The past few years have not been easy for public pools.

Across the country, the pandemic had a notable effect on lifeguards, swimming instructors and pools in general. A lack of classes and courses being held since the pandemic started, career lifeguards starting to retire and a change in work culture have conspired to mean the old ways of doing things just doesnsa国际传媒檛 fit anymore.

At Strathcona Gardens, a public pool in Campbell River, managers are doing their best to keep up.

The complexsa国际传媒檚 main pool, leisure pool and hot tub are closed Mondays and operate on different schedules for different days. The website says that the closure is due to staff shortages, but according to SRD HR manager, Laurie Gage, itsa国际传媒檚 a bit more nuanced than that.

sa国际传媒淚 think we have about just over 30 people employed in the Aquatic Department,sa国际传媒� Gage said. sa国际传媒淭hatsa国际传媒檚 the mix between between full-time and part-time.

sa国际传媒淲esa国际传媒檝e got people who are working for us currently that prefer part-time,sa国际传媒� Gage said. sa国际传媒淲esa国际传媒檇 love them to (move to) full-time, but they prefer to work part-time.sa国际传媒�

Thatsa国际传媒檚 not the only issue.

To be a lifeguard for the Strathcona Regional District, a person needs to take a number of courses. These include standard First Aid, CPR level C with AED (Automated External Defibrillator), Swim Instructor, and the National Lifeguard (NL) course. These courses themselves have prerequisites, like Bronze Cross.

Prospective lifeguards also have to be at least 15 years old. Three years ago when the pandemic started, many of the courses that were slated to run were cancelled. So were subsequent courses.

Then, to compound the perfect storm of issues, the people who teach the courses previously mentioned are also lacking.

Shaun Koopman is one of only a few people on north Vancouver Island certified to teach NL courses. Those NL courses are relatively easy to hold. The issue is having enough instructors available to teach them.

Specialized instructor training courses often need to happen in bigger centres. For those in Campbell River, the nearest course scheduled this spring takes place three hours away in Victoria in May. A guard taking that course would be off the deck for at least five days, would have to pay $375 to attened, as well figure out travel and lodging.

Koopman would like to see the provincial government help out.

sa国际传媒淪ay theresa国际传媒檚 a new NL instructor in Smithers,sa国际传媒� he said, sa国际传媒渨hatsa国际传媒檚 the financial support look like for them to go to, letsa国际传媒檚 say, Terrace to do the mentorship course?

sa国际传媒淚 recently taught a nice lady from Gold River in my last course. Shesa国际传媒檚 a mom and (her taking the course involved travel) back and forth every day; gas isnsa国际传媒檛 cheap and itsa国际传媒檚 an an extra two hours or wear and tear on the road,sa国际传媒� he said.

sa国际传媒淚 think anything that the senior levels of government can do to help subsidize that (would help.) Even if they just gave $500 for the National Lifeguard course itself. That would generally cover the cost of the course for somebody as well as almost any significant travel.sa国际传媒�

In all, the cost to become a lifeguard is roughly $1,500, by Koopmansa国际传媒檚 estimation. A $1,500 or so bursary would not be much for the province, but it would make a big difference to a 16-year-old.

sa国际传媒淧ools are a public space. We encourage everybody to go there to use it. Itsa国际传媒檚 one of the few true public places that we have left that you could see anybody from any demographic there,sa国际传媒� he said. sa国际传媒淏ut if theresa国际传媒檚 a cost barrier, yousa国际传媒檙e singling out your potential lifeguards.sa国际传媒�

Koopman, who is running a NL course in Gold River as a private contractor, got started in his current career in a pool. He says the benefits to being a lifeguard are many, and it can lead people into various rewarding careers, including overseas and across the country.

The thing is, it has to start somewhere.

sa国际传媒淚sa国际传媒檝e used my lifeguarding skills, probably four or five times in real life,sa国际传媒� he said, adding that it is one area where society actually trusts young people to take on real responsibilities.

sa国际传媒淲e donsa国际传媒檛 trust them to vote. We barely trust them to drive a car. And so itsa国际传媒檚 just such a huge confidence builder for them to take this course and learn about spine boards, oxygen therapy and deep water rescues.sa国际传媒�

The Lifesaving Society is offering one-day recertification courses to people with expired NL credentials.

Strathcona Gardens, like any pool, has its limits. Even in the best of times there is a maximum amount of people that are allowed to swim. For each guard on deck, there can be only 40 people in the pool.

Based on the current staffing level, the capacity of the pool is 120 in the leisure pool and hot tub area, and 120 in the main pool, and that is only when they can be fully staffed. Throughout their rotations, guards regularly do head counts and when the capacity is reached the front desk allows people in only when others leave.

sa国际传媒淭ypically, we see waits of about 15 minutes except for larger groups (6+) who may have to wait longer,sa国际传媒� the aquatics department said in an emailed response.

Capacity can also be capped depending on different programs in the pool.

The pandemic also brought on other shifts in how people want to work.

Gage, who runs the HR department for the entire SRD, said shesa国际传媒檚 seen more people prefer remote work and more flexible hours. Theresa国际传媒檚 also a culture of safety that has arisen out of the pandemic, particularly about coming in to work sick.

sa国际传媒淚 think in the old days people would drag themselves to work when they were sick,sa国际传媒� she said. sa国际传媒淧eople donsa国际传媒檛 do that now. We donsa国际传媒檛 want them to do that.sa国际传媒�

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marc.kitteringham@campbellrivermirror.com
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