Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Rogers Aquatic Center short on lifeguards as opening nears
ROGERS — One pandemic-related issue lingers at the Rogers Aquatic Center about a month from opening day: a shortage of lifeguards.
It’s a new problem for the 3- acre public park, which hires at least double the number of staff employed at other local swimming pools.
“Normally, we’re able to be fully staffed by March. This year, we’re down about a dozen lifeguards,” said Wendy Jones, operations manager for Rogers Parks and Recreation Department.
The aquatic center hires about 130 park employees, including 80 lifeguards, for each summer season, according to Jones. The park will still open Memorial Day weekend, but the staff needs more of a cushion to cover employee vacations throughout the summer, Jones said.
“In no way will this affect health and safety at the park. In no way will this interrupt our day-to-day operations as of yet,” she said.
If more lifeguards are not hired during the next month, the park’s hours may have to be adjusted and extra amenities available to patrons might become more difficult to provide, Jones said.
“It’s the covid effect. I don’t know what else to call it,” she said. “We closed in 2020. We reopened in 2021, but were limited in some things we did. We thought we were going to be able to go back to quote- unquote normal. We were all excited thinking, this is the year. It’s just something else.”
Smaller parks and pools in Northwest Arkansas haven’t struggled to find lifeguards for the upcoming season, according to local parks and recreation departments.
Josh Stacey, recreation services manager with Bentonville Parks and Recreation, said his department benefits from having yearround lifeguards at the Bentonville Community Center. That provides the city’s pools a buffer against a lifeguard shortage, he said.
“Because we’re yearround, we attract people looking for longer work than just a seasonal job,” Stacey said.
Matt Boykin, athletic director with Springdale Parks and Recreation, said a few more lifeguards are needed for the Springdale Aquatic Center, but he is optimistic about the number hired so far.
The Springdale Aquatic Center employs about 40 lifeguards each summer, Boykin said.
Both Stacey and Boykin agreed hiring lifeguards is always a concern.
“It’s always been a harder position to fill,” Stacey said. “It’s not like a concessions job. You have to be certified, and it’s a bit of a tedious position.”
The challenge of hiring lifeguards is common across the country, according to Aleatha Ezra, director of park member development with the World Waterpark Association.
“Hiring challenges continue to have an impact on nearly every industry across many regions in the United States, as there are more positions available than there are people ready to fill them,” Ezra said. “Many water parks operate as a seasonal business and often provide young people with their first place of employment. Due to the pandemic, some young adults are waiting longer to enter the job market and others have not returned yet.”
Recruiting is made more difficult because of certification requirements and training time necessary for lifeguard work, Ezra said.
“The closure of many aquatic venues in 2020 and partially in 2021 has caused some people who would have trained to become a lifeguard to move on to other kinds of positions,” she said.
Rogers is adding incentives to attract more lifeguards, including a starting pay increase from $11 to $12 per hour, Jones said.
“They can get a ton of hours if they’d like,” she said. “We’ve also talked about offering an incentive for new lifeguards to get certified.”
The waterpark only employs applicants who have received lifeguard certification through the American Red Cross, though it does have staff who can recertify lifeguards looking to update their certification. Once hired, new lifeguards receive additional training on the park grounds throughout the summer.
Lifeguards also receive a bonus of 50 cents per hour when they swim 300 meters each week, attend all staff training days, let leaders know when they cannot make their shift and work through the end of the season.
Beyond financial benefits, the work helps prepare teenagers and young adults for a variety of careers, Jones said.
“We have former lifeguards that are now doctors, teachers, all kinds of professions,” she said. “We stay in touch with them. We love seeing what they’ve done. There are a lot of skill sets they use at the water park.”
One former lifeguard, AnneDee Sanchez, said her time teaching kids how to swim had a major influence on her life. Sanchez, a fourthgrade teacher at Grimes Elementary School in Rogers, worked at the water park for several summers throughout high school and college.
“It solidified my career of wanting to be a teacher, seeing kids go from fearful and crying to having fun and not wanting to leave,” Sanchez said. “I look back on that job as so impactful. I learned how to communicate with people in uncomfortable situations.”
She said her coworkers, the flexibility of the shift scheduling and the sunny work environment kept her coming back.
“The experience of working outside with your friends and soaking in the sun. Who wouldn’t want that?”