City of Trail, BC is offering free lifeguard training in hopes of reopening its pools over the weekend
A swimming facility in West Kootenay, BC, is offering free lifeguard training in hopes of hiring qualified staff and reopening its pools on the weekends.
The Trail Aquatic and Leisure Center has been closed Sundays and Mondays since February 26 due to a lifeguard shortage.
Trisha Davison, director of parks and recreation at City of Trail — home to about 8,000 people about 7 miles north of the Canada-US border — says the city is funding five certification courses totaling an estimated $1,800 per person for those interested at work as a lifeguard for the water sports center.
“There’s a multitude of services that can’t be delivered on the scale that we would have normally seen,” Davison told CBC host Chris Walker Daybreak South.
It is one of several swimming pools in the province that have had to reduce their opening hours due to staff shortages.
In December 2019, the BV Regional Pool in Smithers – around 370 kilometers west of Prince George in the north – had to close on Sundays. Today it is closed on Mondays instead, and occasionally on other days of the week if there are further staffing shortages.
In Prince Rupert on the North West Coast, the Earl Mah Aquatic Center has also reduced swimming lane times since last September, only making them available on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
When the pools were closed amid health restrictions at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, lifeguard training and certification was also halted.
Breaking down cost barriers
Certifications required to work as a lifeguard include Bronze Medallion, Bronze Cross, National Lifeguard, Standard First Aid, and CPR-C. Lifeguards working on the trail must also have completed Water Safety Instructor certification.
Valid for two years, these certifications allow their holders to work in swimming pools, on the water, in water parks or in surfing throughout the province. Their completion takes several months.
According to Davis, the aquatic center is currently operating with about a third of its pre-pandemic headcount because it hasn’t been able to hire qualified staff.
She hopes that offering free classes would lower the cost barrier for some aspiring lifeguards.
“We’ve put out an appeal to the community to get a sense of who might be out there interested in becoming a certified lifeguard and we currently have an interest list of 10 to 12 people,” she said.
Some residents welcomed the initiative.
“I think it’s great that they offer that,” said Sarah Patershuk, who has worked as a lifeguard at Trail’s water sports center for years.
“Hopefully this initiative will give some people who otherwise couldn’t afford the courses the opportunity to get into lifeguarding!”
