NASCO, working in close cooperation with NASCO parks and facilities, has established the NASCO Gold Standard, a standard of care that leads the industry. While these twenty items don’t include the entire NASCO program, they are the basic foundation for a safe and successful operation.

1. A minimum of two NASCO instructors at the facility.
2. At least one representative from the facility attends the NASCO International Safety School each year.
3. All lifeguards have their NASCO certifications complete, up to date, and ready to be viewed.
4. No lifeguard works at a position beyond their certified training and this is supported by rosters, files, and schedules.
5. Lifeguards and attendants are easily recognized as aquatic professions with a formal uniform that consists of such items as t-shirt with logo, hat, rescue tube, swimsuit, etc.  They also have personal protection from the sun available and used (shirts, jackets, sunglasses, umbrellas, etc.)
6. Front line on-deck supervision is present, easily recognized, and actively involved in the ongoing operation of the facility.
7. Lifeguards can effectively see their entire zone of responsibility
8. Lifeguards are vigilant and strive to consistently scan their area of responsibility within 15 seconds.
9. Lifeguards use a consistent scanning pattern while maintaining vigilance over their area of responsibility.
10. Rescue equipment is available and accessible to staff, including but not limited to:  rescue tubes (where applicable), Personal Protective Equipment ( gloves, mask, etc.), whistle, fully functional backboard.
11. Drawings of each zone of responsibility exist and are available for review by the lifeguards.  These drawing are located in such a place as to serve as a constant reminder to the lifeguards.  Possible locations include manuals, lifeguard locations or break areas.
12. Lifeguards are rotated from one position to another or relieved from the lifeguard task in a timely manner.  The goal is 30 to 45 minutes.
13. Documented in-service training occurs with a minimum of four hours each month.
14. A clearly defined and consistent process exists, is documented, and is utilized uniformly to dispatch riders on any and every attraction, such as a slide, where the possibility of contact injuries exists.
15. An effective means of control and communication exists for water slide operations.  This includes sensors, phones, flags, line of sight, etc.
16. A site specific Emergency Action Plan exists, is documented, and is taught to the guards with subparts dedicated to each attraction or area of the facility.
17. The ability to get advanced medical care (EMS) to the site of an incident exists with a goal of four minutes from activation of the EAP to the arrival of advanced medical care.
18. All drains are securely attached.  The bottom and main drains of all pools and attractions are clearly visible during hours of operation.
19. The facility has the required number of NASCO lifeguard indexes each year.
20. Documentation of rescue statistics is reported to NASCO by October 15th.