Best summer job … ever

With temperatures soaring up to 106° Fahrenheit in the Owens Valley during the summer, being a lifeguard at one of the several local swimming pools might just well qualify as the best job ever. While the job looks somewhat effortless, there is a lot that goes into becoming trained as a lifeguard.

The required training consists of 24 hours of First Aid, CPR, surveillance techniques, rules enforcement, how to recognize a drowning victim and how to perform a host of various rescues in the water.

Lifeguard candidates have to be at least 15 years of age by the end of the course, able to swim 300 yards without stopping, lift a ten-pound weight from the bottom of the deep end of the pool, successfully complete all the skills and pass two written exams with a minimum score of 80%.

Dozens of young people in both Inyo and Mono Counties take the training in hopes of getting a summer job. While the American Red Cross Lifeguard certificate is good for two years, lifeguards are required by state regulations to be recertfified every year in CPR.

Katie Stine and Elizabeth Stewart assist Shyann Padilla during a training exercise. Photo courtesy: Sheet staff.

Fourteen lifeguard candidates recently took the training hosted at the Owens Valley Unified School District swimming pool in Independence. About half of the class were returning lifeguards. One student was Elizabeth Stewart, a physical education teacher from Lone Pine High School.

Brittney Tweedy, the pool manager for the Lone Pine Memorial Plunge, was recertifying her basic certifications while also training to become a lifeguard instructor in the future. Many of the students such as Tweedy are also Native-American. Brad Greene, another returning lifeguard from Lone Pine, has a family tradition of working at the pool in Lone Pine. Both his mother, an aunt, and an older brother have all worked at the pool over the years.

Overseeing the lives of pool patrons using Inyo and Mono Counties community pools is an enormous responsibility for a young person. They make about $10 an hour, which, considering the job, is somewhat underpaid. The job also requires maturity and the ability to get along with others whether it be co-workers or bathers using the swimming pool.

But if you ask the lifeguard candidates “why” they took the class and want to work during the summer as a lifeguard, besides the obvious “I want to make money”, invariably you will hear them say, “I like people.” It’s no great surprise to find that they are themselves, pretty likable.

For more information on public swim hours and programs offered by the local pool in your community, call:

Town of Mammoth Lakes, Whitmore Pool: 760.935.4222.

City of Bishop Pool: 760.872.7201.

Keough’s Hot Springs: 760.872.4670.

Owens Valley School Pool located in Independence: 760.878.2405.

Lone Pine Memorial Plunge: 760.876.5040 (after 1 p.m.)