This July 4th, more county pools will be open and more lifeguards will be on duty — with higher pay.
This is music to the ears of one local mom.
For Micaela Ramirez, whose children were too big for a backyard kiddie pool, the Salazar Park Pool in East Los Angeles was a godsend. It allows 6-year-old Zimori and 9-year-old Jacob to burn off energy. She said they’ve been going almost every day since it opened this summer. This year, they can continue to play in the fall if they wish.
Since opening on June 10, the swimming season at all of Los Angeles County’s dozens of seasonal pools has been extended from the usual 10 weeks to five months.
In response to a nationwide wave of lifeguard shortages, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors earlier this year approved a motion by Supervisor Janice Hahn to increase pool lifeguard pay by 20 percent, to $23.86 to $25.87 an hour.
Supervisors have also relaxed testing requirements to make it easier to become a county lifeguard. Applicants need to swim 300 yards, the length of three football fields, in 6.5 minutes. Last year, applicants had to swim 500 yards in 10 minutes. The age requirement has also been lowered, from 17 to 16 years old.
As of June 14, the Los Angeles County Parks and Recreation Department had hired 356 new lifeguards and rehired 224 returning lifeguards, according to Hahn’s office.
Thanks to strong hiring, this is the first time in five years that all Los Angeles County pools are operational, the department said.
Summer and year-round activity schedules, including Swim for All, Lap Swim, Youth Teams, Aquatics, Swim Lessons and Night Swims, are available through the Los Angeles County Parks Aquatics website. During the July 4th holiday, the pool will extend free swimming hours from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Ramirez, 49, liked what he saw at Salazar Pool.
Lifeguards took turns monitoring pool visitors and checking chemical levels in the pool water, she said. She said it felt safe and clean for her and her children.
“It’s always good. I recommend it because, number one, [the kids] It can be tiring at the end of the day. “They make friends, learn to swim, and it even helps me as a parent” stay active.
In an effort to increase hiring, the Board of Supervisors earlier this year approved a proposal to increase pool lifeguard pay by 20 percent.
(Gina Ferrazzi/Los Angeles Times)
Hahn donned a lifeguard uniform at the summer pool kickoff event on June 14 at the Don Knabe Regional Park Pool in Cerritos.
“Our hottest days are in September and October,” the county supervisor said, “but during our original 10-week swimming season, our pools were locked by then and inaccessible to residents. This makes no sense. significance.
“Now, everyone from kids to seniors can take advantage of their local pool and all it has to offer.”
