Lifeguards Mary Skidmore, left, and Megan Grubb stand watch at the University of Idaho Swim Center on Monday. Photo by Jake Barber, Summer Arg.

Editor’s note: Schmidt is a high school participant of Scripps Howard, a journalism workshop put on by the School of Journalism and Mass Media.

The lifeguards at the University of Idaho Swim Center are keeping cool this summer by offering swim lessons and keeping people safe.
Dan Lawson, the center’s aquatic director, said working at the center is a good job opportunity for students.

“The idea is to employ students at the University of Idaho to teach,” Lawson said. “So although I’m responsible for them and can teach them, my objective is to give the students a chance to earn money and gain experience.”

The summer Swim Center staff consists of approximately eight lifeguards and eight swim lesson instructors. Water safety instructors who have been certified as such through the Red Cross teach the swim lessons.

To Lawson, certain qualities make a person a good aquatic worker.

“You have to be responsible, reliable, (have) good skills, good lifeguarding skills, honesty and (be) a team player,” he said.

One of those team players is Kats Tekeno. The recent graduate of UI is a lifeguard and the swim center’s athletic trainer, and works with the other lifeguards to stay in shape for the job.

“We swim a lot because we have to rescue somebody if something happens, so we keep swimming and we do some in-service training once every two weeks,” Tekeno said. “We swim and then we do some skill development so we practice rescuing (like an) underwater rescue, or underwater backboard for a spine injury.”

When it comes to the job of a lifeguard, safety is the biggest concern. Whether it’s informing the facility’s maintenance department of small accidents or jumping into the water to keep a person from drowning, keeping patrons at the facility safe is the top goal of a lifeguard.

To prepare for the day, Megan Grubb, another lifeguard on staff, makes sure that everything is in place before swimmers arrive.

“A typical day at work ... (is we) get here, change, usually have to put lane lines in, take lane lines out, get everything ready for the day,” Grubb said. “(I) make sure all the guard stands have their tubes, get my water bottle out there, just get everything ready for the day, (and) get the clock running.”

Despite the routine aspect of the job, both Grubb and Tekeno have been challenged on the job in different ways.

“Sometimes we need to maintain the safety of this area but there are customers as well so I try not to tell them to ‘do this,’” Tekeno said. “I try to tell them as politely as possible.”

Grubb, who has been a lifeguard for three years, found herself particularly challenged in the certification process for becoming a lifeguard.

“You have to pick up a five-pound brick from a 14-and-a-half foot pool,” Grubb said. “And that was my biggest challenge, getting down there and getting the brick up.”

Although there are challenges, Tekeno and Grubb enjoy their jobs.

“Personally, I like swimming,” Tekeno said. “I like to work with physically active people so that’s always good to be a lifeguard or athletic trainer.”

Grubb enjoys the work environment as a lifeguard.

“The people you work with are fun,” Grubb said. “It’s a great environment and you get to keep up with certifications, the first aides, so you have that sense that if there is a problem. You know how to help and it’s a great way to keep in shape.”

Available for open and lap swim sessions, the pool also stays busy through their summer swim lessons. They are available to any age group ranging from parent-toddler classes to those for adults.

“We do two, five-week sessions in the summer semester,” Lawson said.

The facility is open Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays until July 18, when the facility will close until Aug. 25 for annual maintenance.

For information, visit the Swim Center’s Web site at www.uidaho.edu/swimcenter or call 885-7518.

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