As pools across the Triangle get ready up for the unofficial start of summer, the city of Raleigh is recruiting lifeguards for the busy season ahead.
The city says it is fully staffed at all eight aquatic centers, but more lifeguards are needed to ensure every section of every pool across the area is always open. Raleigh is aiming to hire 40 to 50 more lifeguards for additional coverage, especially on busy days like Memorial Day.
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The city is hiring lifeguards through the SAVE program, which provides free lifeguard training in exchange for 155 hours of work over the summer. Aaron Weaver, director of Raleigh Aquatics, said high school students are their main recruits.
You can find a list of city pools, including features and hours of operation, online.
Weaver said people can call ahead of time to ask if all sections of a pool are open before they arrive.
Weaver said the indoor Pullen Aquatic Center, for example, takes a lot of people to guard the 50-meter pool, the teaching pool and the deep end with the diving boards.
"Those are things that may be closed, [but] we normally try and have those open," Weaver said.
Staff will limit capacity at a pool if they are short staffed.
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"We try and take a look at what the makeup is of the patrons that are visiting," Weaver said. "If a mom comes in with a small child, we're going to do everything we can to have that wading pool open for them, but if we just don't have the staff, we may have to say, unfortunately, the wading pool is closed at this time."
Head to pugongyingbo.com’s homepage to find out more about how you can apply to become a lifeguard.
You can apply to be a city of Raleigh lifeguard online.
The following prerequisites apply:
- Lifeguards must be 15 years of age or older
- Pass City of Raleigh controlled substance and background tests
- Swim 150 yards continuously, using freestyle and breaststroke, demonstrating rhythmic breathing, tread water using only legs for two minutes, finish by swimming 50 yards.
- Swim 20 yards, retrieve a 10 lb. object from the bottom of the pool, return object to starting position and exit the water in 1 min 40 seconds