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FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date:
June 8, 2006
Contact: PJ Callahan
Phone: (360) 337-4481
No. 06-43
Lack of Applicants Means No
Lifeguards on County Beaches This Summer
PORT
ORCHARD, WA—Kitsap County has been actively
recruiting summer lifeguards for the beaches at county lakes since February
to no avail. The cause, according to County Administrator Cris Gears, is
market conditions.
"With fewer and fewer public agencies providing lifeguard employment
opportunities throughout Puget Sound, the pool of talent is shrinking every
year," said Gears. "When the jobs dried up, so did the number of youth
interested in training for and pursuing lifeguard opportunities."
In a recent check of several other nearby Puget Sound public agencies, the
City of Seattle was the only agency still providing guarded beaches. For
most agencies, at issue is the difficulty of controlling access to the
beaches. While access to pools can easily be controlled to maintain a safe
environment, beaches can be accessed 24-hours a day, seven days a week,
whether staffed with lifeguards or not.
"Most of the near drowning incidents in Kitsap County have occurred before
or after lifeguards were on duty," said Gears. "Some parents also leave kids
unattended, which exacerbates the problem."
"The county has always put a high priority on citizen safety by providing lifeguards for our
beaches during the summer," said Commissioner Jan Angel. "However, if we are
unable to recruit qualified youth as lifeguards, we owe it to the public to
let them know ahead of time that this is a service we will no longer be able
to provide. We encourage you to make sure your children are supervised when
swimming."
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