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Lifeguard Shortage Still Affecting City of Syracuse Lifeguard Shortage still affecting City of Syracuse

By Matthew Kibby

MATT KIBBY: For some the day starts at the crack of dawn.

CHRISTI RIDDLE: We were here at 615 in the morning until like 945.

KIBBY: That’s just part of the life that a city of Syracuse lifeguard goes through to keep a variety of pools open for residents to use year-round.

BRENT LOPES: We have a lot of city pools, and it does take a lot of staff to maintain them.

KIBBY: On average the city needs anywhere between 140 and 180 lifeguards to be able to open all eight of the public pools. A lifeguard’s job is to sit in one of these stands, watch over a pool and make sure that nothing bad is happening. But over the past few years, it’s been hard for the city of Syracuse to fill these seats. That’s all starting to change.

LOPES: We offer lifeguarding classes year-round. We’re constantly cranking out lifeguarding classes and trying to make that as available to everyone as possible.

KIBBY: In order to take a lifeguarding class there is an entry test that you must pass. The test requires a 300-yard swim, retrieving a ten-pound block from the bottom of the pool, swimming underwater, and treading water for 2mins without hands. Christi Riddle has been serving as the head lifeguard for several years and has nearly 20 years of experience watching over the waters and her message is simple to those worried about taking the test.

RIDDLE: If they’re nervous because they think they can’t pass the test, come and give it a try. Every employee here is willing and ready to help them and give them tips and help people practice.

KIBBY: And if that isn’t enough Riddle says there are other options for potential lifeguard candidates

RIDDLE: We have a lifeguard conditioning class that currently happens on Saturday mornings and it is free so you don’t have to pay for late lessons. It’s totally free and you can come and do that for a session or two sessions or three sessions and get yourself up to the conditioning. You need to be able to do the swimming to get into the class.

KIBBY: After going through some extra training, one way the city and Aquatics director Brent Lope have tried to get more lifeguards at city pools is by making those certification lessons free to residents.

LOPES: We will pay for all of the certification fees. We just asked for the person to work for as a minimum of 20 hours a week in the summertime, and then all the classes fees are waived.

KIBBY: Those savings equal about 100 dollars for residents… and it’s working

LOPES: We usually cap it at about 14 to 16 people long as we have enough instructors for it. So now we have a full class with 20 people when it with all hands on deck.

KIBBY: So empty stands… ready to be filled all around Syracuse and residents ready to safely take a dip in the pool knowing a lifeguard is on duty. Matt Kibby NCC News.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) — Every summer kids and family love spending time at the local pool, but in recent years a national lifeguard shortage has hindered public swimming. The city of Syracuse is no exception to this trend, with effects being more widely seen since COVID was impacting everyday life when all the pools were forced to close for public health which meant no lifeguards anyway, since then those same lifeguards have not come back.

The city is trying to find new and innovative ways to get more lifeguards. The city currently has two indoor pools that operate in the winter and a total of eight pools that are open during the summer. As long as staffing allows. For the Parks and Recreation  Department to feel comfortable opening all eight pools in the summer Aquatics Director Brent Lopes says the city needs anywhere from 140-180 lifeguards.

Syracuse provides lifeguarding classes all year round to try and combat the problem that they face. One challenge can be the fact that there is an entry test for those classes. Anybody that wants to take the certification class must pass the following test.

The test requires a 300-yard swim, retrieving a ten-pound block from the bottom of the pool, swimming underwater and treading water for two minutes without hands.

Christi Riddle has been the head lifeguard for the City of Syracuse for the past several years and has been a lifeguard for nearly 20 years. Riddle is part of the certification team but also the lifeguard conditioning class that the city offers to help potential lifeguards train for the entry test.

Some future lifeguards are worried about the class and test but Riddle said, “If they’re nervous because they think they can’t pass the test, come and give it a try. Every employee here is willing and ready to help them and give them tips and help people practice.”

The lifeguard conditioning class is free for anyone who wants to drop by and participate.

Over the last few years the city has been forced to find new and adaptive ways to get more lifeguards hired, this year a new program was approved by the common council allowing any Syracuse residents to take the certification class for free. The class normally costs around $100 to go through.

Aquatics Director Brent Lopes said it has been working, “We usually cap it at about 14 to 16 people long as we have enough instructors for it. So now we have a full class with 20 people when it with all hands on deck.”

Becoming a lifeguard is simple for the City of Syracuse residents, just go to Syr.gov/becomealifeguard and you can begin the process of saving lives and preventing running around the city pools.

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