Management chips in during lifeguard shortage

GRANITE CITY, Ill. -- Richard Wittman isn't your traditional lifeguard -- he's 51 years old for one thing, and he is also the executive director of the Granite City YMCA.

But Wittman has had to get recertified as a lifeguard this year because of a growing shortage of lifeguards in the area.

"I have to plug myself in if I can't find the lifeguards to work within their schedule," Wittman said recently.

The job of lifeguard isn't nearly as glamorous as it appears on those interminable "Baywatch" reruns. And it also requires a 30-hour training course through the Red Cross or YMCA, certification in cardiopulmonary resuscitation and first aid, and strong swimming ability.

All in all, the costs of becoming certified as a lifeguard start at $100. And that's for a job that pays only slightly better than minimum wage.

Belleville's municipal pool starts pay at $6.10 an hour. O'Fallon and the Collinsville-Maryville-Troy YMCA start at $6.25 per hour. Granite City pays only about $6, but the pay in Edwardsville can be as high as $8 an hour, depending on certifications.

"It's not like you can just go out and grab someone," said Gary Hopfinger, director of Belleville's Parks and Recreation Department. "Years ago, it was kind of a cool thing to do. Now the kids could go work at McDonald's and not have to go through the hassle of all this."

Kelli Bendall, aquatic director at the Collinsville-Maryville-Troy YMCA, also has had to fill in as lifeguard from time to time. She also says that pools in other localities sometimes call her to see whether she can spare a lifeguard.

"I've been fortunate because of having the college close by," Bendall said.

YMCAs have an advantage over public pools, since most of them offer lifeguard certification classes in-house.

Gary Niebur, executive director of the Edwardsville YMCA, said quite often lifeguards are recruited out of the certification classes.

"It seems to get a little more severe each year," Niebur said of the shortage of lifeguards.

But O'Fallon's parks and recreation department had little trouble filling its roster this year.

"We've been very fortunate this year," Director Mary Jeanne Hutchison said. "As the summer goes on, that's when it gets tough."