profession, but for Bermuda's lifeguards, a day at the beach is no laughing matter. With each lifeguard responsible for the safety of thousands of beach dwellers over the duration of the Summer, a rigorous training course ensures that only the most capable persons are selected as part of the team. "A lot of people think that lifeguards just sit around and suntan all day,'' said lifeguard superintendent Jamie Pedro, "but there's a lot of responsibility involved. You need to be switched on and ready for anything at all times.

Basically, everyone on the beach, their life is in your hands. And you must be able to respond and stay in control of any situation as well as yourself. You have to be ready to react.'' Run through the Parks Department, lifeguarding in Bermuda is a seasonal job, running six months from May through October.

According to Mr. Pedro, although there are those persons who work the entire period, most of the shifts are covered by college students home on their Summer break. But no matter what the duration, demands are high. "For new people, there's a training course which lasts 52 hours,'' explained Mr. Pedro.

"They're taught a lot of surf and rescue techniques using all different types of equipment and they're taught CPR up to a first response level -- a basic Daily exercise a must test, a practical resuscitation test and a physical test -- a run of one mile which is four laps of Horseshoe Bay Beach, in 7 minutes; a swimming test, which is a lap of Horseshoe Bay -- about 500 metres -- in 8 minutes; and they must then paddle board around the rock in the middle of Horseshoe Bay in 8 minutes. If they pass them all, and I think they are a suitable candidate based on their personality, how responsible they are and how fast they grasped the different skills, then they're accepted.'' Because the job demands that lifeguards be in the best possible physical condition, even returning ones must do a training course. Their course however, only lasts 36 hours. "We also do training through the season to make sure that everyone keeps up on all the techniques. And they must do a physical course every day -- five laps of running and swimming. It gives them a chance to check out the water and beach conditions so we can issue warnings to the public about things such as the current, and it helps them to stay fit as well. We also encourage them to do other workouts when the beach is slow, usually in the later part of the afternoon.'' According to Mr. Pedro, eleven fulltime guards cover four beaches each weekday -- Horseshoe Bay, John Smith's Bay and Clearwater Bay while Turtle Bay, the smaller beach next to it, is patrolled on weekends. There are also any number of reserve lifeguards which fulfill five reserve shifts every week. "They are hired as reserves so that they can have time to build up on certain skills or practice certain techniques,'' he said. "We use them to complement our full-time staff so that everyone gets two days off per week.'' The guards use both a tower and chair system, which makes them more accessible to the public -- especially important when one considers the number of tourists which frequent our beaches. "You interact with members of the public and so guides must be able to answer questions and speak with visitors about Bermuda. We also do things like give out band-aids as well as remove Portuguese Man O' War and various other things from the beaches to prevent accidents from happening.'' Although now just on duty at Horseshoe Bay, the lifeguards will begin patrolling other beaches on May 24 when they officially open to the public. Lifeguards are on duty from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. PHOTO Lifeguards Jamie Pedro (foreground), Richard Forehead, Glen Davies and Jason Currie