Lifeguards are apparently among the roles facing an increasing shortage of qualified workers. To cope, pools across the country are shortening hours. In Texas, they’re trying a different approach: Recruiting senior citizens as lifeguards. The American Lifeguard Association backs the idea. “B.J. Fisher, with ALA, said seniors today may no longer have the chiseled bodies of their youth, but some are in great shape and ‘are very responsible.'”
One reason older workers make great lifeguards: They “are perfectly fine with the ‘no cell phone’ policy many cities have adopted for lifeguards.”