Emma Anderson said she has been a lifeguard since she was 15. She was on the swim team growing up, and one of her teammate’s fathers was one of the pool managers, so she said every one of her teammates got a job as a lifeguard at the pool. She is now one of only three lifeguards working at BYU–Hawaii’s pool at the time of the interview, and said her duty is to keep patrons safe in and out of the water. In fact, she said most injuries occur outside of the water.
For example, she said someone could “fall and scrape their leg on the deck, or they get a bloody nose.” Being “careful on the deck” by not running and being “careful where you’re stepping” is important to stay safe because she said, “Sometimes tiles will chip, and someone will cut their foot.”
Catania Hendrickson, a senior from Captain Cook, Hawaii, majoring in exercise and sport science, said as lifeguards, they have people’s lives in their hands whenever people swim at the pool.
She emphasized the importance of being ready at all times. “There might not be a situation where there’s an actual emergency that you have to put into practice, but you want to be prepared if there is,” she commented.
Hendrickson said the job has taught her to be more focused and less distractible. “You don’t want to be super distracted while watching people so you can make sure nothing happens. An emergency could happen in just a minute. And if you were looking away, then that can be a matter of someone getting hurt or not,” she explained.
Becoming pool heroes
Anderson, a sophomore from Washington majoring in marine biology, said she has been a lifeguard since she was 15 because she loves the pool. “My job allows me to be at the pool all the time. I can swim when I’m not in the chair.”
She added the lifeguard’s core responsibility at the BYUH pool is making sure individuals are safe. “When everyone’s swimming, we scan the pool, making sure everyone’s a comfortable swimmer. If they’re not, we keep an extra eye on them,” she explained. Besides watching out for the swimmers, they also make sure the pool is clean.
Another lifeguard, Jacob Eric Marlowe, a sophomore from Laie whose major is undecided, said part of their job as lifeguards is to check the chemical levels in the pool, such as the chlorine level and the pH factor of the water, so it is safe for people to swim in.
He said the normal chlorine level they allow is between 2 and 4 ppm (parts per million). The pH factor is between 7.4 and 7.8, he added.
Marlowe took his pool lifeguard training while he attended BYU–Idaho. He said he swam competitively growing up. Because of his background and because it seemed like an interesting new experience, Marlowe said he wanted to become a lifeguard.
Hendrickson said she feels her role as a lifeguard is essential because “it could make a difference in someone’s life if something does go wrong.”
According to stopdrowningnow.org, “In the U.S., an average of 3,500 to 4,000 people drown per year. That is an average of 10 fatal drownings per day. Drowning is the leading cause of unintentional injury-related death for children ages 1-4.”
Anderson added, “People are pretty much always in need of lifeguards. As long as people like to swim, [they’re] going to need a lifeguard.”
Safety tips
In terms of being in the water, Anderson advised people to not do anything they’re not comfortable with. “Usually, people are pretty good about not going deeper than they can handle, so just trust your gut.”
Hendrickson advised pool guests to be aware of their surroundings when visiting the pool. According to her, “the deck is slippery a lot of the time, so you can fall easily.”
Marlowe said his safety tips are to follow the basic rules of the pool. According to him, the rule most guests break is running on the deck because they get excited to swim in the pool. He added to not dive in the shallow area because it can cause accidents.
He asked the patrons to follow the pool safety guidelines “so everybody can have a good time and nobody will get hurt.”