Life guards

Life guards

Today, I learnt crazy things about swimming pools, lifeguards and beaches. And I feel in a position to make a comparison between the US and Greece.



By the way, this is Vouliagmeni beach in Athens, which does have a lifeguard. I really miss Vouliagmeni, where I used to train for sailing. The Charles river in Boston cannot be compared to the beauty of my city!




As I was having dinner at a friend's place who lives in a block of flats that has a medium-sized swimming pool, the ones you can swim across with ten strokes or so. I jokingly asked if we could go swim. The reply came as a surprise :
- No, the pool is closed after-hours, because the life-guard is not here.
- You have a life-guard for this swimming pool ?
- Of course! We have to have a lifeguard.

I had only seen lifeguards at the gym's pools (my friend Darcie worked as one, and I think she once had to save someome) at hotel pools, and sometimes at the organised beaches in Greece. And as I'm trying to find out more, I run into the following newspaper article (from Kathimerini: article in greek)

Popular beaches, where popular is defined as any beach having more than 500 people within one day - I don't know if they need to be simultaneous, must have a lifeguard. BUT, the mayors do not appoint them. As if they cost too much, for the three months of work they do, and they do not allow the mayor to do their festival, their fair and their garbage collection. As if their job is not of primary importance with 290 drown people during 2006. As if someone else can help and save our fellow citizen offering the correct first aid. As if the mayors had brains!

And things got worse as I kept reading the article. Apparently, lifeguards are recognised by the ministry of commercial shipping as professionals (after obtaining the necessary licensing), but not by the ministry of work and social insurances, resulting in the omnipresent greek chaos of I can work, but they won't pay me. Once more it's ridiculous.