Drowning Rescue Honor

Recreational Activities

Requirements

Have the Swimming Intermediate I Honor.
Answer: To begin the Drowning Rescue Honor, you first need to have earned the Swimming Intermediate I Honor, which is a mandatory prerequisite — proving basic ability in swimming, floating, and breath control in the water, an essential condition for performing aquatic rescue maneuvers safely. — The Rescue Honor (created in 1929) requires Swimming Intermediate I as a prerequisite because rescue involves maneuvers in the water with a victim; without minimal mastery of swimming, the Pathfinder cannot perform rescue techniques without putting themselves at risk along with the drowning person.
Take a drowning rescue course, offered by an institution authorized and accredited for this, with at least 6 hours of practice.
Answer: You must attend and complete an official drowning rescue course taught by an authorized and accredited institution — the Fire Department, SOBRASA (Brazilian Aquatic Rescue Society), the Red Cross, the Navy, or a certified lifeguard club —, with at least 6 hours of actual practical instruction (not just theory), presenting to the Honor instructor the certificate of completion issued by the entity. — SOBRASA, in partnership with the Ministry of Health, is the reference institution in Brazil for certification in aquatic rescue; the requirement of 6 hours of practice exists because rescue involves physical techniques (towing, approaching a panicking victim, submerging) that can only be learned in the water, not in a classroom.
Remove your clothing in deep water and swim 100 meters.
Answer: You must enter deep water dressed in ordinary clothing (not a swimsuit), be able to remove the clothing in the water without sinking — maintaining flotation and breath control — and then swim 100 meters without stopping. — Removing clothing in the water is a classic lifeguard technique (present in Red Cross manuals since 1914): heavy clothing saturated with water drags the body to the bottom, and knowing how to get rid of it while staying calm prevents secondary drowning of the rescuer themselves.
Dive in water 2 meters deep, retrieving 3 objects of any kind from the bottom, one of which must weigh 4.5 kg.
Answer: You must dive in water 2 meters deep, locate 3 objects placed on the bottom, recover them, and bring them to the surface — at least one of these objects must weigh 4.5 kg (about 10 pounds), simulating the approximate weight of the head of an unconscious victim. — 4.5 kg corresponds to 10 pounds, the historical standard of the Red Cross lifeguard manuals since 1914 — the approximate weight of the human head —, preparing the rescuer to support an unconscious submerged victim during the ascent to the surface in a real rescue.
Make the correct approach, swimming 9 meters, and carry the "victim" with your arm around the chest for 9 meters.
Answer: You must swim 9 meters to the victim making the correct approach — breaststroke or crawl with your head raised to maintain visual contact, stopping before being reached to avoid being grabbed. — Approaching from behind is the golden rule of aquatic rescue: a panicking victim tends to grab and drown the rescuer — swimming with your head raised allows you to assess the victim, circle around, and approach them from the safe side; the cross-chest carry is a standard technique of the American Red Cross since 1914.
Make the correct approach underwater, while diving, and carry the "victim" for 9 meters.
Answer: You must swim to the victim underwater, in a controlled dive (breath-hold), approaching without their noticing — passing underneath them and emerging behind their back; then pass your arm around the chest (cross-chest carry) or support the opposite armpit, keep the victim's head above the surface, and swim 9 meters to a safe place. — The submerged approach is a rescue technique applied when the victim is in violent panic at the surface — diving before reaching them avoids the desperate grab, allowing you to emerge behind them in a safe position to begin the transport; described in the official manuals of the Red Cross and SOBRASA.
Make the correct approach, swimming 9 meters, and carry the "victim" by the hair or by the arm for 9 meters.
Answer: You swim 9 meters to the victim making the correct approach (head raised, stopping before their reach to avoid being grabbed), circle around them from behind; for transport by the hair, firmly grip a tuft at the top of the nape of the neck. — These are variations of the 'tired swimmer carry': the hair carry uses a firm tuft to avoid pulling out the hair, and the wrist tow holds the wrist — both techniques position the rescuer with their back to the victim, out of reach, described in the official manuals of SOBRASA and the Red Cross.
Immediately after swimming 50 meters, approach the "victim" and carry them for 9 meters.
Answer: You must swim 50 meters without stopping (in any style, maintaining a good pace) and, in sequence — without rest — make the correct approach to the victim (head raised, stopping before their reach), circle around them, and transport them for 9 meters with the proper technique (cross-chest carry, hair carry, or wrist tow). — A real rescue rarely happens with the rescuer at rest — a distant victim requires a swim to reach them and still a safe rescue; testing the performance after fatigue is a standard lifeguard evaluation practice (Red Cross, SOBRASA), ensuring that the Pathfinder does not fail in a real situation due to exhaustion.
Free yourself correctly from a "victim" who is holding your wrist (repeat the method for both wrists). Demonstrate how to do it in and out of the water.
Answer: To free yourself when the victim holds your wrist, rotate your wrist quickly toward the grabber's thumb (which is the weakest point of the grip), forcing your wrist out through the opening between the victim's thumb and fingers; repeat the same movement for the other wrist. — In any wrist grab, the junction between the thumb and the other four fingers is the weak point — a quick rotation exploits this opening. In the water, diving with the victim is an additional technique described in the Red Cross manuals since the 1920s: a panicking victim instinctively lets go of the grip to rise and breathe.
Free yourself correctly from a "victim" who is grabbing you by the neck (free yourself by escaping to the right and, afterward, to the left). Demonstrate how to do it in and out of the water.
Answer: When the victim grabs your neck, take a deep breath and dive, pulling them along (underwater); place one hand on their armpit and the other above the elbow of the arm on the escape side; push the elbow up and rotate underneath the arm, emerging behind the victim and applying the cross-chest carry. — The lateral escape using the arms is the standard method of the Red Cross and SOBRASA — a panicking victim instinctively sinks; diving with them and using your own arm as a lever allows you to emerge behind them safely; rehearsing on both sides ensures a reflex reaction in any real situation, regardless of which hand you have free.
Demonstrate the correct way to perform artificial respiration on a drowning victim.
Answer: Remove the victim from the water safely and lay them supine on a firm surface; call emergency services (192/193); check for breathing by observing the chest for up to 10 seconds; if absent, open the airway by tilting the head back (one hand on the forehead, the other lifting the chin). — In drowning, the cause of the collapse is hypoxia (lack of oxygen in the lungs), which is why the protocol of SOBRASA and the American Heart Association begins with ventilations — unlike a primary cardiac arrest; opening the airway by tilting the head back lifts the tongue, which otherwise blocks the entry of air.