On a hot, sunny June afternoon, lifeguard Caylee Wagner keeps an eye on the pool slide at Frances Meadows Aquatics Center in Gainesville to ensure swimmers are following pool guidelines.
Wagner is in her third year working in the position; she is one of approximately 60 lifeguards currently employed by Gainesville Parks and Recreation. This number is up from previous years but still lower than usual, according to Director Kate Mattison.
“Our typical is around 70, where we would feel a little bit more comfortable,” said Mattison. “Right now, our swim program is booming and we need more swim instructors, as well. Typically, with a lot of our staff, if you’re a swim instructor, you’re also a lifeguard, so we’re pulling from the same pool of people to try to get staff to cover hours.”
While the COVID-19 pandemic could be partially to blame for the staff shortage, Mattison said that it is an issue that has been going on for over a decade and around the country.
“We’re competing with every other job you could have at Dairy Queen, or Starbucks, or wherever, that pays a similar rate…and ours requires a lot more training and potentially a lot more responsibility in that you could be rescuing a person,” said Mattison.
Gainesville Parks and Recreation offers a lifeguard certification course through the American Red Cross. According to Mattison, some of the rigorous training to become a certified lifeguard includes diving into the deep end of a pool to retrieve a brick, practicing a deep water backboard rescue and performing monthly service drills.
A statement from the Gainesville office of the American Red Cross also acknowledged that community pools could have difficulty hiring lifeguards this summer. The statement listed reasons such as pools closing or limiting capacity to lessen the spread of COVID-19 and previous lifeguards choosing to find other jobs.
The statement also provided statistics for the number of lifeguards certified nationwide over the past three years. Between January and April of 2019, 98,570 people completed the lifeguard certification course. That number dipped down dramatically over the same four-month period in 2020 to 51,811 but rose to 83,685 this year.
Mattison said that as the lifeguards get older, they move away for college or take on more responsibilities, meaning that there are not as many available to work full shifts.
“Our issue is always and forever will be getting people who are a little bit older to work during the day…as soon as school starts back up, we’re struggling even more because so many of our staff are high school or college-aged kids that cannot work Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.,” said Mattison.
In an effort to attract potential employees, Mattison said she and her staff have offered several incentives, including paying for the lifeguard certification course, promoting a fun work environment and encouraging current lifeguards to invite their friends to work.
Mattison said another important piece of recruiting lifeguards is showing them how rewarding the job can be, if done properly. She recalled the recent story of a couple of lifeguards who helped a Hall County jail officer, who went into cardiac arrest at Francis Meadows Aquatic Center.
“You’re giving back to the community when you’re working in this position and you’re doing something that’s potentially very fulfilling to you as a person, like you have opportunities that you may save someone’s life,” said Mattison.
While lifeguard certificates through the American Red Cross typically only last one year, the nonprofit is combatting the shortage caused by the pandemic by offering certificate extensions, provisional certification courses and a provisional lifeguarding review class for those with recently-expired certificates. More information is available on the American Red Cross website.
Even though the summer season is in full swing, Mattison said Gainesville Parks and Recreation is still hiring lifeguards and other positions at the aquatic center. More information is available at Gainesville.org under the “Careers” link.
