With warm temperatures across much of the region, Maritimers are heading to their closest beach or pool for relief.
Experts say the third week of July is the period when the highest number of drownings occur – that’s why Sunday marks the beginning of National Drowning Prevention Week.
But rather than drownings, this year’s focus is being placed on the shortage of trained lifeguards across the board, a long-term problem that has only become worse since the start of the pandemic.
For lifeguard Samantha Burbine, being a lifeguard is a lot more than just sitting poolside all day.
“I don’t just guard,” Burbine said. “I also instruct, so I get to teach swim lessons every summer. That’s honestly my favourite part of the job, teaching a kid how to do a backfloat. There’s a whole new world of possibilities for them in the water and they’re grinning ear to ear.”
But having enough lifeguards on staff has been a challenge at nearly every pool and beach this summer. Just ask Aaron Muzzatti, the St. Stephen aquatic and programming coordinator.
“We’re a small town here, so we already have a small pool of lifeguards to pull from,” Muzzatti said. “We are certainly trying to get more guards trained for the fall and it is going to be a little bit of a pinch.”
Staffing shortages were a problem before the pandemic, but the temporary closures of many facilities meant that many left the job.
“We also lost our trainers,” said Grégoire Cormier of Lifesaving Society New Brunswick. “A lot of trainers left to find other jobs, same as lifeguards. Now we’re trying to rebuild the capacity to be able to offer lifeguard training courses.”
It takes about 100 hours of training in order to patrol a beach or pool. While better pay might seem like the clear solution, that’s easier said than done, according to Cormier.
“Sometimes municipalities are just not able to offer higher salaries. They’re in a competition with pretty much everyone else and every other job in the market,” he said, noting facilities are being forced to get creative to find ways to attract prospective employees.
Even the encouragement of fee-free training isn’t getting enough people in the pool.
“Right now, we’re cancelling courses that are free of charge because they’re not getting enough registration, which is unfortunate to see,” Muzzatti said.
But people who have the job right now say it was well worth their effort.
“Right now, we’re still waiting for that light to come,” Muzzatti said, adding that he expects it will take another year before staffing levels reach pre-pandemic numbers.
