The Canadian Red Cross is offering to recertify any expired Water Safety Instructors (WSIs) for free and without needing to take a course.
Why you ask? With the national swim program shutting down at the end of 2022, WSI recertification courses will no longer be offered. So the Red Cross is making it easy to get recertified with either a quick phone call or login to their website.
How to Get Your WSI Recertified
Depending on your situation, you’ll need to do one of the following:
If your award expired prior to 2022
Call the Canadian Red Cross contact centre toll free at 1 (877) 356-3226 and ask for an extension. Once they’ve verified your identity they will extend your award to December 2022. Even if your cert expired over 5 years ago, the Canadian Red Cross is making exceptions in most cases!
If your award was set to expire in 2022 or beyond
The Canadian Red Cross has already extended your WSI cert until the end of 2022! But read on to get even more out of your free WSI recert.
Get Lifesaving Society Recognized and Certified
To make the most of your WSI recertification, you should opt in to become a Lifesaving Society member. This ensures that your prior awards will be recognized in the future and even gives you the opportunity to receive a full Lifesaving Society Swim Instructor certification without having to attend a full in-person transfer course. The steps to do this are below:
1. Agree to Share Your Info with the Lifesaving Society
Log into MyRedCross, and after accepting a consent form, all swim instruction and lifeguarding certificates you have will be transferred along and recognized by the Lifesaving Society!
2. Complete the Swim Transition Instructor Clinic
Head to e-lifesaving.ca and login with your Lifesaving Society login credentials if you are already an LSS member. Otherwise, create a new account and then enroll in the Swim Transition Instructor Clinic course which will cost a little over $20.
Complete the transition course and you’ll receive a Swim For Life Award Guide (both physical and digital copies). The course is self-paced and will help you understand how the Swim For Life curriculum works in more detail. Upon completion of this course, you’ll have a full LSS Swim Instructor certification!
Final note: Even if you aren’t sure if you want to teach past 2022, it’s a good idea to get your awards transitioned. It’s very likely that the Lifesaving Society will extend all swim instructor certifications into 2023, as it appears recertification courses are far and few between.
Not Yet a Propel Swimming Instructor?
Start your own private swimming lessons in one of our partner pools by signing up today.
