Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Summertime and living is easy - but being a lifeguard is no picnic.
Twelve individuals are going to have a go at it anyway this summer as lifeguards at local beaches. Ten of the 12 are returning from last year.
Warsaw lifeguards began active duty for the summer Saturday and Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, they will be on hand every weekday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
"That's providing that the weather is good and there are 10 swimmers in the water chest high," said Warsaw parks co-aquatics director Becky Soto.
The parks department plans to have four lifeguards at each lake and five to six lifeguards on holidays.
"Every lifeguard that works for the park department has to be certified by the American Red Cross," said Soto. "It's a 40-hour course."
Lifeguards at the Warsaw parks also will receive in-service training. The extra training will be for waterfront guarding and to learn to properly use equipment specifically for lakes.
A lifeguard can take extra training to become a certified water safety instructor.
Swimming lessons offered by the parks department have not yet been scheduled but dates and times should be available in the next couple of weeks. Registration will be made available at the parks department office.
"If conditions aren't up to the child's liking," Soto said, "it can make a child hate the water more."
During the summer, lifeguards have several problems that arise regularly.
"For us here, it's the parents dropping off their kids and forgetting where they're at," she said.
Soto said the beaches are large public facilities with many areas for children to run off to. While children are usually someplace other than in the water, Soto said, "We have to assume they're lost in the water until they're found someplace else. We have that problem eight to 10 times a day."
In an effort to help parents keep track of their children, swimmers are called out of the water for eight to 10 minutes every hour for a break. If the temperature is extremely hot, the breaks may be for five minutes every half hour.
Should a child be in trouble in the water, Soto said, the parks department has received a lot of new safety equipment within the last year to aid in rescues. A new rescue kayak was bought that can rescue four individuals at a time and tow another boat. Rescue tubes also have been updated.
"They've developed newer ones that can support more weight," said Soto. "Up to 800 pounds."
Parents can help the lifeguards avoid having to use the new equipment.
"Anyone that comes to the lake, if they're under the age of 11, they should be supervised by an adult," she said. Center Lake has the biggest problem with children being dropped off by their parents and then left there all day alone or left with a supervisor not much older than themselves.
Children using flotation devices should especially be watched. Often the children using the devices think they can do more than they really can.
"If they're playing and lose that floatation device, they're an actual drowning victim," Soto said. She said the problem occurs often enough that she tells her guards to have the children demonstrate their swimming ability or request that the children stay where they can touch.
As for rough play in the water, she said, "We don't face a whole lot of problems with that." She said last year there were some problems because older teen-agers did not respect the lifeguards who were of similar age. By the end of the summer, however, lifeguards cracked down on the problem and resolved it.
All lifeguards should be respected, Soto said.
"They have been trained to do stuff most adults can't do. You can't be trained to be a lifeguard by watching 'Baywatch.'"
Lifeguards must be at least 15 years old to be certified by the American Red Cross. The average age of the lifeguards in Warsaw is 17.
"There's only four college students working this year. The average age of a lifeguard has gone down since I first starting working here," she said.
Two of the college student lifeguards include Soto and co-aquatics director Brody Shively.
Regardless of age, a lifeguard is there to save lives.
Respect them. Obey them.
Your life may be in their hands.
