Welcome to a unique episode of The Lifeguard Project Podcast. Today, you're going to get to hear from the panel of experts who spoke at the Responder Roundup, which happened May 6th and 7th, 2026, in San Luis Obispo, California. The Responder Roundup brought in 250 first responders from over 40 different agencies to train in high-fidelity drowning training over the course of two days. This specific panel discussion focuses on the local impacts of drowning, how agencies might approach establishing drowning protocols, and general concepts overall. Hope you enjoy this very unique episode, and look out for future trainings and links for when another one of these roundups might be happening.

00:00 Intro

00:48 Panelist introductions

02:43 Origin of San Luis Obispo County's drowning protocol

03:27 Sandra's story: the pool rescue

09:14 Why lifeguards matter in the first five minutes

10:05 The value of "up-training" for non-EMS responders

12:14 Implementing the protocol: navigating red tape

14:18 Advocacy in smaller vs. larger counties

15:34 Serving up solutions "on a platter"

17:33 Changing the language: drowning vs. near-drowning

19:04 Getting dispatch on the same page

19:53 New Zealand's approach to bystander CPR training

21:54 Why high-fidelity mannequins matter

25:22 The training gap for pool and beach lifeguards

25:46 Stress inoculation and realistic training

28:31 Falling back on your training under pressure

29:28 Communicating with your team before the emergency

30:15 A real Saturday call: multi-agency response

31:38 You may be the most trained person on scene

32:34 Handling pushback from other responders

39:16 Advocacy through networking and community

43:06 Closing thoughts from the panel

46:38 Closing remarks and gratitude

Watch On YouTube Here:

https://youtu.be/pWqVHFU4Ywk

Presented by The Ben Carlson Foundation:

https://www.bencarlsonfoundation.org/

https://www.instagram.com/bencarlson_foundation/

Subscribe to the Podcast Here:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-lifeguard-project/id1748861682

https://open.spotify.com/show/7EoZTDiET6jJ6XJ1g5X54t

https://www.instagram.com/thelifeguardproject/

https://thelifeguardproject.org/

Host, Drasko Bogdanovic:

https://www.instagram.com/drasko_projects

Water Safety, Drowning Prevention, Responder Roundup, EMS Training, First Responders, Lifeguard Training, CPR Training, Drowning Resuscitation, Public Safety, Emergency Medicine