Program Information
2023 Junior Lifeguard Program Information
The Junior Lifeguard program is a unique and challenging aquatic program for young people. Goals of the JG program are to promote water safety and environmental awareness.
WHO: 6-15 years old (6-8 years old @ Rio Del Mar Only!)
WHERE: Manresa, Rio Del Mar, and Twin Lakes State Beaches
WHEN: Each four week session runs Monday through Friday - 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
WHY: Develop Ocean Safety Skills! Learn about the local environment! Have fun!
Age Groups: Your age is determined by the age you are the first day of your chosen session.
Little guards: 6-8yrs (Rio Del Mar only)
C’s: 9-11 yrs
B’s: 12-13 yrs
A’s: 14-15 yrs
*If you are a new Junior Lifeguard participant (i.e. have never participated in the Santa Cruz State Junior Lifeguard Program) you are REQUIRED to attend a tryout date.
In our program, your child will:
LEARN ALL ABOUT THE OCEAN
- Safety, Ocean & Beach Hazards
- Rip Currents, Waves & Tides
- Beach Ecology & Marine Life
TRAIN IN
- Surf & Ocean Rescue
- First Aid & CPR
ENGAGE IN FUN ACTIVITIES SUCH AS:
- Surfing & Boogie Boarding
- Stand up paddle boarding
- Body Surfing
- Beach/Water Flags & Relay Races
- Beach & Ocean Games
EXERCISE
- Beach Running
- Ocean Swimming
- Paddle Board Races
- Push ups & Sit ups
- Stretching & Calisthenics
Daily Agenda
(This agenda is subject to variation without notice, based daily conditions)
10:00 – Roll call and program meeting
10:15 – Warm ups, stretching and calisthenics
11:15 – Age group skills & activities
12:00 – Lunch
12:45 – Topic lecture
1:30 – Age group skills & activities
2:40 – Program clean-up, roll call and end of the day all-beach group up
3:00 – End of another great day!
Please make sure your JG has the following everyday:
Uniform Shirt & swimsuit
Sunscreen (SPF 30 or higher) and towel
A bag lunch, with nutritious, wholesome food, and lots of drinking water, for a full active day
A large sun hat (optional but recommended)
A sweatshirt for cold days
Protective, beach appropriate footwear
Wetsuits are optional, but recommended
Please make sure your JG has their name on ALL of their belongings. We are not resposible for lost of missing belongings.
Program Fees
Each Session
$475
There are no discounts for siblings.
Cost Includes: Uniform long-sleeved t-shirt.
*Registration prices subject to change
Payment:
The Santa Cruz State Junior Lifeguard Program accepts Visa, MasterCard and Discover credit or debit cards for registration. No other forms of payment will be accepted
Scholarships:
Tuition assistance is available upon request (go to 2023 Tuition assistance).
Donations:
If you are interested in making a donation please email us or contact us at (831) 212-7223.
Waitlists
If the Session/Age Category you wish to enroll in is full, you can enroll in the waitlist via ReserveCalifornia, under your chosen beach/session. The Program Coordinator will notify you via email if there is an opening.
Tryout Information
The Junior Lifeguard Program is not a “learn to swim” school. Therefore, prospective students are screened at a tryout to see if they have the minimum skills needed to safely participate in and benefit from the Junior Lifeguard Program. The instructors approve a child's skill level based upon successful completion of the test as well as the child's swimming competence and confidence. We reserve the right to refuse admittance if it is felt a student will adversely affect the safety and welfare of themselves and/or others in the program. All new students must successfully complete the testing process to be eligible for the program (NO EXCEPTIONS).
Click To View Tryout Information
Uniforms
Required Uniform for Students:
Boys: Navy Swim trunks and red long-sleeved JG t-shirt
Girls: Navy athletic style swim suit and red long-sleeved JG t-shirt. (Racing style 2 piece ok).
Navy swim suits not sold by our program, these must be bought from outside vendors.
For information on optional Junior Lifeguard apparel available for purchase-click below
Junior Lifeguards Uniforms
Competitions
Capitola Little Guard Competition- June 28
Capitola JG Competition- June 29
Santa Cruz City "NorCal" Little Guard Competition- July 27
Santa Cruz City "NorCal" JG Competition (A, B, and C groups)- July 28
*dates and locations may be subject to change
Program Terms & Conditions
Rules:
- Leaving the supervised recreational area without receiving permission from program staff is not permitted.
- Fighting (physical or verbal), and use of profane language is not permitted, and parents will be notified.
- Vandalism of site, public or other participant’s property will not be tolerated.
- Restrooms are to be used for their intended purpose and nothing else. Restrooms are to be kept clean. Participants must notify a lead-person before going to the restroom.
- Daily assembly- each site has its own assembly times. For approximately 15 minutes the entire group will meet. It is necessary that participants are quiet and attentive at this time.
- Each Junior Lifeguard program site will have its own specific guidelines put in place for the safety and enjoyment of all participants.
Discipline Policy:
Any types of mildly aggressive, intrusive, or destructive actions towards fellow participants, staff members or equipment
- Participant will be verbally warned, counseled about the situation, and given an explanation of what behavior change is expected.
- Time-out (cool-off period), immediately after each incident for 2-5 minutes, depending on the incident. Extra, supervised physical exercise such as push-ups, sit-ups, or running, may be assigned at this time. At this time the participant will be given an explanation of the consequences for continued inappropriate behavior, and an informal behavior contract and plan for successful participation will be implemented.
- Conference involving parent, participant, and staff that will include:
- discussion of incident
- explanation of discipline policy
- formal behavior contract, completed and signed
- determine disciplinary support at home
- May include suspension or expulsion depending on severity of behavior, as judged by the site leader and aquatic supervisor. Parent, participant and staff will review behavior contract as well as incident reports. There will be no refunds in the event of an expulsion.
* Any single incident or aggressive, destructive, or physical behavior toward another participant or staff member, that causes injury, or could potentially cause injury, will result in an immediate time-out and a conference involving parent, participant, and site leader. Serious incidents of this nature may result in immediate expulsion from the program.
Attendance:
Attendance is taken daily. We would appreciate being notified if your child will be absent for a long period of time, i.e. due to vacation, etc. Please email the respective program and notify your child's instructor if they are going to be absent for more than one day. If your child will only be absent for one day, you do not need to notify your child's beach lead.
Program Contacts: ONLY AVAILABLE DURING SUMMER MONTHS
Twin Lakes- twinlakesstatejuniorguards@gmail.com
Manresa- manresastatejuniorguards@gmail.com
Rio Del Mar- riodelmarstatejuniorguards@gmail.com
Participation in Activities:
Students are required to participate in all regular program activities. If a student continuously refuses to participate in the daily the Junior Guard activities they may be asked to leave the program after the first week. If you have questions, please see one of the lead instructors.
Refund Policy
- There is a $50.00 fee for cancellations made prior to the first day of instruction
- Students may drop from the program at any time prior to the completion of the first week of instruction and receive a 50% refund of tuition (minus the $50.00 cancellation fee and processing fees)
- After the commencement of the first day of the second week, no refunds will be made
- There is no refund of fees for the students suspended (1-3 days) or for students that are removed from all further program activities for disciplinary reasons
- If your child does not pass the JG tryout, you will be refunded the full amount, minus the processing fees
- Refunds may take up to 8 weeks for payment
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Do I have to register my child before tryouts?
A: No. Program Registration will open online April 01 @ 9:00AM. For 2023, if your child is a new participant they will need to attent one of the tryout dates prior to registration, either May 7th or June 4th. These tryouts will operate on a first come first serve basis.
Q: Would I receive a refund if my child doesn’t pass the tryout test?
A: Yes. If your child doesn’t pass, you will receive a full refund minus processing fees.
Q: If my child is new to the program does he/she have to tryout?
A: Yes. If your child is registering for the first time they must attend one of the 2 tryouts. The tryout process should only take about 10-20 minutes. Please check our "Tryout Information" page for more information.
Q: Do you offer make-up tryouts?
A: No.
Q: If my child has done Santa Cruz State Junior Guards before, does he/she still need to tryout?
A: No. Just register online.
Q: If my child has done a different Junior Guard program, do they still need to tryout?
A: Yes, if your child has not done one of our three programs, they need to complete our State tryout. See our "Tryout Information" page.
Q: How can I buy uniforms?
A: See the "Junior Lifeguards Uniforms" page.
Q: If for some reason my child can not do junior guards, would we get a full refund?
A: No. If you drop from the program at any time prior to the completion of the first week of instruction, you can receive a 50% refund (minus a $50.00 cancellation fee and any processing fees). If you remove your child from the program any time after the completion of the 1st week- no refund will be issued.
Q: My child might miss the last/first week of junior guards because we are going to be out of town. Is it possible for my child to do part of one session and part of another?
A: No. If a child misses a few days or a week, that’s ok. However, the price would still be the same and participation cannot be transferred to another session. We cannot pro-rate enrollment.
Q: How do I receive a schedule with important dates?
A: We will email out calenders the week prior to the first day of junior lifeguards along with any other important information/forms that may need to be turned in on the first day.
Q: What should my child bring on the first day?
A: The program runs from 10am-3pm so make sure to pack enough water. Sunscreen is a must as we ask the kids to re-apply a few times a day. Shoes, towel, hat, wetsuit, rash guard, umbrella and a positive attitude are always recommended! We ask that the participants do not bring cell phones or any other type of electronic devices. If cell phone is packed it is expected to be kept in their backpack and only used after JG hours.
Q: What if my child is going to be absent?
A: If your child is going to be absent for an extended period of time, please contact the beach supervisor by e-mail (contact info will be given to you prior to the start of the Program) to let them know.
Special Accomodations
We ask that you notify the office at least thirty (30) days prior to the start of the program if you student desires special accommodations or services in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Notice of Nondiscriminatory Policy
The California State Junior Lifeguard program admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs and activities generally accorded or make available to students at school. The state does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethic origin in administration of educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship, athletic and other school-administered programs.
Santa Cruz State Junior Lifeguards
665 14th Ave
Santa Cruz, California, 95062
California State Parks
The State of California
Department of Parks and Recreation