Despite the annual exodus of high school and college lifeguards as the season closes, Centennial Park will likely be staffed for nearly complete pool hours through Sept. 7, facilities superintendent Jeffrey Bowen said Monday.
Bowen delivered his report on the Centennial pool complex during a Wilmette Park District board meeting.
Board facilities committee chairman Ryrie Pellaton said pool officials are cautiously optimistic that they can keep most Centennial operations open, although the margin of error for scheduling staffing is narrow.
Centennial operates longer late summer, or “post-season,” hours than some other area pools Bowen said, “but we’re really dependent on who’s available.”
The pool must have 16 lifeguards on duty if all sections of the complex – lap pool, zero-depth entry pool, children’s wading pool, and the complex diving well – are to stay open, Bowen said after the meeting.
If the number of available guards drops below 16, the pool can close the wading pool and the diving complex, he said: “We try to keep the 50-meter lap pool and the zero-depth pool open, because that provides the most options for the broadest number of people and ages.”
During the meeting, Board President John Olvany asked Bowen if lifeguards who work at the district’s lakefront beaches could be transferred to the pool. Bowen and Park District Executive Director Steve Wilson said such transfers aren’t possible because beach guards and pool guards undergo significantly different training.
“It’s like the difference between buying a Buick and a Ford,” Bowen said after the meeting. “There are two different protocols. Beach lifeguards are trained to deal with open water and live surf conditions; pool lifeguards are trained to deal with an enclosed aquatic center.”
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He also said that Wilmette recruits lifeguards twice each summer, rather than once, in an effort to stave off late-season guard shortages. The most recent one was completed in July, he said.
Bowen said that practice is one reason why he believes Wilmette’s pool operations are more complete in late summer than those of neighboring districts.
Glenview Park District pools are closed Aug. 24-27 and Aug. 31-Sept. 3. One Skokie Park District pool closes Aug. 21 and the district’s water playground complex has partial hours between Aug. 17 and Sept. 7. The Lincolnwood Park District pool complex similarly cuts its pool hours beginning Aug. 24.
Despite much better weather in late July and early August, Wilmette’s pool turnout suffered this year because of early season poor weather, Pellaton said.
“Memberships are down, which we anticipated, since May and June were not ‘I want to go swimming’ weather,” he said.
In his report Monday, Pellaton said pool memberships are down 1,767 from where they were at the same time in 2014, while daily admissions are down 2,428 over the same period.
Total pool memberships to date are 10,122, and total daily attendance to date stands at 67,133, Bowen said Tuesday.
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