Lowering the minimum lifeguard age may not address staffing shortages

The province is throwing municipalities a lifeline.

Ontario is considering lowering the minimum age for lifeguards from 16 to 15 – a move meant to help address ongoing staffing issues.

Patrick King, the manager of aquatics for the City of Kitchener, said it’s a problem he’s seeing locally.

“Staffing has been a challenge coming out of COVID,” he said. “We are still short but we have targets every quarter that we try and hit.”

Currently, teens can become certified lifeguards at 15, but they can’t work in the field until they are 16. The province is proposing lowering the minimum age, a move that the Lifesaving Society of Ontario said they’d stand behind.

Last year, one-third of certified lifeguards were 15 years old.

“Ready to work, ready to be at the pool or waterfront, just waiting to turn 16,” said Stephanie Bakalar, a corporate communications manager for the organization. “If it changes to 15, we have a great number of people ready to go.”

Some may question whether younger teens are ready to jump in, but the Lifesaving Society said its programs ensure they are well prepared.

“No matter your age, we’re making sure your knowledge, judgement, fitness and skill are at the exact same level as anyone who takes the course, regardless of age,” explained Bakalar.

Officials like Patrick King with the City of Kitchener, however, are treading lightly around the topic.

While the change might help seasonally, and with recruitment, it might not change anything long-term.

“Making it 15 doesn’t address those concerns,” King said. “Being 15-years-old and being in school all year round doesn’t really help, right? It may help us in the summer a bit but that’s where we struggle, right now, is that daytime coverage.”

In 2022, Kitchener considered opening some of its public pools later in the day because there weren’t enough lifeguards available.

Some municipalities have shifted their recruitment from teens to adults in an effort to ensure more steady coverage.

“We’re working out ways to get them certified and onto the pool deck, so I know of at least two or three candidates that are working towards… coming back to work for us,” said King.

Ontario’s minimum age proposal remains open for public comment until next Friday.

While some backup could on the way, it may not be enough to keep all pools – and programs – from sinking.