The City of Cape Town’s Recreation and Parks Department will put hundreds of prospective seasonal lifeguard candidates through their paces over a two week period in preparation for the busy summer season ahead.
The vetting process for hundreds of applicants for seasonal lifeguard positions started at the Retreat Swimming Pool last week and suitable candidates will fill more than 600 temporary lifeguard positions available at the City’s public swimming pools and beaches.
Apart from having to meet all of the set criteria to apply for the positions, candidates also have to complete a swim test and demonstrate various rescue and first aid techniques.
The Mayoral Committee Member for Community Services and Health, Councillor Patricia van der Ross, conducted an oversight visit of the assessments.
‘I want to thank the hundreds of hopefuls for applying, and I look forward to seeing many of them on duty in the coming weeks. The 2021/22 summer season was one of the most challenging given the hot weather which coincided with weekends and public holidays, the difficult surf conditions and the large crowds which lifeguards had to manage daily. The importance of lifeguards cannot be overstated, which is why we take the recruitment process so seriously. We ask that the public too, view water safety through the same lens.
‘Some of our swimming pools offer learn-to-swim programmes, and the aim is to roll these out at all open municipal swimming pools in the future. I want to urge bathers to stay safe in and around water. Heed warning signs and actively supervise children. We want to avoid a repeat of last seasons’ statistics and therefore wish to remind our public that swim safety is everyone’s responsibility.’ said Councillor van der Ross.
Lifeguards are on duty daily from 10:00 until 18:00 along the coast and at open municipal swimming pools from October until mid-April each year.
Caption 1: Councillor Patricia van der Ross watches as Colwyn Manchest goes through the first aid process.
Caption 2: Abdurahmaan Toefy in the pool.
Caption 3: The team that put the applicants through their paces.
Source: City Of Cape Town