Our Mission

The goal of the American Lifeguard Association is to improve the quality and accessibility of Health & Safety programs to the public.

Company Profile

The American Lifeguard Association (ALA) is an educational association that is currently one of the largest sponsors of health and safety training programs in the United States. Since our establishment in 1990, we have issued over 100,000 certifications in health and safety areas. The ALA's operational policies and procedures for our certification programs, and the certification and training of our instructors, both meet national industry standards.

The ALA is dedicated to providing quality, instructional, participant-centered programs. ALA's overall strategy for skill development is simple: regular review, repetition in a relaxed positive environment, self-discovery, cooperative learning and joint assessment of knowledge and skills. Our program-development process draws on the talent and experience we have of leading recognized experts in the lifeguard profession, along with outside consultants from various national health and safety organizations, together with diligent research, to ensure that the program content and guidelines used in our programs are safe and meet current national standards.

We are confident that the final product is a professionally administered training program that teaches the skills and knowledge consistent with nationally accepted guidelines. The purpose of the ALA training program is to teach candidates the knowledge and skills needed to prevent and respond to aquatic emergencies. Upon successful completion of our lifeguard course, each participant will receive an American Lifeguard Association Certificate indicating lifeguard/first aid, valid for 3 years, and a CPR/AED for the professional rescuer, valid for 1 year. As with all certifications, the employer should ensure that each lifeguard candidate has all the skills necessary for the position for which he or she is being considered.

To obtain further information on the national training programs we offer and to enroll, we ask that you to select "Courses Offered," which is an option at the top left of our home page, then scroll down to the state you live in, and select the kind of training you are interested in. It will give you the information you are looking for and, if you want, allow you to register. If after reading the information on the particular training you are interested in you still have questions or are having difficulty registering, we ask that you email us atalalifeguard@aol.com.