Help wanted: Public pool openings, hotel competition cause shortage of lifeguards

Erica Johnson

Wednesday, June 13, 2001 | 10:34 a.m.

As of Monday, more than 30 public pools were open throughout the Las Vegas Valley. But city and county officials are still scrambling to hire lifeguards.

Parks and Recreation officials, pushed to the wire to fill nearly 40 lifeguard positions, say the shortage is aggravated by the opening of several new pools, not to mention stiff competition from hotel-casinos.

Sue White, aquatics coordinator for the city of Henderson, said her office is short on lifeguards due to the opening of two new pools -- the Whitney Ranch indoor pool, which is open year-round, and the Whitney Ranch activity pool.

White said Henderson is looking for 20 more lifeguards to man the seven pools that opened Memorial Day weekend. "We think we'll have enough lifeguards for the summer,' said White. "But the problem is getting them on as fast as we need them."

Clark County will also open two new pools this summer -- an indoor pool now under construction at Desert Breeze Park at Spring Mountain Road and Durango Drive, and the Parkdale Pool, which is expected to open in July near Boulder Highway and Lamb Boulevard. County officials said they expect a staff of 300 lifeguards, twice as many as they employed last year.

The county will have enough lifeguards to man its 12 pools this summer, as its aquatics department spent an extra $50,000 recruiting and training lifeguards, said Kathy Baran, supervisor of the Clark County Parks and Recreation Aquatic Division.

"We provided free training to able-bodied 16-and-over kids who wanted to be a lifeguard," said Baran. "Usually, they'd have to spend $85 for the training. So, we're down to the wire, but I think we'll be OK."

Parks and Recreation officials said city and county lifeguards must be at least 16. They are required to complete training courses in CPR and first-aid. Most courses are 30 to 44 hours long and can range from five days to four weeks.

Las Vegas offers training from January until June. Clark County had 20 lifeguard training classes since March, though it normally has four or five. Henderson this year had five classes since January but offered an extra training course June 11 due to the shortage.

Although some training courses, such as the one provided by Red Cross, are accepted at all pools, many places train their own lifeguards.

"If need be, people from the parks and recreation office go sit in the (lifeguard's) stand," said Alice Jarvis, recreation director for the city of Las Vegas. "I've done it many times. We are all certified. Sometimes we have to do it until we find more lifeguards."

Jarvis said the city experiences a lifeguard shortage each summer, but the demand is even greater this year as the city needs at least 20 more lifeguards for community pools.

Many Parks and Recreation officials, however, say city and county pools often lose lifeguards to hotel-casinos that offer only slightly more pay, but offer an opportunity to make tips.

Baran said the money the county pays lifeguards pales in comparison to what hotels offer. "It's pretty hard to compete with the resorts when we pay only $8 and no tips," Baran said.

Jen Michaels, spokeswoman for MGM MIRAGE, said the MGM Grand, New York-New York, Golden Nugget, Bellagio, Mirage and Treasure Island have not experienced a lifeguard shortage.

"In some cases, resorts have had to turn lifeguards away becasue they were overstaffed," Michaels said. Michaels said the average pay for lifeguards at the six resorts is just above $8 an hour, but those who provide guest services make tips.

Gordon Absher of Mandalay Bay said pool managers there had no trouble hiring their 69 lifeguards. He said Mandalay Bay trains its own lifeguards and only half the applicants pass the seven-day course.

Absher would not specify the pay rate, but said Mandalay Bay offers lifeguards rates that are competitive with other resorts. "It could just be the opportunity to work at what many consider to be the No. 1 pool in Las Vegas," Absher said.

Brooke Eiseman of Wet n' Wild, a seasonal water park with more than 200 lifeguards, said the park hasn't had a lifeguard shortage in years. Eiseman said she expects to meet her goal of 250 to 260 lifeguards by July.

Eiseman said Wet n' Wild employs shallow water lifeguards at $6.25 per hour and deep water trained life guards at $7 an hour.

Collin Warburton, 16, last Friday finished a Red Cross training course offered through the city of Las Vegas. He said he has applied to the Rio and Caesars Palace, but not the city or the county.

"It's all about the pay," Warburton said. "And just for helping people you can get lots of tips. It's also just being there because the pools are so nice."

But Dan Wallace, a lifeguard for the city of Las Vegas for eight years, said he prefers the community feel of city pools to the hustle and bustle of big resorts.

Wallace, 22, works at the Garside Pool at 300 S. Torrey Pines near Alta Drive. He said although resorts offer more money, there are other benefits to working for city-run pools.

"There's a community feel here with the aquatic unit and it has extended itself to the patrons in the pool," Wallace said. "People who come here know the lifeguards and ask for them by name, just like a neighbor would. So it may sound corny, but there are lots of rewards to working here other than monetary."

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