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“Lifeguarding is not an easy job at all”

(Bild: Scharinger Daniel)

Temperatures are rising and so is the desire to jump into the cool water. But it is becoming increasingly difficult for local authorities to find enough lifeguards. Many people don't even know that a pool attendant is not only responsible for the guests, but also has a lot more to do.

"Nobody wants to work on Saturdays and Sundays, especially when it's nice," says pool attendant Thomas Aigner from Solarbad Altmünster. "As a pool attendant, you start at seven to get everything ready. You are not only responsible for the safety of the bathers, but also for maintenance, repairs and often cleaning work. We may be able to open this year, but we're still always one person short," he sums up the problem.

Summer interns help
Hermann Kapl from the St. Florian outdoor pool near Linz also agrees: "People often only see what we do during swimming season and think it's a nice job. In reality, however, there is a lot of hard work behind it. Fortunately, we're well-positioned this year with summer interns."

The situation in Obernberg am Inn is more dramatic: the local outdoor pool is currently closed due to a lack of lifeguards. "Unfortunately, the pool attendant has been seriously injured and is on permanent sick leave," says Mayor Martin Bruckbauer. "But we are looking intensively for a replacement."

Pool had to be refilled
The Bad Ischl park pool had to deal with a completely different problem. Someone had emptied a substance into the 1,200 cubic meter pool that was corroding the floor. The pool had to be completely emptied, cleaned, refilled and heated. "We've been back to normal operations since Monday," says operations manager Alexander Eder.

On the staff front, however, the all-clear has been given: "Our pool attendants are permanent staff, so there are no bottlenecks." And in Steyr, too, a suitable replacement has been found for a pool attendant who resigned after kicking a boy off the diving tower last season.