A Nunavut cadet remains in stable condition at Whitehorse General Hospital today after being rescued unconscious from the bottom of the Whitehorse swimming pool on Saturday night.

Tim Arnholz, the city's head lifeguard at the Canada Games Centre, said today the lifeguard assigned to the large pool area noticed the teenager laying motionless at the bottom of the deep end near the diving board at 9:02 p.m.

As emergency procedure dictates, he first sounded two whistle blasts to alert other lifeguards and staff on duty, and immediately dove in to begin the rescue.

He was joined quickly by the guard assigned to the leisure swimming area, and together they moved the 14- or 15-year-old Arctic Bay resident onto the pool deck.

The guards checked for a clear airway. They then performed the first two steps of CPR, which is to deliver two breaths through mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to hopefully start the victim breathing again on his own, Arnholz explained.

'Immediately upon giving the two breaths, he vomited and started breathing on his own, in a ragged, ragged way,' said the chief lifeguard.

Arnholz said when exactly the teen regained consciousness is difficult to explain as there are different levels of consciousness. However, after approximately three minutes, the cadet was able to speak to his rescuers.

The lifeguards, he noted, did administer additional oxygen through a mask to assist in the recovery.

There is no evidence to indicate how long the youth was under the water, nor what the circumstances were that led to the incident, as the priority of the staff was the teen's well-being and not determining exactly what happened, he said.

And with all of the safety and response procedures being followed, there is nothing to indicate any need to change any of the protocol at the pool, he said.

Arnholz said the lifeguards are indeed heroes for not only recognizing the situation early in the incident but for effectively carrying out what was a life-saving rescue.

'It could have been much worse,' he said.

Arnholz said he was unable to release the names of the lifeguards this morning as one of them is under 18, and he would want to obtain that lifeguard's permission first.

As a matter of precaution and procedure, he said, the cadet was taken by ambulance to the hospital to be examined, and for continued observation.

Hospital spokeswoman Val Pike explained this morning the youth remains in hospital in stable condition. Stable condition, she explained, means a full recovery is expected.

A large contingent of cadets from across the North were in Whitehorse over the weekend for a regional biathlon competition.

Arnholz said he has undertaken research to examine other cases in Canada involving pools and large groups of youth visiting from remote areas where access to public swimming facilities are non-existent or limited.

Under the policy, if the lifeguards, who are also trained instructors in Whitehorse, have concern that a swimmer is not able to pass the standard test to swim in the deep end, they will ask the swimmer to swim a lap, he said.

To swim in the deep end, Arnholz explained, a pool patron must be able to complete one 25-metre lap.

If guards suspect, either through a weak swimming stroke, or the preference for one swimmer to use a floating toy, they will require an individual to perform the lap test before he or she is permitted in the deep end, he explained.

Arnholz said in the case of large groups not known to the pool staff, for extra safety and simplicity, lifeguards will require all visitors to do the lap test at the very beginning of the swim.

The visiting cadets, including the rescued youth, were required to perform the 25-metre test, he said.