More county pools will be open this Fourth of July, meaning more lifeguards will be on duty and getting a pay raise.
That’s good news for local mothers.
For Mikaela Ramirez, whose kids are outgrowing their backyard wading pool, the Salazar Park Pool in East Los Angeles is a godsend, allowing her sons, Jimoli, 6, and Jacob, 9, to let off some energy. Mikaela says the two have been going there almost every day since it opened this summer, and this year they’ll be splashing around well into the fall.
The swimming season at dozens of seasonal pools in Los Angeles County has been extended from the usual 10 weeks to five months, starting with the opening on June 10. About 600 lifeguards are manning the pools, which are open Monday through Saturday.
To combat a growing national wave of lifeguard shortages, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors earlier this year approved a motion from Supervisor Janice Hahn to raise pool lifeguard pay by 20 percent, from $23.86 to $25.87 an hour.
Supervisors also made it a little easier to become a county lifeguard by loosening testing requirements. Applicants now have to swim 300 yards in 6 1/2 minutes, or the length of three football fields. Last year, applicants had to swim 500 yards in 10 minutes. The age requirement was also lowered from 17 to 16.
As of June 14, the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation had hired 356 new lifeguards and rehired 224 who had returned to work, according to Hahn’s office.
Thanks to aggressive hiring, all pools in Los Angeles County are operational for the first time in five years, the department said.
A summer and yearly schedule of events, including group swims, lap swims, youth teams, water exercises, swim lessons and night swims, can be found on the LA County Parks Aquatics website. Additionally, the pool’s free swimming hours are extended on the Fourth of July holiday from 11AM to 1:30PM and 2PM to 4:30PM.
Ramirez, 49, is pleased with what he sees at Salazar Pool.
She said lifeguards take turns supervising pool users and checking the chemical levels in the water, and she feels it’s safe and clean for her and her children.
“It’s always delicious. The reason I recommend it is, first of all, [the kids] “They get tired at the end of the day,” she said with a smile, “and it helps them make friends, learn to swim, and it helps me, as a parent, stay active.”
To boost hiring, the Board of Supervisors approved a motion earlier this year to raise pool lifeguard salaries by 20 percent.
(Gina Ferrazzi/Los Angeles Times)
On June 14, Hahn donned a lifeguard uniform for the summer pool kickoff event at Don Knabe Regional Park Pool in Cerritos.
“The hottest days are in September and October,” the county supervisor said, “but our previous 10-week swimming season meant that by that time the pools were locked and unavailable to residents. That just didn’t make sense.”
“Now everyone, from children to seniors, can make the most of their local pool and all it has to offer.”