What is a VAT?

VAT stands for Vigilance Awareness Test. They are run to test a lifeguard's awareness level. The job of a lifeguard may include a great amount of physical work, but the physical ability will do little good if the mental part does not come first. A lifeguard may be moving their heads and eyes, scanning and looking at their zones, but are they seeing what is in their water? It is very easy to scan right over someone in trouble. VATs are run at random to strengthen lifeguards' minds; to develop their reaction to anything out of place.

Lifeguards use the ten/twenty pattern for scanning to check their zones. They look for anyone in trouble on the top, the middle, and the bottom of the water. A lifeguard has ten seconds to recognize (see) the VAT, and twenty seconds to reach it. The same pattern is used in real situations. A VAT recognized in over ten seconds but reached in under a total of thirty secods is a pass. VATs completed in these times meet the standard VAT requirements. A VAT recognized and reached in ten seconds is an exceed. A VAT recognized and reached in over thirt seconds is a fail with remediation. If a guard takes over sixty seconds to recognize a VAT and reach it, it is a fail with termination.

There are several different types of VATs. The most common is Timmy. He is a three foot manikin doll. He can be filled with water fully or partially to sink, or inflated with air to float. He is usually tossed in acting as a young non-swimmer child who jumps in over their head. Sometimes he is slipped in at the side of the pool.

VAT girl is about the size of a six year old and weighs about that much in the water. She fills up with water and sinks to the bottom. VAT girl is usually taken in the water by someone else and dropped.

A live VAT is when a person acts as if they are drowning. They can either be conscious or unconscious. In a live VAT the person can drown in difforent ways to make a lifeguard use their difforent rescue types. These VATs can be the most affective.

The last type of VATs are the silhouettes also known as The Shadow. This is the hardest one to see. It is simply a dark brown mat shaped like a person laying on their side with weights in it to sink. There is a larger one about the size of VAT girl and a smaller one about the size of Timmy. These are the sneakiest of all VATs. They are normally taken into the water by a person and quietly layed out. A shadow VAT acts as a person in trouble laying on the pool bottom. In many real situations, a person may look like only a brown blob on the bottom, especially if they are by the wall or further away from the lifeguard.

Whether a VAT is live or a manikin, at the managers command a simple VAT may turn into a full scenario. It could be a spinal or neck injury or a full scenario with CPR and rescue breathing. These VATs are group VATs. In this case other lifeguards from the nearest stands would run to help.

A lifeguard is not targeted with a VAT, rather a stand at a specific time is planned. The guard who happens to be on stand at the time is random. For a VAT to properly run, a manager, at least two witnesses, a supervisor or manager to time the VAT with a stopwatch, a guard to go up in stand immediately after so the water is never left unguarded, and someone to place the VAT must be present. The witnesses include the manager and someone else running the VAT. Some alterations can be made depending on the amount of staff on duty.

Do not be alarmed if you are ever swimming at a pool while a VAT is run. They are normal and conducted several times a day. Remember, Vigilance Awareness Tests are not real. They are simply there to test a lifeguard's awareness.