August 10, 2024: unpopular opinion, but there is NOT a lifeguard shortage
Good Morning,
I've worked in the aquatics industry for how long - 20 years?! - and my mother is still taken in by clickbait instead of actually asking me what's going on. Here's a recent text message:
TL;DR as I say in a forthcoming YouTube interview, there is not lifeguard shortage in North America. There is a natural consequence of market forces (supply & demand) when organizations refuse to pony up the wages, benefits, etc. necessary to adequately compensate people for the training and experience required to provide a high-quality service. Organizations that are paying a living wage do not have an aquatic staff shortage.
The City of Ottawa is particularly guilty in this regard. Take one look at this Instagram account. I haven't factchecked each claims, but - having grown up in Ottawa, and worked for many years in aquatics in Toronto - I'm not at all surprised if lifeguard wages have only gone up 6% since 2016 and aren't keeping pace with inflation. Lifeguarding was never seen as a respected job in cities known for finance, tech, government, the arts, etc.
With that said, the recent spate of drowning fatalities on the Ottawa River is disappointing, and could mean public awareness of this issue finally reaches critical mass.
Coroner recommends 'lifesaving audits' at all Ottawa beaches following June death
"The call comes after the Office of the Chief Coroner of Ontario found the three people who drowned at Britannia Beach between 2020 and 2023 were standing/wading close to a "drop-off area" where the water depth dropped from two feet to 10 feet."
Other things I've been reading & following this week -
No documented lifeguard training? YMCA pool shut down by inspectors
I really like that some jurisdictions check the status of lifeguard credentials and site-specific training during the course of a routine commercial swimming pool inspection. I thought it instructive to see a facility cited for not having documentation in order. However, if you read the inspection details for this pool in Abilene, Texas the lifeguard training is the least of their concerns. Never, ever open a swimming pool or spa without a drain cover!!
Kennedy-King College to Offer a Class in Swimming through its Continuing Education Department Starting July 23
I have often wondered why more high schools, colleges & trade schools don't offer swim programs - both for lifeguard/instructor accreditation and for continuing education. The way we deliver programs in 2024 needs to evolve to meet are candidate (participant) needs, and the same way we've been doing it since I became a lifeguard in 2003 is just not going to work anymore. For lots of adults daytime lessons don't fit with work or family commitments; evening continuing education classes may very well be the solution we all need.
In This Paris Suburb, Most Kids Can’t Swim—a New Olympic Aquatics
Center Might Change That
This is a lovely human interest story that talks about a new pool built in a suburb of Paris where 75% of 6th Graders failed their school-mandated swim test. This particular community is one of the poorest in the country with many new immigrants, a 17% unemployment rate that causes 27% of residents to live at or below the poverty line, and four times less pool space than the national average across France.
Namedrop
Do you have a name that's frequently mispronounced? Crysdale is not too bad (it's cries-dale, not crizdale), but why leave it up to chance? Namedrop is a service I recently saw in the signature of a colleague's email (next to their pronouns) linking me to a short audio clip to hear them say their name. Genius! One name/pronunciation is available on the free account tier.
The idea for this video came about because of a discussion with Dr. Alison Petri at Abbey's Hope. Every two weeks she goes onto Amazon to see what illegal, non-VGBA compliant drain covers are newly listed for sale.
The goal of this newsletter is to help you run your aquatic facility better and understand what's going on in the industry. If there's anything specific you would like to see discussed or covered here, on social media or YouTube, please don't hesitate to contact me via this form on our website.
All the best,
Katie Crysdale
Lakeview Aquatic Consultants Ltd.