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...