A lifeguard watches as individuals cool off in a public swimming pool in 2021 within the Astoria neighborhood of Queens in New York Metropolis.
Spencer Platt/Getty Pictures
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Spencer Platt/Getty Pictures
A lifeguard watches as individuals cool off in a public swimming pool in 2021 within the Astoria neighborhood of Queens in New York Metropolis.
Spencer Platt/Getty Pictures
Over a decade in the past, about 100 individuals confirmed as much as apply for the 2 seaside lifeguard positions obtainable in Brevard County, Fla., mentioned Wyatt Werneth, who was the chief lifeguard on the time. This yr, the variety of candidates and open slots had considerably flipped.
“With 50 positions to be crammed on this open water surroundings, solely two individuals got here out for the preliminary coaching,” Werneth informed NPR.
Throughout the nation, fewer persons are up for the duty to be water rescuers at their native public swimming pools and seashores. The difficulty has been brewing for years, with poor pay and waning curiosity enjoying an element. The pandemic aggravated the state of affairs.
Final summer season, the cussed scarcity led to seaside closures, shortened hours and slashed neighborhood applications. Werneth, who can be the spokesperson for the American Lifeguard Affiliation, anticipates the identical to occur this yr — particularly at public swimming pools.
“We’ve over 309,000 public swimming pools and we’re taking a look at an affect of over 50% of them being closed or having a discount in hours,” he mentioned.
The implications will be deadly. In line with the CDC, for youngsters ages 5 to 14, drowning is the second main reason behind unintentional damage dying, primarily in swimming pools, lakes, rivers or oceans.
Blame the top of Baywatch, and a halt on visas
There’s a excessive bar to turn out to be a lifeguard — candidates should be nice swimmers, bodily match, accountable, in addition to full a sequence of trainings on CPR and first responder abilities.
Prior to now, lifeguarding was thought of an esteemed, prestigious profession, however over time, it has been seen extra as a part-time summer season job, based on Werneth. He partly blames the declining curiosity on the top of the TV hit sequence Baywatch, which adopted a gaggle of enticing lifeguards heroically saving lives by the shore.
“I wished to be a lifeguard due to Baywatch, Werneth mentioned. “Everybody on that present was revered as adults, it was a profession.”
However over time, pay has declined and folks “simply began taking a look at it as part-time summer season jobs and it mirrored the identical pay that ready tables did,” he mentioned.
One other problem for the lifeguard workforce has been visas. The business has relied on hundreds of individuals from Jap Europe coming to the U.S. on J-1 visas to work as lifeguards. Early within the pandemic, many work visas, together with the J-1, had been placed on pause by the Trump administration.
President Biden allowed this ban to expire in April 2021. However the pipeline hasn’t caught up but.
“The areas the place [the visas] have been used up to now are getting them again,” mentioned Tom Gil, the vice chairman of america Lifesaving Affiliation. “However there’s lots to be completed on each ends of the spectrum between the applicant and the company attempting to rent.”
Cities throughout the U.S. are scrambling to rent lifeguards
In New York Metropolis, roughly a 3rd of the whole variety of lifeguards wanted to workers its swimming pools and seashores are at present crammed, WNYC reported. The staffing concern comes after a number of incentives to bolster recruitment, together with elevating the hourly pay from $16.10 to $21.26 and providing a $1,000 bonus.
In the meantime, in Houston, the mayor introduced that town’s swimming pools will open in three phases whereas officers work to rent and certify extra lifeguards. In Denver, some senior residents have stepped as much as fill the scarcity themselves. And in Philadelphia, town started accepting functions from individuals with out prior swimming expertise.
Find out how to preserve your self secure amid the lifeguard scarcity
To some extent, the incentives have been working — slowly, Werneth mentioned.
In the meantime, he has three items of recommendation for individuals planning to benefit from the water this summer season. First, examine whether or not the pool or seaside may have a lifeguard on the day of your go to.
Second, “when you’ve got a gaggle of individuals, assign a water watcher, form of your individual private lifeguard in your group, somebody that is going to not be distracted,” he mentioned. “You possibly can have a couple of and take turns.”
Lastly, if somebody doesn’t know learn how to swim, be sure that they do not go into the water and not using a Coast Guard-approved life jacket.
