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Colorado Springs pools on track to have enough lifeguards for the first time in years

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.(KRDO)-- Pools across the state are scrambling to find enough lifeguards to keep people safe this summer.

To combat this issue, on Tuesday, Colorado Governor Jared Polis awarded over $250,000 of grant funding for public pools to help public pools attract and retain public pool employees. This program is a part of the administration’s Pools Special Initiative, launched last summer. 

In 2022, the City of Colorado Springs received grant money from the state to help keep and hire lifeguards. The VP of Association Advancement for the YMCA of the Pikes Peak Region, Sally Glennon, said they were able to put together a comprehensive marketing plan to find more lifeguards that year. The organization gave out referral bonuses and signing bonuses.

Still, in 2022, they were 60 lifeguards short but it was an improvement over the previous year where KRDO reported the number of lifeguards was down 50%.

The city of Colorado Springs received over $10,500 on Tuesday to help combat the ongoing lifeguard shortage that has been affecting southern Colorado for the last couple of years.

This year, they're going to use the money to facilitate lifeguard training, because they don't have enough people to teach future lifeguards.

However, this year is by far the better than the previous years. The YMCA of the Pikes Peak Region said they're only in need of 20-30 lifeguards.

"We're in a really good position right now," said Glennon.

Despite not having enough lifeguards, they're able to use other trained staff members to work the shifts until they fill those positions.

Leaders with the YMCA of the Pikes Peak Region are hopeful they can fill the positions and get the extra people needed to train future lifeguards.

The YMCA of the Pikes Peak Region said they're still offering sign-on bonuses. If you would like to apply to become a lifeguard, click here.

Article Topic Follows: Local
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Barbara Fox

Barbara is a reporter based out of Pueblo for KRDO NewsChannel 13. Learn more about her here.

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