Queenstown's only indoor public pool to close on weekends due to lifeguard shortage
From reporter Debbie Jamieson:
Queenstown’s only indoor public swimming pool will close on weekends, indefinitely, with the council blaming a lifeguard shortage.
And the news for families in the area gets worse: Arrowtown’s outdoor pool will close about a month early – on February 13 – for the same reason.
The Queenstown Lakes District Council-owned pools are the latest businesses to be hit by a widespread staff shortage, exacerbated in Queenstown by an extensive housing shortage.
Council sport and recreation manager Simon Battrick said the decision to close Alpine Aqualand in Frankton, Queenstown on weekends from February 18 was unavoidable due to a lack of staff.
The council chose to close on weekends to avoid disrupting swimming and fitness programmes.
Battrick said the district’s pools always struggled to find staff in February when high school and university students returned to their studies.
However, a global shortage of lifeguards and Queenstown’s local staff shortage meant the situation was worse this year.
Alpine Aqualand was down to nine staff and needed another 10 (full-time and part-time) to fill rosters.
A minimum of three full-time and one part-time lifeguards were needed to open on weekends.
The Queenstown Lakes district was not the only area suffering a shortage of lifeguards. In the Timaru District several pools have also been forced to reduce their operating hours in the last week.
Battrick said anyone who could swim 200 metres in under six minutes could apply to be a lifeguard.
Staff underwent two weeks training and two weeks supervision before being independent lifeguards.
The starting pay rate was $23.65 an hour and tops out at about $26.
As of the first of April the pool would be able to sponsor migrant workers but needed to pay a minimum $29.66 an hour, which was too high, he said.
“The reality is that this is an entry level job. “We have to live within our means.”
The hourly rate in the Queenstown Lakes was higher than at many other pools around New Zealand, as it recognised the higher cost of living in the district.
The council had advertised the roles extensively and had some bites, he said.
“It’s just really hard at the moment.
“Someone can give us a call, and we can take them through the process, give them a contract, and then next day they say they’re taking a job at the supermarket.”
There would be some exceptions to the use of the pool on the weekend including the locals swimming club, which was coached by a qualified lifeguard and swimming lessons.
The weekend closures would hit families and children who visit and play at the pool,
The situation would continue until more staff were available.
Mayor Glyn Lewers said the staff shortage issue was being felt right across council and there was no magic solution.
He was concerned about the impact of the closure of the pool on local families on weekends when the weather was not good for swimming in local waterways.
The pools provided a low cost recreational activity and social connection.
Now there was a barrier to providing that.
“We went through this with Covid. We don’t want to go through it again,” he said.
This was the first time in six years the pool had been closed, except during Covid-19.
Poll: Would you rather: Christmas in summer forever or winter forever?
Just a bit of a fun poll to get you thinking.
If you had to live out your Christmas days, would you prefer it was a summer Christmas or a winter Christmas?
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61.7% Summer
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36.7% Winter
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1.6% Other - I'll share below
⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️
It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:
👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️
Worst Xmas ever?
There's a a lot of planning that goes into Christmas day and sometimes things just don't go to plan. But it can be a good thing - a family mishap or hilarious memory that you can laugh about in Christmases to come.
Whether you burnt the dinner or were stranded at an airport...
Share your Christmas mishaps below!
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