The nation’s public pools are once again heading into summer short on lifeguards.

From Kansas to Oklahoma, Georgia to Idaho, local officials are warning that reduced pool hours, canceled swim lessons, and even full pool closures remain possible if enough guards cannot be hired before the season begins.

In Wichita, Kansas, the city said it needed 40 more lifeguards to avoid “shortening pool hours, interrupting programming, and more.”

In Ardmore, Oklahoma, officials at the Ardmore Community Water Park warned they were only “60-to-70-percent fully staffed” as summer approached.

And in Perry County, Pennsylvania, the Perry County Recreation Association pool announced it would not open at all this season because of the shortage.

It’s the latest chapter in a labor problem pool operators have been grappling with for years.

“We’ve been in a nationwide shortage of lifeguards in the country for at least a decade,” Warner Robins, Georgia Recreation Director Preston Pooser said this spring. “It’s not a new phenomenon.”

Pool operators continue to point to low wages, expensive certification requirements, competition from easier jobs, shrinking numbers of teenage workers, and a lack of returning seasonal staff.

“There’s a lot of competition in the area, not just for being a lifeguard, but for working somewhere else besides being a lifeguard,” Pooser said.

That competition matters because lifeguarding is skilled labor. Guards are expected to be strong swimmers, pass certification courses, learn CPR and first aid, respond to emergencies, and, in some cases, literally save lives.

Training can involve a 40-hour American Red Cross certification course. New York City still requires applicants to meet vision requirements

https://americanlifeguardassociation.com/online-lifeguard-training/ and swim 50 yards in 50 seconds or less.

“You’re the first responder,” said Yasmeen Baumhower of the Tuscaloosa County Parks and Recreation Authority. “Their parents are trusting their kids with you and their lives to be that first-hand responder until E.M.S. or anyone gets there.”

Yet many aquatic facilities are competing for the same teenagers being recruited by retailers, restaurants, and other indoor jobs.

In Wichita, Charlie Higgins of Rescue Ready Swim said certification itself can discourage applicants.

“I think also economically, there’s a barrier to entry for some people, because it can be expensive,” Higgins said.

The Wichita article noted that lifeguard certification through his company costs $325.

Midwest City, Oklahoma, officials raised similar concerns.

“We also know there is more competition out there for certified lifeguards and the cost for certification can be tough to pay up front,” Recreation Director Josh Ryan said.

Some communities are also dealing with a shortage of instructors qualified to certify new guards. According to Tulsa Lifeguard Pro, “the issue is not a lack of people wanting to become lifeguards, but a lack of instructors qualified to teach certification classes.”

For years, many operators blamed shortages on disruptions to the J-1 visa program, which traditionally supplied seasonal foreign student workers for summer jobs, including lifeguarding. However, that explanation appears less prominent in this year’s reporting, which has focused more heavily on training bottlenecks, labor competition, and retention problems.

Cities are responding aggressively. In Warner Robins, Georgia, officials raised lifeguard pay from $15 to $20 per hour and added a $500 retention bonus.

In Evansville, Indiana, the city increased starting pay to $15.15 an hour while also offering free lifeguard certification training.

New York City is advertising “$22 hourly wages” along with “a $908 training bonus for new recruits.”

Other facilities are waiving certification fees, expanding recruiting into high schools, and hosting open interview events.

But higher pay and bonuses do not automatically solve the problem. Several operators have reported that applicants either fail to complete certification, do not pass the course, or simply never show up for training.

Some places are also leaning harder on younger workers. Multiple reports noted that many current guards are only 15 years old.

During previous lifeguard shortages, Wisconsin lowered the minimum age for lifeguards from 16 to 15. In Augusta, Kansas, officials noted that roughly half of their current guards are only 15 years old.

Some aquatic professionals, however, warn that lowering age requirements or relaxing standards is not a long-term solution.

“You’re the first responder,” Baumhower said.

Others say the answer is better pay and recruitment rather than weaker requirements.

“The key is, we have to pay them,” Pooser said.

But operators acknowledge they are under pressure to do more with fewer people.

“It has put a strain on the lifeguards that are out there because so many people are coming to the beaches and pools with what we would consider a shortage,” said American Lifeguard Association representative Wyatt Werneth.

The shortage is not new because the same underlying problems — training costs, labor competition, shrinking teen participation and retention challenges — still have not been solved.