approximately 25,000 people visit YMCA of Snohomish County pools every month for open swim, swim team practice, swim lessons and more. As a national leader in aquatics, the Y ensures that all staff are continually learning and refining their water rescue skills, so the community – swimmers and non-swimmers – can confidently swim at any facility and know that Y lifeguards and staff are focused, skilled and ready to respond.
Over 140 lifeguards and swim instructors gathered together for their bi-annual Association-wide aquatics training at the Monroe/Sky Valley Family YMCA earlier this month. The YMCA of Snohomish County invited nationally-renowned aquatics safety consultant, Michael A. Oostman, to conduct its staff training.
For over 30 years, Oostman has worked to prevent drowning and catastrophic aquatic injuries through education, mentoring and forensic investigation services. As part of the Y staff training, Oostman observed aquatics drills at all six branches and then shared lessons learned with all staff, ensuring that they have the skills to respond quickly and efficiently to a potential drowning or injury emergency.
“Michael has evaluated nearly every kind of tragic water scenario, so he brings a wealth of knowledge to our staff,” said Tom Wunderlich, Association Director of Aquatics Advancement, YMCA of Snohomish County. “Our staff benefited from the unique perspective he brings and the information and skills they can implement immediately to keep all swimmers safe.”
To learn more about aquatics programs, including swim lessons, open swim, Barracudas Swim Team and Stingrays Adaptive Swim Team, please visit our aquatics page.
