Lifeguard shortage impacting fall swim class availability in some cities

Many public pools across Canada are reducing programs and hours due to lifeguard shortage, and here in Waterloo region and Guelph, the impact is being felt.

In the City of Guelph, Breann Robb, the recreation supervisor overseeing aquatics, said they have not been able to hire half the normal amount of staff.

“We have 52 staff right now for the fall returning,” said Robb.

Robb said in a typical season they would have over 100 staff.

The Guelph aquatic centre would require 143 staff to offer pre-pandemic aquatics services. This staffing compliment was last achieved in the 2018/2019 season, according to  Lynne Briggs, the recreation supervisor for the City of Guelph.

This means reduced pool hours, and less spots will be available for swimming lessons during City of Guelph fall registration day.

“We encourage everyone still to register on registration day, which is Sept. 7,” Robb said.

“Waitlist yourself if you aren’t able to get into the program, as we will be taking a look at the program list once we have more staff.”

In Cambridge, the fall leisure program has already opened registration, and residents will notice that the lifeguard shortage has made an impact.

“What we've had to do is re-arrange the schedule,” City of Cambridge Leisure and Youth Supervisor Paula Dawson said. “Shorten some things, and also we are not be able to offer certain programs."

For the City of Kitchener, aquatic fall registration has also opened. The city said the lifeguard shortage is not impacting classes, but a slight disruption to pool hours may be felt.

“One to two days a week we may open later,” City of Kitchener Aquatics Manager Patrick King told CTV News.

Most municipalities impacted have been forced to prioritize afternoon and evening programs because most current lifeguards are students, with limited availability during the day.

King said the shortage isn't new, but has been made worse by the pandemic.

According to Robb, the certification process was halted during the rolling lockdowns.

“People were not able to get certified, for the past two years, so we are kind of on a catch up right now,” Robb said.

POTENTIAL FIXES 

King is hoping to flip the whole idea of lifeguarding as a part-time job, could potentially turn into a full time position.

“Refocusing the idea that lifeguarding is a high school job,” King added.

Dawson said the City of Cambridge is looking into the possibility of offering lifeguard courses for free.

“People maybe that used to be a lifeguard or have interest in aquatics of any sort, and we are going to try and get them up and going and available for us for this springs,” Dawson added.

The City of Guelph will be holding three aquatic hiring days on Sept. 9, 6, and 23 from 4 to 6 p.m. at Victoria Road Recreation Centre.

“You can come out and tell us about your qualifications, join us if you want to learn how to become certified or if you just want to learn more about the industry.”

“We are very apologetic to the community that we aren’t able to meet the needs right now, but as soon as we get more staff on board, we will be offering more opportunities,” Robb added.

PARENTS PERSPECTIVE

Guelph parents using the pool at Victoria Road Recreation Centre told CTV News that public pools are an extremely useful to them, and they do plan to sign their children up for swimming lessons.

“It's very important. Without these facilities they wouldn't have an opportunity to even do it,” Natasha Wilson who was out swimming with her kids.

A few feet away, Matilda Balu was also swimming with her children and said her husband once helped save a friends life because of his ability to swim.

For this reason, Balu feels it very important her children learn to swim. “It's the best thing to teach the kids, swimming,” she added.

The City of Waterloo has also already opened their fall leisure registration.