July 11, 2025, 2:16 am | Read time: 11 minutes

Have you ever met someone who has the gold badge in lifesaving swimming? I haven’t. But after researching this article, I know: It requires extensive theoretical knowledge and demanding practical skills, including fin swimming, deep diving, rescue techniques, and first aid. Thus, it is not only a real athletic challenge but also a visible sign of special competence and commitment in water rescue services. If you’re not aiming for the stars right away, how about the silver lifesaving swimming badge? Read here to find out what’s required–and learn from a professional why he became a lifeguard himself.

There is a lack of rescue-capable people

Drowning is one of the most common accident-related causes of death worldwide and in Germany, especially among children and the elderly. From early May to early August 2024, at least 253 people drowned in Germany, according to the German Life Saving Association (DLRG)–many in unsupervised lakes or rivers.¹ On one hand, more and more children are not learning to swim properly–at the same time, there is a shortage of lifeguards, trainers, and instructors who can safely introduce children to the water. Amid all the complaints about too little swimming instruction, many overlook: “Every swimming lesson requires at least one person who is rescue-capable,” says Matthias Stoll, head of training and prevention at the DLRG federal office in Bad Nenndorf. He earned his lifesaving swimming badges to work as a swimming trainer and instructor. Rescue-capable in the context of swimming courses in Germany means the silver lifesaving swimming badge.

Which lifesaving swimming badge suits me?

In Germany, there are four official lifeguard exams: from Junior Rescuer to Bronze, Silver, and Gold, the requirements increase. The exams cover individual elements of a rescue that can occur in various (real) situations.

According to Matthias Stoll, “Bronze is a good entry point.” You are truly ready for action as a lifeguard after completing the silver lifesaving swimming badge (bronze lacks the diving depth and proof of a first aid course).

With the silver lifesaving swimming badge, it is also possible throughout Germany to provide proof of rescue capability–for example, for use in school swimming, club training, or supervising swimming groups. And Gold? According to the professional, it is a “greater athletic challenge.”

FITBOOK learned: The DLRG trains about 8,500 Junior Rescuers annually, awards 23,000 bronze lifesaving swimming badges, 40,000 silver badges, and 3,500 gold badges.

Also interesting: Seahorse to Gold Performance Badge–what you need to know for swimming badges

What do many consider the biggest challenge?

“A large part of the participants finds distance diving (about 25 meters for the silver badge, ed.) or deep diving, at least three meters, to be the biggest challenge,” reports Stoll.

What skills do you learn as a lifeguard–physically and mentally?

According to training director Matthias Stoll, in lifeguard training, in addition to improving swimming technique and bringing exhausted or unconscious people ashore, the focus is also on one’s own safety: How do I avoid being grabbed by people in panic, or how do I free myself from such situations? It is also important that swimming and jumping into the water should be the last step in a rescue.

Are there parts of the training that are particularly underestimated?

“Transport swimming in clothing becomes quite exhausting quickly, even experienced swimmers are surprised at how quickly the muscles no longer work as usual,” Stoll knows.

The bronze and silver lifesaving swimming badges are only awarded by the German Life Saving Association (DLRG), the Workers’ Samaritan Federation (ASB), and the Water Rescue Service of the German Red Cross. The gold lifesaving swimming badge is also awarded by the German Swimming Federation (DSV), the Federal Association of German Swimming Masters (BDS), and the Association of German Sport Divers (VDST). Costs and registration modalities vary depending on the provider and region.

General rules for the exam in the German lifesaving swimming badges (DRSA)

Exam tasks that require specific times or distances must be completed quickly and without interruption. An exercise is only considered passed if the required performance is fully achieved and the participant leaves the water independently. A water temperature of at least 18 degrees Celsius is required for the exams. In partner exercises, care is taken to ensure that participants are of the same gender and have comparable body size and weight to ensure fair conditions.

Training director Stoll recommends repeating the badges every two years: “This regularly checks physical performance and refreshes the necessary action knowledge.”

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The exam performances in detail

All information comes from the latest version of the lifesaving swimming exam regulations (as of January 1, 2025).²

Junior Rescuer

Children can earn the Junior Rescuer badge at the earliest at age ten. They must provide proof of the German Swimming Badge in Gold (requirements for this can be read here).

Theoretical exam performance

The theory for the Junior Rescuer includes basic “first aid” knowledge as well as knowledge in self-rescue and rescuing others.

Practical exam performance

• 100 meters swimming without interruption, including
  • 25 meters freestyle
  • 25 meters backstroke
  • 25 meters breaststroke and
  • 25 meters backstroke with scissor kick without arm movement
• Tow a partner 25 meters using the armpit tow grip
  
• Self-rescue exercise with a shirt and pants over swimwear and without a break
  • jump into the water and assume a floating position
  • float on the water surface in a back position with paddling movements for 4 minutes
  • swim slowly for 6 minutes, changing body position at least four times (stomach, back, side position)
  • finally, remove clothing in deep water
• Rescue exercise without a break
  • swim 15 meters in a freely chosen swimming style to a partner, dive about 2 meters deep halfway and retrieve two small diving rings; then drop them and continue swimming to the partner
  • on the way back, tow the partner 15 meters with the armpit tow grip
  • finally secure the rescued person

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German Lifesaving Swimming Badge Bronze

To earn the Bronze Lifeguard badge, children must be at least twelve years old.

Theoretical exam performance

The theory for the German Lifesaving Swimming Badges Bronze, Silver, and Gold includes proof of knowledge in breathing and blood circulation, dangers in and around water, assistance in bathing, boating, and ice accidents, avoiding grips, assistance in injuries, drowning accidents, and heat and cold damage, as well as the tasks and activities of the DLRG.

Practical exam performance

• 200 meters swimming in no more than 10 minutes, including 100 meters in a prone position and 100 meters in a back position with scissor kick without arm movement
• 100 meters swimming in clothing in no more than 4 minutes, then undress in the water
• Three different jumps from about 1 meter height (e.g., start jump, foot jump, head jump)
• 15 meters distance diving
• 50 meters transport swimming: pushing or pulling
• twice deep diving from the water surface, once headfirst and once feet first, within 3 minutes, with twice retrieving a 5-kilogram diving ring or a similar object (water depth between 2 and 3 meters)
• Skills to avoid grips and to free oneself from a neck grip from behind and a neck choke from behind
• 50 meters towing, half with head or armpit tow grip and the standard wrist tow grip
• Combined exercise, to be completed without a break in the specified order:
  • 20 meters swimming in a prone position, diving halfway to a water depth of 2 to 3 meters and retrieving a 5-kilogram diving ring or similar object, then dropping it and continuing swimming
  • 20 meters towing a partner
  • bring the rescued person safely ashore
  • perform 3 minutes of cardiopulmonary resuscitation

German Lifesaving Swimming Badge Silver

Minimum age: 14 years

Theoretical exam performance

see Bronze Lifesaving Swimming Badge

Practical exam performance

• 400 meters swimming in no more than 15 minutes, including 50 meters freestyle, 150 meters breaststroke, and 200 meters in a back position with scissor kick without arm movement
• 300 meters swimming in clothing in no more than 12 minutes, then undress in the water
• A jump from 3 meters height
• 25 meters distance diving
• Three times deep diving from the water surface, twice headfirst and once feet first within 3 minutes, with three times retrieving a 5-kilogram diving ring or a similar object (water depth between 3 and 5 meters)
• 50 meters transport swimming: pushing or pulling in no more than 90 seconds
• Skills to avoid grips and to free oneself from a neck grip from behind and a neck choke from behind
• 50 meters towing in no more than 4 minutes, both partners in clothing
• the distance with head or armpit and a wrist tow grip
• show how to properly use and deploy a rescue device–such as a rescue belt, throw line, or lifebuoy–in an emergency
• Combined exercise (without a break in the specified order)
  • headfirst jump into the water
  • 20 meters swimming in a prone position
  • dive to a depth of 3 to 5 meters
  • retrieve a 5-kilogram diving ring, then drop it
  • free oneself from a grip using a release grip
  • 25 meters towing
  • bring the rescued person safely ashore
  • perform 3 minutes of cardiopulmonary resuscitation

German Lifesaving Swimming Badge Gold

The Gold Lifesaving Swimming Badge can be earned at the earliest at age 16; the prerequisite is also the German Silver Lifesaving Swimming Badge, and a self-declaration of health status must be submitted.

Also interesting: How long and far men and women should be able to swim

Theoretical exam performance

See Bronze Lifesaving Swimming Badge–in addition: proof of a first aid course or first aid refresher course. The course or refresher must not be older than two years. Proof must be provided at the latest at the start of the practical exam.

Practical exam performances

• 300 meters fin swimming in no more than 6 minutes, including 250 meters in a prone or side position and 50 meters towing, the partner to be towed in clothing!
• 300 meters swimming in clothing in no more than 9 minutes, then undress in the water
• 50 meters transport swimming, both partners in clothing: pushing or pulling in no more than 90 seconds
• 100 meters swimming in a maximum of 100 seconds
• 30 meters distance diving, collecting at least 8 out of 10 small rings or plates (they are distributed over a distance of 20 meters in a lane no wider than 2 meters)
• three times deep diving in clothing within 3 minutes; the first time with a headfirst jump, then once headfirst and once feet first from the water surface, simultaneously retrieving two 5-kilogram diving rings each, which are about 3 meters apart (water depth between 3 and 5 meters)
• Skills to avoid grips and to free oneself from a neck grip from behind and a neck choke from behind
• Combined exercise (both partners in clothing), without a break in the specified order:
  • headfirst jump into the water
  • 25 meters swimming in no more than 30 seconds
  • dive to a depth of 3 to 5 meters and retrieve a 5-kilogram diving ring, then drop it
  • free oneself from a grip using a release grip
  • 25 meters towing in no more than 60 seconds with a wrist tow grip
  • secure and bring the rescued person ashore
  • perform 3 minutes of cardiopulmonary resuscitation
• Handling of rescue devices
  • Rescue with the “rescue ball with line” or other throwable rescue devices: target throwing into a sector with a 3-meter opening at a distance of 12 meters; 6 throws within 5 minutes, 4 of which must hit
  • Rescue with another rescue device
• Handling common resuscitation aids

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How many hours of training does it take to become a lifeguard?

A preparatory course for the lifesaving swimming exam consists of at least 16 learning units, with each unit lasting 45 minutes. In total, this corresponds to a pure training time of twelve hours (16 × 45 minutes). Additional content such as a first aid course or further practical exercises may increase the total time required.