Glossary
Water Safety Instructor (WSI)
An American Red Cross certification for teaching swim lessons and water safety courses. Certificates last 2 years.
A Water Safety Instructor, or WSI, is a person certified by the American Red Cross to teach its swimming and water safety program. According to the Red Cross course fact sheet (opens in a new tab), WSIs can teach Parent and Child Aquatics, Preschool Aquatics, Learn-to-Swim, Adult Swim, private lessons and water safety courses and presentations.
About the course:
- candidates must be at least 16 by the last day of the course and pass a skills check that includes several strokes, floating or sculling on the back for 1 minute and treading water for 1 minute;
- the course takes about 31 hours, in person or blended with online work;
- training covers planning safe lessons, giving feedback, and accommodating people who move, learn, communicate and behave differently;
- the certificate is valid for 2 years.
Why it matters to parents: the AAP (opens in a new tab) recommends instructors trained and certified through a nationally recognized learn-to-swim curriculum. WSI is one example of such a curriculum. It is fine to ask to see current certification. See how to choose a swim program and how to become a swim instructor.
What you can do today: ask your child's swim program which certification its instructors hold.