Roy Adsit, center, and Jeremiah Benavente, right, conduct lifeguard training at the 500 Sails-Guma Sakman Beach.
ON Monday, July 10, seven community members joined a new time slot for the 500 Sails Gamsun Project, a free training program to help individuals pass a lifeguard certification test.
Training now occurs at the 500 Sails-Guma Sakman Beach every Monday morning from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. Additional Gamsun Project training happens on Wednesdays from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., and Sundays from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.
At the Monday session, instructors Roy Adsit and Jeremiah Benavente outlined the training expectations, assessed the participants’ understanding of the water, and refined their swimming strokes.
In the water, participants practiced their breaststroke and retrieved objects underwater in a 25-meter course.
Adsit said the Gamsun Project helps students pass the lifeguard certification test, which is administered by Western Pacific Training Solutions.
“We try to bring you from where you are in your swimming, to where you can comfortably and easily help someone else, i.e., lifeguarding,” he said.
Adsit said his job is to take students and enable them to pass a 550-meter swim test, retrieve submerged objects in a 25-meter course, swim with a 10lb weight for 25 meters, as well as satisfactorily perform other duties associated with water safety.
He said the more the class grows, the more the community has individuals capable of keeping their friends and family safe in the ocean. If participants cannot come to the Monday sessions, they may train on Wednesdays or Sundays.
“What we do in Gamsun Project is we change the way that our students approach the water,” Adsit said. “[We] take them from ‘let’s play’ to ‘let’s look at what the ocean is doing and how can we mesh with the ocean.’ ”
500 Sails Managing Director Kuen-Hee Han said they scheduled the new time slot following requests from hotels that need lifeguards.
She said lifeguarding is a marketable skill that can lead to employment.
For questions regarding the Gamsun Project, as well as the Sirena Project, an all-female swim class, contact the 500 Sails office at (670) 323-7245.
