Preventing drowning death is a challenge is so big that it requires support from everyone at your organization, not just the aquatics staff. But getting non-aquatics staff engaged in checking on lifeguards, filling out quick check forms and supporting efforts to make the pool safe, is not always easy. Here is a great example, from Kathy Fisher, the Aquatics Director at the West Morris Area YMCA in New Jersey, of how to get that done : We held an all staff training on aquatics safety on the pool deck, during off hours from 7-9am on a Sunday morning. Prior to the training I dropped two silhouettes into the deep end of the pool. Everyone met in the bleachers of the pool area. I gave them my lecture...
Special events account for about seventy-five percent (75%) of all drowning deaths in YMCAs. Seventy-five percent—three out of every four. This is without a doubt the most dangerous time at your aquatic facility. I hope you have recently viewed the webinar presented by YMCA of the USA and Tom Pearson of The Redwoods Group—if you haven’t, it can be viewed at http://media.ymca.net/aquatic-safety-0910/index.html . The Redwoods Group and the YMCA of the USA share the same goal: that no person ever drowns in YMCA water, at any time. In reaching that goal, our first step needs to be to address the highest risk times first. Why do people drown more often during special events? Lots of reasons: Swimmers...
Recently we have received a number of inquiries regarding the appropriate seat height for lifeguard chairs. A number of factors should be considered when determining the right lifeguard chairs for your pools. They include: Size of the zone the lifeguard has to scan Depth of water underneath the chair and in the zone the guard is scanning Glare potential on the water Number of guard chairs present The Redwoods Group typically recommends a chair with a 42 to 48-inch seat height which is appropriate for most indoor and outdoor pools. At this height the risk of injury to the guard is reduced and the chair is usually high enough for the guard to see all areas of the zone. There are a number of chair...
The final step (in this outline—you may think of more steps, and please share if you do…) is to hold lifeguard accountable for both their positive and negative actions. We ask a lot of lifeguards; tough hours, a repetitive task, 100% vigilance, and, on top of it all the pressure of knowing that lives are at stake if they should fail in their assigned tasks. Lifeguards are professionals, and should be respected and treated as such when they perform as professionals. Likewise, the consequences for failing to live up to the high standard set for them should be equally stringent. The best way to respect lifeguards as professionals is to pay them like professionals—not the low wages that YMCA and...
Another element to use to get the most out of your lifeguards is to make sure that they are completely engaged in their tasks when on duty. This is not an easy task when the majority of the time is spent scanning the pool—which any lifeguard will tell you can be a pretty boring job. But engagement is essential—a lifeguard that spends hours at a time sitting bored in the lifeguard stand won’t be ready to identify a guest in distress and react when an emergency occurs. So first, keep shifts as short as possible; optimally no more than thirty minutes without a break from scanning, and at least a ten minute break every hour. Next, train guards to be vigilant during operational hours. This includes...
The first and most basic step in lifeguard performance management is to ensure that lifeguards are supervised whenever they are in the stand. This does not mean that you need to be on the deck personally every minute of the day, but it does mean that you need to have a plan to make sure that lifeguards are monitored and held accountable for their performance at all times. Best practice is to have someone—yourself or another responsible manager or supervisor—on deck approximately every thirty minutes. This is commonly referred to as the “thirty-minute rule” for managers. There is no substitute for personal presence on the pool deck—“MBWA” (Managing by Walking Around)—but there are other ways to...
We all know how easy it is to have protocols—each aquatics office is full of books, binders, and filing cabinets full of policies, best practices, rules, and guidelines. The hard part is translating those policies and procedures into practices—getting the safety out of the books and on the pool deck. When the safety stays in the books—when there is a gap between our policies and our practices, between what we saying we are doing and what we are actually doing—accidents happen. Performance management closes the gap. Performance management means getting everything out of the limited staff resources you have. It makes sure you are getting everything that you are paying for. But getting the most...
In an effort to increase revenue and to expand programming, some YMCAs make the decision to provide aquatics services for residential homeowners—most commonly swim lessons and lifeguard services. Although these programs can bring in a few dollars and can have some benefit for the YMCA and the homeowner, the added risk and liability the YMCA incurs far outweighs the benefits. And how many dollars can the programs really bring in? After we add the cost of the swim instructor, the lifeguard, time and miles for transportation, set-up and supervision time for the aquatics director, the increase in revenue is minimal at best. And in return for the minimal revenue increase, the YMCA exposes itself to...
During these tough economic times the question of lifeguard ratios is a popular topic. Some states and local regulatory agencies have established lifeguard ratios for public pool. However often this number is based on square footage of water or because someone felt this was a good idea. Many of these ratios that are established by the state or local authorities are ridiculously high. The YMCA of the USA recommends a minimum of one lifeguard to 25 swimmers as a baseline (Appendix A: On the Guard II 4 th edition). But more importantly the YMCA of the USA stresses the number of lifeguards should reflect the swimming ability of people in the water (pg On the Guard II 4 th edition). This clearly implies...
In today's YMCA many generations are employed at the same time the Silents (born before 1946), Boomers (born 1946-1963), Gen Xs (born 1964-1976) and Gen Ys (born 1977-1986). Often biases and assumptions people have arise from the time period from which they are born, and these can create overwhelming conflicts in the YMCA. All staff need to work together and utilize everyone's strengths in order to meet the mission of the YMCA. There has been a great deal of discussion in the past several years particularly about Generation Y (born 1977-1986), in the workplace. They have the reputation of being impatient, demanding and possess a sense of entitlement. They are accused of having no loyalty...
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