Record heat, lifeguard shortages: NH pools try to stay afloat this summer

This summer’s heat waves have hit many New Hampshire communities hard, with several areas setting records for multiple 90-plus degree days in a row and another stretch of heat forecast for the end of this week. For many residents, the local public pool has served as an oasis in those stretches: a place where, at no cost, they can cool off and get in some exercise without having to leave the neighborhood.

But in recent years, a shortage of lifeguards has made it harder for many New Hampshire communities to keep their pools running at full strength, limiting hours or capacity even on the hottest of days. It reflects a national lifeguard shortage, one that local parks and rec departments say they’re hoping to reverse. Here’s how three New Hampshire communities say they are facing the challenge.

In Manchester, increased competition for workers

In Manchester, the lifeguard shortage has many causes, according to Brendan Lynch, Recreation and Enterprise Manager for the city.

Local high school swim teams previously provided a steady stream of lifeguards for the city, but with the pandemic disrupting youth sports, fewer kids swim regularly.

“A pipeline that we've always relied on has sort of dried up. After Covid, youth sports, including swimming, never fully rebounded," Lynch said.

The city considered launching a "train-to-hire" program, where individuals seeking to become lifeguards would receive training through the city at no cost and, in return, commit to working for the city for a minimum time period.

But these programs rely on having people already on staff who are able to oversee the training. Lynch said the city doesn’t have those kind of people on staff and doesn’t have the money to hire new ones.

Lynch also notes that many older teens are increasingly focused on advancing their careers, often securing internships and other opportunities during the summer. One of their own lifeguards, Conlan Hurley, is trying to balance this reality. A student at Stevens Institute of Technology, Hurley has been a lifeguard with the city of Manchester for nearly four years. He normally works full time, but this summer he wasn’t sure if lifeguarding was going to work for him.

“I wasn't sure that I was going to lifeguard at the start of this summer because I had an internship lined up,” he said. “But, I wasn't sure how much they were going to be able to have me work because it's a nonprofit. As long as I don't have a different full time job, [lifeguarding] is a pretty good gig.”

Lynch says the city also increasingly finds itself competing for lifeguard candidates with organizations like the YMCA that may be able to offer career advancement opportunities.

“It's really hard for us to compete with career,” he said.

Lynch says boosting the wage for lifeguards has helped them to be more competitive with pools in surrounding areas, but there are still hurdles. For instance, lifeguard certification can average between $300 and $600, according to the American Red Cross — not including the cost for renewal every two years. Many potential lifeguards don't have the money in hand to cover the cost of mandated certifications, Lynch said.

“It's a huge barrier to entry,” Lynch said. “Basically you have to be middle class and above to come up with that initial payment.”

Manchester does offer reimbursement for certifications, but only at the end of the year, to keep employees from going elsewhere. So the upfront cost remains a hurdle for many potential lifeguards.

Despite these challenges, Lynch said Manchester has been able to operate its pools safely this summer.

"We'd like more lifeguards to increase capacity, but we feel our pools are safe and we're accommodating the bulk of the people who want to come in," he said.

Portsmouth's Indoor Pool and the City of Portsmouth collaborated to have a partnership to save the facility and renewed a new contract in 2016.

In Portsmouth, asking swimmers to take a turn in the lifeguard chair

As Portsmouth saw a decline in lifeguard availability in recent years, it turned to the people already in the pool.

“One of the first things we did is that we tried to recruit from our swimmers that swam here,” said Lexy Van Binsbergen, Portsmouth’s Indoor Pool supervisor. “So we started to train people who swam here as sense of like a community thing, like ‘hey, if you want the pool open more hours, we actually can't open it unless we can staff it.’ ”

One of the community members who stepped in to help is 69-year-old Cindy Kamberelis. She said she was more than happy to put in hours to help keep the Portsmouth Indoor Pool open.

“I loved this pool. I love the members and love to be able to help make it available to them,” she said.

The city also partnered with Portsmouth High School to offer a lifeguarding class, implemented a "train to hire" program at their pools, and raised lifeguard wages to be competitive with surrounding communities.

Todd Henley, director of Portsmouth Parks and Recreation, said that was possible, in part, because the city council included members of the pools themselves who felt the effects of the shortage first hand.

The department also received a grant from the local Portsmouth Elks Club.

Portsmouth pools have been able to return to being fully staffed and operate normally this summer, but as Henley and Van Binsbergen reiterated, it’s taken five years to get to this point.

“We just want to continue to stay ahead of the curve and be prepared that we can retain the staff that we have now and keep everything open,” he said.

In Concord, an encouraging rebound

Parks officials in Concord say they’ve seen a promising reversal from earlier staffing shortages.

Lifeguard Emily Lamoureux said this is the first summer since the pandemic that the city has been able to open all of its aquatic facilities.

Lamoureux started lifeguarding right before the pandemic and recalls past challenges of insufficient staffing leading to temporary pool closures. That’s not the case this summer.

"It's kind of like switching from everybody having to work five days a week and covering people's shifts to scrounging around, trying to find a shift to pick up because you want more hours," she said.

Lamoureux says raising the wage for lifeguards was a big help, but the community had to shift gears with previous recruitment strategies. Concord Parks and Recreation did have a train to hire program but stopped offering it because they were not able to see a large turnout and has since switched to an end-of-summer reimbursement similar to that of the city of Manchester.

The city of Concord has struggled in the past to fully open its aquatic facilities, and while Lamoureux expressed that it would be disappointing for her and her fellow lifeguards to face any setbacks again the impact on the community would be even more significant.

“When your pool shuts down, it's unfortunate because you feel bad,” she said. “Like, 'Johnny said he was going to come to the pool tomorrow and now it's shut down because we don't have enough lifeguards.' So it's not only disappointing to you, but also disappointing to the people that you know who use the pool a lot.”

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This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Record heat, lifeguard shortages: NH pools try to stay afloat this summer