Workers dedicated to guarding swimmers' lives

There is more to lifeguarding than sitting around getting a tan. Mostly high school juniors and seniors, with a few of college age, these young men and women go down to the Walton Pool every day not to play and goof around, but to protect swimmers. Becoming a lifeguard is somewhat of a process. Hopefuls have to attend a 3 week class that is sponsored by the Red Cross. This class shows many of the proper methods of extraction, depending on what manner of injury is present, and offer a course in CPR. There is also a large level of conditioning required. Potential lifeguard have to be able to swim 500 yards and go to the bottom of the deep end, pick up a brink and carry it to the surface. In addition, at the start of the summer season there is a week of in house training. Lifeguards have to learn about facility policies and how to blow a series of different whistled that have different meanings. There is a lot that goes into being a lifeguard. Jenny Allard, Assistant Manager of the Walton Pool, said that there are several qualities that she looks for when hiring lifeguards. She wants someone who is athletic and a good swimmer, but she believes it's more important that a lifeguard be assertive and possess strong leadership and communication skills. While emergency situations do arise -- the most common being a child jumping off the diving board and not being able to swim to the edge of the pool, or hitting their head on the board -- Allard says that the most common daily problem that they face are discipline issues, and even these are rare. "We are pretty lucky we haven't had anything major," says Allard. "For the most part we don't have huge issues." The biggest safety concern that lifeguards at Walton Pool face has to do with the heat and sun exposure. "Since we are in Missouri and not on a beach somewhere people don't think about the sun," says Allard. She says that they see a lot of cases of people who have been in the sun too long without drinking water or without using sunscreen. The reasons that people choose to work as a lifeguard are also varied. Lifeguard Shawn Beaman proudly styles herself as a "pool rat." "We came to the pool every day," said Beaman and since she liked working with children anyway it seemed like a natural progression to become a lifeguard. Others are on the high school swim team and wanted to get a chance to help in the community. "It makes me feel good to protect these little kids," said Lifeguard Jenny McCullough.