By Zach Hagadone
Reader Staff
Though beach season is about as far away on the calendar as it could be, the city of Sandpoint is looking ahead to potentially staffing City Beach with lifeguards for the first time in years.
Citing an acute shortage of qualified applicants — compounded by a two-year interruption in the lifeguard training pipeline during the COVID-19 pandemic — the city paused the program in spring 2023.
According to a job posting on the city’s website dated Dec. 30, lifeguards will be sought for the 2025 season with a wage of $14.50 per hour — low pay being reported as another factor limiting the number of participants willing to sit on a lifeguard stand during the summer.
Photo by Ben Olson.
Though not hiring for the position until the summer, City Hall stated that it is “currently gathering expressions of interest,” inviting prospective lifeguards to submit their application now for review and future consideration.
In addition to a number of physical requirements, applicants must be at least 16 years old, be available to work holidays and weekends, demonstrate the ability to swim 500 meters using a variety of styles within 10 minutes and complete U.S. Lifesaving Association training.
Preferred qualifications include American Red Cross, Starfish, National Aquatic Safety Company, YMCA, Ellis & Associates or equivalent lifeguard certification, and Red Cross CPR/AED for the Professional Rescuer training.
Applicants for the position of head and assistant head lifeguard are required to have at least one year of experience.
Sandpoint Recreation Superintendent Katie Bradbury told the City Council in May 2024 that communities all over the country were having similar difficulty recruiting and retaining lifeguards.
According to the American Red Cross, there should be one lifeguard on duty per 25 swimmers, which means fully staffing City Beach would require between 11 and 16 lifeguards.
“Some days we have upwards of 300 swimmers, so that would be like 12 lifeguards on duty,” Sandpoint Mayor Jeremy Grimm said in May 2024. “I can only imagine that if we don’t meet those standards we would probably expose ourselves to liability for not meeting standards.”
Find the full list of lifeguard duties and qualifications, as well as the application form, at governmentjobs.com/careers/sandpoint.
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