The City of Delta is reducing hours at all of its aquatic centres this fall due to a national lifeguard shortage.
In a press release, the city said is working diligently to keep facilities open as it copes with a shortage of lifeguards, swim instructors and aquafit instructors, adding it has established minimum lifeguard staffing requirements for each pool with the Lifesaving Society of BC.
“Like many other communities across the country, the City of Delta is dealing with immense labour shortages that are impacting our services. Our priority is to ensure that our recreational facilities remain open to continue to provide high-quality services to members of the public,” Mayor George Harvie said in a press release.
“While we work towards hiring more lifeguards and instructors and developing the skills of current staff, we have made necessary changes to ensure we can safely keep our facilities open to meet the needs of the public. We are working hard to rectify these shortages and thank the public for their continued patience.”
In order to keep the facilities open while maintaining safety standards, public swimming times will be reduced to before and after swimming lessons – with the exception of length swimming during lessons at Sungod Recreation Centre – effective Monday (Sept. 12).
“We understand that the reduction in services is inconvenient and disruptive to our patrons. After consultation with our staff, we made this difficult decision to reduce some public swim opportunities in order to keep our facilities safe and open throughout the fall season. Your co-operation and understanding is appreciated as we work towards hiring and training staff to normalize operations,” city manager Sean McGill said in a press release.
“I want to thank our current Parks, Recreation & Culture staff, especially those on the aquatics team, for their hard work and professionalism during these challenging times.”
Moving forward, public swim times at North Delta’s Sungod Recreation Centre will be Monday-Friday from 6 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and 7:15 to 10 p.m., Saturday from 1 to 7 p.m., and Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. Length swimming at Sungod will be Monday-Friday from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Revised schedules will also be in effect at the Ladner Leisure Centre and Winskill Aquatic & Fitness Centre.