Greeley doesn’t have enough lifeguards to keep Centennial Pool running normally
Photo by Malaya Sadler via Unsplash.
By Dan England
Andy McRoberts was a lifeguard as a teenager. The job allowed him to swim in the morning, work in the afternoon and maybe get in a workout at night. He enjoyed his time in the sun.
That’s why he admits to being a bit surprised at what he’s facing now: Centennial Pool, Greeley’s longtime city pool with a huge twirly slide that looms over 23rd Avenue, is closed to open swim because there aren’t enough lifeguards. The pool’s lap swims and lessons remain open.
“I’ve never run into a situation where we’ve been short,” said McRoberts, the director of culture, parks and recreation for the City of Greeley who has had a long career in recreation and aquatics.
The problem may be short-lived, even just a couple weeks, as lifeguard classes will take place this weekend and next. And the Funplex’s indoor pool and Discovery Bay, which get more crowds, remain open, as do the city’s splash pads. But that’s a decent chunk out of the summer season, and temperatures spiked to 100 degrees this week.
“This is a public health issue,” said Colin Shaha, who coaches Greeley West High School’s swim teams. “It’s really hot. I’d love to go to the pool right now.”
Instead, he’s watching others swim, as many of his swimmers will compete in conference finals this weekend, and a late start to the season because of the pandemic may be part of the problem, as many of those swimmers normally lifeguard. But there are other reasons as well, including the pandemic itself, competition for workers and a declining interest in swimming.
McRoberts and Shaha agree Greeley lacks a strong swimming community among teens, even if the lifeguard shortages are nationwide. Fort Collins, for example, does not have a shortage. It’s not a desert, as Greeley West has a traditionally strong program: Shaha’s boys team won West’s first state title in 2019. But West has a few students from University and other schools that don’t have swim programs. University, Greeley Central and Northridge high schools do not have teams.
“I don’t have any kids from Central and Northridge, and I think if they reinstated those teams, we would see more participation,” Shaha said. “You’re going to a big high school. You don’t want to put on a West cap. I know a handful of boys and girls who swam in middle school, and I think they would swim if Central had a team.”
Still, as much as Shaha loves swimming, he knows the pay isn’t great for lifeguarding, and the job requires a weekend to get certified and costs money to take it.
“You have to pass a class and take a test,” Shaha said, “and there’s a lot of jobs that pay more, and you don’t have to have certification for it.”
McRoberts said he was considering paying lifeguards more. The jobs start at minimum wage, he said, although that pay increases if lifeguards come back for another summer or stay on for more than a few months. He also said the pandemic really hurt their depth.
“We had to lay off everyone last spring, so we had to start from scratch,” he said. “You also have some kids who want to get back to normalcy and don’t want to work a huge number of hours. Parents now want to spend time with their kids.”
The city would waive the cost of the class if kids weren’t able to take it because they couldn’t afford it, said Scott Schuttenberg, recreation superintendent for the City of Greeley.
“We don’t want money to be a barrier for someone to come to work for us,” he said.
He can’t waive the requirement of the class, however, and it does take a full weekend to get certified by the American Red Cross. Swimming can be dangerous, and the lifeguards are there to save residents from drowning and stop them from running on wet pavement. He does have 15 students who will take the class this weekend, and he will offer another one next weekend, but that doesn’t mean all of them will pass it.
He said it takes 70 lifeguards to run the city’s pools, and the city had 50 now. He also said the job can be stressful.
“You have a lot of kids who are at the pool without their parents, so it’s babysitting in a way, and you’re also trying to make sure people aren’t drowning,” Schuttenberg said. “It’s not an easy job.”
Shaha said lifeguarding was “just a job like any other,” not as glamorous as it seems, but he’s also glad he had it growing up.
“I started giving swimming lessons,” he said, “and 40 years later, that’s really what I’m doing now.”
To learn more
The City of Greeley will host lifeguard certification classes both this weekend and next. The classes take a weekend to complete. For more information about Greeley Recreation’s lifeguard training sessions go to greeleyrec.com/lifeguard-training.
Centennial Pool, 2315 Reservoir Road, is closed to open swim hours until further notice. Lap swim for ages 14 and older from 10 a.m. to noon and lessons reman open. Reserve a spot online at greeleyrec.com/aquatics-facilities/centennial-pool/
Open swim hours continue at Discovery Bay Waterpark, 715 E. 24th St., from noon to 5 p.m. daily and at Greeley Family FunPlex, 1501 65th Ave. from noon to 5 p.m. daily.