WSI Water Safety Instructor – Proficient Training

WSI – Water Safety Instructor

The Water Safety Instructor (WSI) Course prepares candidates to instruct the Red Cross Swim programs. Candidates focus on strategies to introduce and develop fitness activities, skills and water safety, and swimming skills in the Red Cross Swim Preschool, Red Cross Swim Kids, Red Cross Swim @ School, Red Cross Swim @ Camp, Red Cross Swim for Adults & Teens, and Red Cross Swim Adapted programs.

Another benefit to this course is that candidates develop skills speaking in front of people. Public speaking is a skill that is relevant and beneficial to any future career path.

The format for the WSI course is:

Pre-screening Component – Skills, which are consistent with the course prerequisites, are reviewed and evaluated. (Prerequisites: Swim Kids 10 or equivalent; and, one of Emergency First Aid, Bronze Cross, or Red Cross Assistant Lifeguard). This takes 6 to 8 hours.
Online WSI Component – Candidates are to complete the online component of the course. This takes 15 to 20 hours.
Co-teach Component – Candidates are to complete a co-teach session with a WSI. (Information on how to do this will be given out following the Pre-screening session). The Online and Co-teach Components could be done concurrently. This is at least 8 hours.
Core Component – This is the classroom and pool part of the course. Candidates should have completed the Pre-screening, the Online and Co-teach Components before taking this part of the course. This is about 24 hours long.

Next Courses

Due to the arrival of COVID-19 in Winnipeg, all spring courses have been been re-scheduled as noted below. There will be additional online content. We will be following Health Canada recommendations. Stay safe!

Winter-and-Spring Water Safety Instructor – ~~Sundays, March 1 – April 19 (No classes on March 29, April 5 and 12)~~

The WSI course which began March 1st will continue as follows:
- Sunday, June 7, 5:00-9:30 pm at Birds Hill Park Waterfront;
- Sunday, June 14, 5:00-9:30 pm at Birds Hill Park Waterfront;
- Sunday, June 21, 5:00-9:30 pm at Birds Hill Park Waterfront;
- There will also be some additional online content.

Spring Water Safety Instructor – ~~Sundays, May 3 – June 14 (No classes on May 17); the last class will be held at Birds Hill Park Waterfront.~~

The WSI course that was originally scheduled to begin on May 3rd has been postponed to the following dates:
- Sunday, June 7, 5:00-9:30 pm at Birds Hill Park Waterfront;
- Sunday, June 14, 5:00-9:30 pm at Birds Hill Park Waterfront;
- Sunday, June 21, 5:00-9:30 pm at Birds Hill Park Waterfront;
- There will also be some additional online content.

Fall Courses

Fall 1: September-October 2020

Sundays, September 13, 20, 27, October 4, 18, 25, 6:00-9:30 pm at St James Centennial Pool.

Fall 2: November- December 2020

Sundays, November 8, 15, 22, 29, December 6, 13, 6:00-9:30 pm at St James Centennial Pool.

WSI TRANSFER

If someone is a Swimming Instructor with a different recognized agency (Swim For Life Instructor, I Can Swim Instructor, YMCA Swim Instructor, Ultra Swim Instructor, or American WSI) and would like to teach the Red Cross Water Safety program, they can take a WSI Transfer course. If you would like a WSI Transfer course, we are taking a waiting list. Please contact us.

WSI RECERTIFICATION

All WSIs must recertify every two years to remain qualified. New WSIs must complete three online Professional Development sessions within their first two-years (these are free and available in the Red Cross Online Portal).

If a WSI has expired, they are not certified to teach. They can re-engage by taking a WSI recertification

If your WSI Recert was postponed because of covid concerns, please select one of the following WSI Recerts. Complete the accompanying form. FORM (If these dates do not work, send me an email also and I can set something different up.)

Choose one of the following dates:

Thursday, June 11, 5:00-10:00pm, Birds Hill Park Waterfront; OR,
Monday, June 22, 5:00-10:00pm, Birds Hill Park Waterfront; OR,
Friday, June 26, 8:30-1:30, Birds Hill Park Waterfront; OR,
Wednesday, July 22, 5:30-9:30pm, Birds Hill Park Waterfront; OR,
Wednesday, August 19, 5:30-9:30pm, Birds Hill Park Waterfront; OR,
Wednesday, September 9, 12:30-5:30, Cindy Klassen Rec Complex; OR,
Thursday, September 10, 8:30-1:30, Cindy Klassen Rec Complex; OR,
Wednesday, September 30, 9:00-1:00, Cindy Klassen Rec Complex; OR,
Tuesday, October 13, 8:30-1:30, Cindy Klassen Rec Complex; OR,
Friday, October 30, 4:30-9:00, Cindy Klassen Rec Complex; OR,
Friday, November 13, 4:30-9:00, Cindy Klassen Rec Complex; OR,
Friday, November 27, 8:30-1:00, Cindy Klassen Rec Complex; OR,
Friday, December 18, 12:30-5:30, Cindy Klassen Rec Complex; OR,
If you can’t find a day that works for you, please contact us and we can set up another one on a different day. All candidates will have to pay a public swim admission to enter the pool area.
Contact Us.