SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) — Soon enough, Central New York will experience summer weather, a time to get outside, get some color, and cool off in the water. But the staff necessary to ensure your safety might be lacking.
According to Syracuse Aquatics Director Mary DeFuria, 120-130 people are needed to lifeguard throughout the city’s aquatics centers, which include eight outdoor pools. Only 56 applicants have been screened through a pre-employment process thus far. No applicant is asked to commit until May.
DeFuria has noticed throughout the past couple of years that applicant numbers tend to rise as the time in-between winter and summer shrinks.
“Every year we are short right up until the end of May,” DeFuria explains. “I think a lot of it depends on some of the college students that graduated and didn’t get the job they were looking for. They’ll come back and lifeguard one more year.”
DeFuria also believes currently-enrolled students play a factor in this hiring delay.
“Sometimes it’s the availability of internships. We’re always on the back-burner until they find out if the internships are going to go through. Sometimes we pick up people that way.”
Proximity plays a role as well in applicants’ decisions. “We do also get the kids that just decide it’s better to work closer to their house,” DeFuria says.
In order to garner interest amongst teenagers, the city of Syracuse runs a program through the district’s high schools during normally scheduled physical education hours. Students may choose to undergo a year-long educational program, taught by phys. ed. instructors, that details the essentials of lifeguarding. DeFuria describes this substitute option like “a full credit gym course.”
In Dewitt, children can improve their skills in the water through the town’s “Learn to Swim” program at the Jamesville-Dewitt Middle School. The eight-week program, which is run through the Red Cross ended on March 31.
According to Dewitt Senior Recreation Leader Diane DeWitt, five of the seven staff members were lifeguards, all of whom were teenagers. DeWitt is forced to borrow guards from Drumlins County Club due to the lack of teenage employment. While she was satisfied with the job they did, DeWitt believes targeting a more experienced demographic to lifeguard would be more effective.
“I would love to have older either guards or staff that are just more mature and just have a better sense of working with the kids — keeping them busy, planning. The younger staff doesn’t seem to plan very well.”
Additionally, prices to become a certified lifeguard may be another detractor for those considering the job. According to the Red Cross website, lifeguarding instructing classes could cost more than $400. DeWitt believes this isn’t affordable.
“I know it’s quite high for young people to come up with that money,” DeWitt says. “Also, I just don’t think people have the incentive to take a class. It’s detailed, it’s a commitment. I don’t think the young kids have that commitment.”
Dewitt relies upon word of mouth and community signs to attract teenagers to lifeguarding.
However, oftentimes, the recruitment of lifeguards in Dewitt is secondary to the need to find water safety instructors, commonly referred to as WSI’s. “That’s where we come into difficulty,” DeWitt says.
Cicero is currently experiencing a lifeguard shortage as well, according to CNY Central. The target demographic, teenagers, have showed low levels of interest in lifeguarding.
