Move over Baywatch, it’s time for ‘Greywatch’ in Saint John | 24CA News
Susan Keeley by no means had an opportunity to discover ways to swim as a child. In 1985, when the Canada Games got here to Saint John, she fell in love with the game and determined to hitch the aquatics centre named after the occasion.
“I swam every day, instead of going to eat at Market Square, and I’d copy all the people in the lanes and when they weren’t watching I tried to do what they did.”
Now Keeley and two different retirees are working to offer again to the pool they spend a lot time in by turning into licensed as lifeguards.
The trio — who name themselves Greywatch — simply completed their Bronze Cross certification and can take the National Lifeguard certification subsequent.
“I love the aquatic centre,” Keeley mentioned when requested why she wished to turn into a lifeguard.
Having three new lifeguards will assist maintain the centre adequately staffed, in accordance with Amy McLennan, the centre’s common supervisor.
McLennan mentioned there’s a nationwide lifeguard scarcity attributable to delays in certification attributable to the pandemic.
“And at the aquatic centre we have a range of ages in terms of our membership and our patrons,” she mentioned. “So it makes sense to have a range of ages on deck.”
Once totally licensed, they will work not less than 10 hours a month on the pool.
Retirees Susan Keeley, Dave Smith and Brad Doley are proving you’re solely as previous as you are feeling by coaching to turn into lifeguards on the Canada Games Aquatic Centre in Saint John, N.B.
‘I’m getting previous, however I’m not previous but.’
Another member of Greywatch, Brad Doley, has additionally been swimming at the centre because it opened in 1985.
“The three of us here that have been doing this, we’re all what the government calls old,” Doley mentioned.
But that does not imply they can not dive into the water and save lives.
“Everything that we’re doing and have done and will have to do to pass this course, is the same thing that any 15-16-18-year-old has to do. There’s no favouritism for us whatsoever,” he mentioned.
He quotes a line from the David Myles tune When it Comes my Turn, “I’m getting old, but I’m not old yet.”
Dave Smith, the third member of Greywatch, agrees.
“The sky’s the limit,” he mentioned. Look after your physique and “you can do anything, you know, if you’re lucky enough to have good health.”
George Knoepfler, a workers member on the pool who recruited the three aspiring lifeguards, mentioned having a wide range of ages on workers is healthier for everybody.
“I’m 56 years old,” Knoepfler mentioned. “And I find that working with young people, it keeps me young, and it keeps me motivated.”
And it is also a optimistic for the workers who could be working in certainly one of their first jobs.
“We have an experience of life which they don’t have,” he mentioned. “And we can share what we learned in our lives, and teach these young people and mentor young people.”
Samuel Hamilton, the younger workers member who’s been coaching Greywatch, is aware of this primary hand.
He mentioned it is good to show an older class as a result of they’re extra talkative than a youthful group.
“I’ve learned some of their life experiences, and it’s really been an eye opener,” he mentioned.
The trials of certification
Becoming a lifeguard is not straightforward, at any age. One of the hardest checks is swimming to the deep finish, diving to the ground, selecting up a ten pound brick and treading water whereas carrying it to the wall.
That’s a tricky problem, mentioned Smith, who competed within the males’s 65-69 age group on the 2022 world triathlon dash and relay championships Montreal in June.
“I find coming here and training for this, to dive down to the deep end, is more intimidating than what I had to do in the St. Lawrence [River] as far as I’m concerned,” Smith mentioned.
But having lifesaving abilities is rewarding.
“You take it seriously, take pride in being a lifeguard and, you know, hopefully you don’t have to use all of your skills, but you know, you’re ready and able to go.”
