Bronze Star
Bronze Star is a 10-hour Lifesaving Society course that helps young swimmers build stronger strokes, personal fitness, basic rescue skills, and safer decision-making around water. It is a strong preparation course before Bronze Medallion, especially for candidates who are not yet 13 years old or who need more confidence before moving into the Bronze pathway.
This course is not just “swimming lessons.” Candidates are introduced to real lifesaving concepts such as self-rescue, safe entries, victim recognition, reaching assists, throwing assists, basic resuscitation, and fitness-based rescue drills.
Who This Course Is For
- Swimmers preparing for Bronze Medallion.
- Younger candidates who want a structured introduction to lifesaving.
- Swimmers who need stronger endurance, stroke control, and water confidence.
- Candidates interested in the future lifeguard pathway.
Prerequisites
- Required: None.
- Recommended: Swim Patrol experience or similar swimming ability.
- Candidates should be comfortable swimming lengths and participating in fitness activities.
Certification
- Certification: Lifesaving Society Bronze Star.
- Instruction & certification: Current Lifesaving Instructors teach and certify candidates.
- Recognition: Bronze Star medal, crest, and certification card.
- Currency: Lifesaving Society certifications are considered current for 24 months from the certification date.
Location: Hilton Toronto Airport Hotel and Suites — 5875 Airport Rd, Mississauga, ON L4V 1N1 Parking: Optional $15 flat rate
If you need a different date or time, please email us and we can try to arrange one together.
What Parents Should Know
What Candidates Will Learn
- Improved front crawl, back crawl, breaststroke, and head-up swimming.
- Basic self-rescue skills for situations such as ice, swamped boats, and capsized boats.
- Safe entries into the water based on the environment.
- How to recognize weak swimmers and non-swimmers.
- How to perform reaching assists and throwing assists from safety.
- Basic adult and child drowning resuscitation on a manikin.
- Fitness and endurance through structured swimming and rescue drills.
What May Be Tested
- Knowledge of the Lifesaving Society and its training pathway.
- Self-rescue simulations and lifejacket or PFD use.
- Three safe water entries.
- 25 m swims using front crawl, back crawl, and breaststroke.
- 25 m head-up front crawl and head-up breaststroke.
- Whip kick, eggbeater, scissor kick, or inverted scissor kick.
- Sculling in place, head-first sculling, and feet-first sculling.
- Reaching assists, throwing accuracy, and pulling a victim to safety with a buoyant aid.
- Obstacle swim, rescue drill, and a 400 m fitness training workout.
Course and Exam Requirements
Pool Requirements
- The course requires a body of water at least 15 m long.
- The water area should be at least 5 m wide.
- Minimum depth is 1.5 m; 3 m is preferred where available.
Exam Setup
- Bronze Star can be examined with a minimum of one candidate.
- Additional volunteers may be required for exam activities.
- Volunteers may participate as victims, but they cannot be the Examiner conducting the exam.
- Candidates are not responsible for providing official course equipment.
At-a-Glance: Bronze Star Skills
Knowledge
- Understand the Lifesaving Society and its training opportunities.
- Understand how Bronze Star prepares candidates for Bronze Medallion.
Swimming and Rescue Skills
- Stroke development: front crawl, back crawl, breaststroke.
- Head-up swimming for rescue awareness.
- Support kicks and sculling skills.
- Safe entries, victim recognition, reaching assists, and throwing assists.
- Basic drowning resuscitation practice on a manikin.
Fitness
- 50 m obstacle swim.
- 25 m head-up rescue drill with tow back to the starting point.
- 400 m fitness workout including warm-up, stroke sets, head-up swimming, and cool-down.