Smart.
Memorial weekend is the official start of summer in the United States what with BBQs and its fireworks displays and its U.S. Open of Surfing and its good old timey riotous fun but this summer dire warnings are being given to those who would like to swim or learn to surf. Oh no it has nothing to do with rip-roaring inflation but rather a troubling lifeguard shortage affecting sea to shining sea.
Per reporting from CNN:
Dwindling interest in lifeguarding is not a new problem, according to some experts, but was exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, when many pools and training sessions were shuttered and many of the young applicants who would normally apply are now choosing retail or restaurant jobs that offer higher pay. Having unmanned pools can be dangerous or even deadly, Fisher said.
But leaders in the field say this moment also offers an important opportunity to reshape the narrative around the job: how it’s perceived by the public, who can do it, how much it pays and why it is so important.
“We’ve got to keep up pay rates, we’ve got to keep up motivating these lifesavers and making sure that everybody understands that at the end of the day, there is no better job than being a sort of lifesaver,” Tom Gill, vice president of the United States Lifesaving Association, a nonprofit representing beach lifeguards and open water rescuers.
And let’s hope our brave guards get their pay raises but let’s also not stress the safety net, as it were. Vulnerable adult learners and Wavestorms should likely stay on the sand for the foreseeable future. Spike ball, I hear, is very fun and I’ve played a fair deal of smash ball, which I can whole-heartedly recommend. Great for the entire family.
Enjoy!
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https://youtu.be/FW2HANQTx3U
Just saw them at the bowl on Friday, ripping show….for old guys at least
must have turned down the sound ’cause i didn’t hear them in VTA…such awesome performers…for old stoner’s like me. and you?
samo civic auditorium…took a buddy up from MB, reached the mcclure tunnel and toked…reaalized i’d forgotten the tickets and had to turn around…missed the intro act, Kiki Dee…finally got to our seats and this unfolded…still chicken skins me!
They played this the other night, was awesome. Highlights for me though were Kid Charlamagne and FM
encore songs?
Reelin’ in the Years & A Man Ain’t Supposed to Cry. Not superior familiar with the second song but was a killer show overall
would you “Do It Again.?”
Could have invested all those trillions on invading Afghanistan over the last 20 years, in functional public transit in all 50 states, including high speed rail, to keep us current with the rest of the world. Instead we had Hummers and both parties bought out by fossil fuel companies.
Why is there a photo of a lifeguard smoking a cigarette? Wtf?
“The Lifeguard is a painfully dull (alleged) drama utterly lacking in originality or self-awareness.”
Doubtlessly also good advice for 50YO + men who haven’t been in water for two years or more. I’ll just keep getting fat and useless. At least I’ll have time to make stickers.
God damn it mate has it really been two years?
What’s your email again I’ll get some stickers
Saving up for another batch.
sammichjammich
at gmail
$5.5 a gallon?
Fuckkkk
$5.50 sounds like a 10% off sale on gas for Memorial day is SoCal. And that is the Costco price.
About same here in NSW.
Are we supposed to like lifeguards? When I was teenager we called them “life-pigs” and had open disdain. How dare a bunch of ex jocks tell us to not break bottles on the beach and not surf into the swimmers. And the fake Oz style surf club they ran like an exclusive fraternity. Wankers
We used to wait for them to leap off the tower for a rescue then steal the black ball flag.
Okay, they are hard to like but you try sitting 8 hours at the beach watching people have fun for minimum wage and see if you can do it?
It’s the worst job any Australian could have let alone a surfer!
then burn down the stands…
Lifeguard should have taken one of your broken bottles and shoved it up your ass,.
“We’ve got to keep up motivating these lifesavers and making sure that everybody understands that at the end of the day, there is no better job than being a sort of commenter on Beach Grit.” -Stick man
at my local people just sit and eat. noone swims or surfs
The new call is “ if you wear trousers don’t surf in a skirt or I’ll vomiting in my mouth “.
Isn’t it?
Always a good time for some drownings on the Sonoma Coast
are you wanting to bait ’em? the sharks? no blood, no glory…
The sharks in the fall. Vietnamese families picking death caps and making spaghetti sauce out of them, people renting kayaks on Tomales bay and tipping over. It’s a year round, thing.
as i recall, C$4…you are a survivor, yes?
Urchin sepsis was attacked in South Africa before he moved to Half Moon Bay
ahh. he’s a very dedicated man…a salmonoid man…ultimate!
Where it’s nice and safe.
Set up a camera so the kids can watch the ocean on there phone from the tower while scanning Instagram and you will have no problem finding lifeguards.
Surfline premium…try scanning 600 spots daily. not for your average sub-human suburbanite. my LG tower is in the foothills. don’t even have to touch that hot & nasty sand. and we have the venue to complain all we want. junior lifeguard guard here! Slo-fund me…$3.00 month.
Meh. They’re already starting to use those E.M.I.L.Y. lifeguard robots for rescues, soon enough the rest of it will be automated too
naw. that creates too long of a paper trail in the event of missed save opportunity…and a great running start for a 1,000 lawyers (that are better off on the bottom of the sea).
“a sort of life saver”?
Very good to excellent range. I score it 8
Well there is a few sort of beaches in the US.