Saturday, eight o'clock. It promises to be a hot day. My first hot day at work. That is why it would be better to say that we are “threatened” by a hot day. But for now I am still a rookie on the shore of the pool. In the morning the swimming pool looks fresh and calm like a park, it rained a lot lately, so the lawns are juicy green. Together with our colleagues, we spread first aid first aid, set up umbrellas, open showers and toilets. Water splash. Wonderfully.
A queue is already being created at the entrance. “Today it will be hard” – predicts a colleague who has worked as a seasonal employee at a Munich pool last summer. He knows what it means for 11 hours to circulate around the pools in a 30-degree heat and keep orientation among thousands of sun-thirsty and refreshment of bathing people. At the end of the day I will have 17 km behind me, I will fall to bed at 21 and fall asleep immediately. But with every change it is getting better: I am finished, but not completely exhausted.
A day at the pool is a challenge. However, he has something meditative. We, rescuers, leave smartphones in cabinets. We look at the water all day, scan its surface. He quickly feels sensitive to irregularities: a child floating in a dog who has nothing to look for in a sports pool, or a woman who talks on the phone and gestures, marching along the pool, while her two daughters who cannot swim, unnoticed, start to “explore” water.
I let the boy go some moves because he claims that he already has a “sea horse” badge. In my opinion, it is still far from this. So I send it to the pool for those who are not swimming and turn to his mother. A woman talking on the phone thinks she has everything under control. An hour later he is looking for one of his daughters, which I just located on the slide. I have a terrible face memory, but here, at the pool, it works surprisingly well.
Shift manager
Equipping by the pool includes our light blue T -shirt, a baseball cap, sunglasses, water, a lot of sunscreen and a radio to call the change manager when you need help. The shift manager is the best support you can imagine as a seasonal worker. Often they are women and men aged 20 or 30 who have undergone three years of training in Municipal Plant to become pool specialists and have gained such a lot of experience that they can manage teams at the pool.
After calling on the radio, they quickly appear where they are needed. Children who are looking for mother during rush hour – change leadership takes care of them. Powerfully built gentlemen who loudly claim that the rules do not apply to them – the leadership of the change ends the discussion. People who feel molested by others – the leadership of the change deals with the matter. Accidents that require something more than a patch or ice wrap for insect sting – the leadership of the change takes care of it.
I am glad that I do not have to decide when to call the police. The shift manager does it. He intervenes, determines the facts and in the case of suspected theft, injury or sexual harassment calls the police. We then return to our observation positions. Later we find out what happened and whether the admission was issued. In “my” family pool, the summer has been going on so far.
As a seasonal employee, I focus on what is most important: so that no one would drown, lie unnoticed at the bottom of the pool or panic in the middle of the 50-meter track. Preventively, we catch people from the water, which we consider to be inexperienced or weak swimmers. We refreshed the first aid course, and our German silver water rescuer badges cannot be older than two years.
We have different origin – I do not meet my work colleagues in everyday life – and we have to communicate in German, keep some peace and even when we set boundaries, always remain friendly. We patiently answer all questions about the water temperature, opening hours, the length of the pool, why there are so many leaves at the bottom of the pool when the kiosk opens or we could quickly introduce a general ban on smoking in the pool.
“Don't do it!”
The further in the summer, the more the tension is felt. Not to guests, but among colleagues you can see who is annoyed, who has the impression that too often he must stand with the most tiring pool, who has too little late or morning changes. It's good that the bands are still mixing, it reduces pressure.
We stand together by the pool, better three, and we have to adapt quickly. There are those who have a great need for movement and are still running around the pools, they are calm, who can sit on a rescuer chair for hours, there are those who attract asking as a magnet, as well as those who take the heart of the pool more than others than others. We almost don't talk about private matters, but we can rely on ourselves. Because what will escape one should see the other.
Every time I surprise me what remains on the lawns in the evening. Lots of cigarette butts, filled diapers in bushes, used sanitary pads, fries remains and a huge amount of plastic. What we cannot collect in the evening is cleaned by a morning change. However, we do not always manage to deal with waste, which irritates some guests. Then we just become a basket for their dissatisfaction. However, we remain calm.
Also by the pool. I make a sense when frisky children can splash freely, and when they need to be intervened because they are approaching too much people to swim, older guests or parents with young children.
I gained something like a helicopter view, surrounded by young children who stand up and look for their mothers, mothers who think they have lost their child, men who want to jump into the water in cotton T -shirts and shorts, teenagers who draw attention to artistic jumps to the water – exactly where it is not allowed.
I recognize children and adults at the slides who lie on their backs, on their stomach, spin around, slide down four and shout wildly, checking how quickly they can go down. When they reach the bottom, I wait for them as fun, with a whistle between the mouth and movement of the index finger, which means: “Don't do it!”.
Artem Voropai / Shutterstock
Child at the pool (illustrative photo)
Vigilance and sense of humor
In general, a lifeguard is a walking emoticon. At the discovered pool, where it seems that the whole Munich has to bathe, non -verbal communication is necessary. Especially when the action takes place 20 m further in the pool. A short whistle and leaving both hands (usually addressed to the groups of energetic boys) means “relax” or, if there was already a conversation before, a gesture with a hand means “I have you an eye on you”.
A friend asks me if I think people are listening to me. I don't know. But as long as they react to my whistle and approach me when I call them, and I can explain to them what was wrong, maybe something will reach them. At least contact is made. Why do I think this is important? For 35 years, my father was a lifeguard at the indoor pool and he loved his work. The fact that I do this summer work has a relationship with it. I want to feel his fascination.
I get to know the profession that seems to be monotonous from the outside, and even sleepy, but requires attention like a wooden frog: it seems nap, but has eyes wide open and in case the threat reacts immediately. This summer I talk a lot with my father about “service” and I realize how much I learned from him. That it is important to be present, available, to explain your decisions – even if the words do not reach the addressee. But above all to keep a sense of humor.
After a few weeks, I recognize pool regulars, especially swimmers. Munich with eight discovered pools is a paradise for all sports swimming lovers, because in most pools the tracks are separated. In Dantebad or Mchrenbad, ambitious swimmers meet, in other pools the atmosphere is more relaxed. Each pool has its own rhythm. Early in the morning and just before closing, guests greet more often than at noon, when the sun warms up. But really everyone in the sports pool is in a good mood. Here you can literally see how people leave stress in water while swimming.
The most beautiful days are rainy ones for me. Then only those who like loneliness in water come. And we, rescuers, enjoy loneliness over the water. These are the days when we load the batteries and say: the next wave of heat may come soon.
The author of this article is a qualified rescuer and this year she works for the first time as a seasonal employee at an outdoor pool in Munich. Her name is known to the editor.
I’m Ashley Davis as an editor, I’m committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity and accuracy in every piece we publish. My work is driven by curiosity, a passion for truth, and a belief that journalism plays a crucial role in shaping public discourse. I strive to tell stories that not only inform but also inspire action and conversation.
