Three Rivers Park District Seeks Lifeguards As Swimming Areas Open
Swimming beaches open up this Memorial Day weekend. That includes the Elm Creek swim pond in Maple Grove.
There’s just one issue heading into the weekend: there’s a shortage of lifeguards.
The Three Rivers Park District is among those looking to hire lifeguards.
“I started to lifeguard because I was a swimmer my whole life,” said Grace Ritten, who started lifeguarding when she was 16.
For Ritten, it’s the perfect summer job.
“This job is a ton of fun,” said Ritten, now the head lifeguard at Elm Creek swim pond. “You get to be outside all day. The people that work here are awesome. It’s such a fun environment.”
The Three Rivers Park District offers a starting wage of $16.50 per hour for lifeguards. It also pays to train new hires who haven’t yet received their lifeguard certification.
Still it’s been a struggle to find lifeguards.
“There’s still a national lifeguard shortage going on and we are not immune,” said Dominic Ray, park operations supervisor with the Three Rivers Park District. “We are definitely trying to find creative ways to bring on more lifeguards.”
Added Ray, “We’re a really fun environment for a teenager looking for a job.”
Ritten also sees it as an opportunity to help others. While she hasn’t had to perform a rescue yet, Three Rivers makes sure she stays prepared.
“We do trainings every single week to make sure we all know CRP, we all know rescues, everything like that,” said Ritten.
Ritten said one of her biggest challenges to date is helping parents find missing children.
“We have multiple of those every summer,” she said. “Thankfully it’s never anything super serious. It’s normally like a kid goes to the bathroom and mom and dad don’t know where they are.”
Her big takeaway of being a lifeguard: the job provides skills you can use for life.
“You just learn sort of how to read people, if you will, which I think is a cool skill to kind of take away that you wouldn’t necessarily think you would have lifeguarding,” said Ritten. “But I have learned over the years doing this that you definitely do.”
Elm Creek Swim Pond offers filtered, chlorinated water in a natural environment.
Elm Creek Swim Pond Opens Saturday
The Elm Creek swim pond opens Saturday, May 25 with lifeguards present during weekends.
By the second weekend of June, Three Rivers plans to be fully guarded every day of the week.
Elm Creek swim pond hours are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. with lifeguards available from noon to 8 p.m.
Three Rivers also encourages families to buy their swim passes online to avoid lines and save time.
Also See: New Hope Lifeguards Honored After Saving Lives
