Lifeguards in short supply

SANDPOINT — The blistering summer sun has swimmers packing City Beach, but there may not be enough lifeguards to greet them due to a lifeguard shortage.

And, officials are warning parents that the lifeguard shortage will leave the beach unsupervised for several days this month.

For the entire beach season, which began in June, the city has been four lifeguards short of what would be considered minimal coverage and six short of optimal coverage, said Recreation Supervisor Jason Wiley.

Because most of the city’s lifeguards are students, the already minimal workforce will be cut even further in the coming weeks as guards return to school.

For the first time in recent memory, there will be several days when City Beach will have little to no supervision.

There will be no lifeguards on duty from Aug. 25-26  for the entire beach, and only the north beach will be staffed on Aug. 21 and from Aug. 27-28. Swimmers will continue to have full beach access on the affected days, but Wiley asks parents to be cognizant of the fact that their children will not have the level of supervision the beach normally offers.

Wiley doesn’t know what caused this year’s shortage of lifeguards, but said the trend is not unique to Sandpoint.

“I don’t think it’s any one thing that caused the shortage and I don’t think any one strategy will fix it, either,” Wiley said. “It’s going to have to be a combination of finding creative ways to possibly reimburse the kids (for training), along with maybe offering higher pay and working to bring the role of lifeguard into a more prestigious light, like it used to be.”

Even with his staff stretched thin, Wiley said his crew has done an outstanding job throughout the summer, conducting several successful beach rescues and missing children searches.

“This whole season we’ve made it work with less lifeguards than I thought it was possible,” Wiley said. “The fact we only have to close the whole thing down for two days, I consider an absolute miracle.”

To help ensure that upcoming years are fully staffed, Wiley will work through the fall to develop programs aimed at attracting prospective lifeguards. Luckily, the majority of this year’s class of guards have already committed to returning next summer, so Wiley will not be starting from scratch.

Any sound swimmers age 16 or older with interest in becoming a City Beach lifeguard are encouraged to contact Wiley at 263-3371.