With hundreds of miles of coastline and a beach-loving population, Long Island can never have too many lifeguards patrolling its beaches. Luckily, junior lifeguarding programs across the Island, such as the Jones Beach Junior Lifeguard Program, are training youngsters ages 9 to 17 in physical fitness and lifesaving techniques in anticipation of them gaining oceanfront positions when they come of age.According to Jay Liegey, captain at Robert Moses Field 3 and head of the Jones Beach Junior Lifeguard Program, Jones Beach used to have to give its lifeguard test two or three times per summer in order to have enough staff on their beach patrol. Now, with the junior program feeding into jobs, that’s no longer necessary.

Source: How Long Island prepares its future lifeguards | Newsday

Fired senior lifeguard wins discrimination case against Jersey Shore town By Sergio Bichao August 9, 2017 1:00 PMShare on FacebookShare on TwitterOcean City (AP Photo/Wayne Parry) OCEAN CITY — A former lifeguard who says he was fired because of his age recently won an age discrimination lawsuit against a Jersey Shore municipality that has faced multiple discrimination complaints by older lifeguards.A Cape May County jury in July awarded Paul McCracken $127,988.The lawsuit was filed in 2013. McCracken had been fired in 2011, when the Linwood resident was 52 years old. Read more…

Source: http://nj1015.com/fired-senior-lifeguard-wins-discrimination-case-against-jersey-shore-town/

Lifeguard shortage prompts staff consolidation

EAST STROUDSBURG — The municipal pools in Stroudsburg and East Stroudsburg will close a little earlier this year. A staff shortage has shortened the season by one week.Stroudsburg Borough Pool now closes August 19. The pool at Dansbury Park will close the next day. Only one facility will open at a time that weekend.“Everyone has to be consolidated at one facility for safety reasons,” said Sherry Acevedo, executive director of Stroud Region Open Space and Recreation Commission. “We don’t want the alternative, where we would have to close even earlier.” Read more..

Source: http://www.poconorecord.com

HAYS, Kan. (KSNW) – A Hays lifeguard was recognized for saving a young girl from drowning. On July 19, Morgan Mathews pulled the unconscious girl from the pool and started CPR. He was able revive her and she lived.  Wednesday night, Mathews was honored by the city and the young girl and her family were there to thank him. Read more…

Source: Hays lifeguard recognized for saving young girl | KSN-TV

Glen Cove has a shortage of lifeguards, and until the city finds more, the two city beaches will be unstaffed at times.  Darcy Belyea, parks and recreation director, urged beachgoers to “swim with care. Stay shallow. And parents should watch children even playing at the shoreline.”Morgan Memorial Park Beach and Pryibil Beach are officially closed to bathing and swimming when there are no lifeguards, but some people go in the water anyway, Belyea said.

Source: Read more here:http://www.newsday.com

Montgomery Co. councilman wants to free hotels from lifeguard requirement By Kate Ryan | @KateRyanWTOPMay 16, 2017 12:55 pm

ROCKVILLE, Md. — The Montgomery County Council has introduced a bill to exempt hotel pools from having to provide lifeguards.In a letter proposing the exemption, Councilmember Sidney Katz states that Montgomery County is one of only two counties in the state that require that a lifeguard be on duty while the pool is open for use. The requirement applies to hotel pools of a certain size.The other jurisdiction is Baltimore County, where a similar bill is expected to be considered Tuesday afternoon. A final reading of the bill and a vote on the Baltimore County measure is scheduled for later this month.Four Montgomery County Council members are backing Katz’s bill including Council members Nancy Floreen, Marc Elrich and Roger Berliner.In a memo shared with the Council, Katz states that the law applies to 36 hotel pools in Montgomery County. Katz suggests that some hotels have closed their pools rather than restrict guests’ use of the pool. He also believes that the law puts hotels in the county at a competitive disadvantage to hotels operating in neighboring communities without the lifeguard requirement.Hotels would be required to posts signs warning that hotel guests would swim at their own risk. Hotels would also be required have staff trained in CPR and first aid on the property at all times.

Source: http://wtop.com

(9:30 a.m. EDT) — Norwegian Cruise Line will become the third cruise line to add lifeguards to its fleet, when it begins offering lifeguard service this summer on its four largest ships. The rest of the Norwegian Cruise Line fleet will get lifeguards in the first quarter of 2018.  Though the line has had crew members acting as pool monitors since 2015, they are not trained in lifesaving. The new lifeguards, whose only job on the ship will be as lifeguards, will be trained and certified by the American Red Cross in lifesaving rescue measures and will monitor family pools during scheduled pool hours.  “Norwegian has stationed pool monitors on our largest ships since 2015 and we are now taking further steps to ensure the safety of our youngest guests with the addition of certified lifeguards across our fleet,” said Andy Stuart, president and CEO of Norwegian. “While parents are always the first line of supervision when it comes to water safety, we felt it was important to provide this added measure across our fleet.”The service will start onboard Norwegian Escape, Norwegian Getaway, Norwegian Breakaway and Norwegian Epic this summer.Additionally, the line will also offer free swim vests for both adults and children on these four ships. (The remaining ships will get the swim vests at the same time they get lifeguards.) Parents can obtain the vests at the towel station on the ship’s pool deck during daytime hours.  Disney Cruise Line was the first cruise line to add lifeguard service to its ships back in October 2013. Most recently, Royal Caribbean began rolling out lifeguards on its ships, beginning last month.   All Royal Caribbean ships will have lifeguards by the end of June.Find out more about how to keep your kids safe at the pool, with Cruise Critic’s Cruise Ship Pool Safety Tips.

Source: http://www.cruisecritic.com

by: Ken Lemon Updated: Apr 7, 2017 – 10:20 AM

LINCOLN COUNTY, N.C. – Police in Lincoln County are investigating after a lifeguard drowned in the swimming pool of a YMCA early Thursday morning.Officers said 21-year-old Yesenia Jimenez Linares was found unconscious around 6:30 a.m. in the pool at the Lincoln County Family YMCA on East Gaston Street.Her co-workers couldn’t find her and called 911 to report that she was missing. Nine minutes later, they called back to say they had found her in the pool.“Do you know what happened?” the dispatcher asked the caller.”I have no idea,” the caller said. “We just found her in the pool. She is a lifeguard.”Her co-workers performed CPR. There were lifesaving devices at the YMCA, but employees struggled getting to them.”Do you have a defibrillator and AED (automated external defibrillator)?” the dispatcher asked.”We have them, but they can’t open the door,” the caller said.Once they were able to get the devices, they learned they couldn’t use them on her wet body. Paramedics took Linares to the hospital, where she died. “I never would have thought,” YMCA member Shane Hulett said.Hulett is one of the members who came to the YMCA on Thursday, only to learn it was closed.”For something to happen like that — it’s a tragedy,” Hulett said.Many of the YMCA’s employees spent the morning at the hospital with Linares’s family.  “Our members, our staff, our volunteers are all very close,” Mary Thompson, with the YMCA, said. Officers told Channel 9 they are treating the death as a drowning and that no foul play is suspected. The YMCA was closed for the remainder of Thursday.

Source: Police identify lifeguard who drowned at Lincolnton YMCA | WSOC-TV