Major pay raise helps recruit enough lifeguards for Park Point beach
DULUTH, MN-- After Duluth struggled to hire lifeguards, a pay raise of nearly double what they were previously offering finally helped recruit enough people to keep families safe this summer.
As of April, the Duluth YMCA hadn’t seen a single person apply to be a lifeguard on Park Point.
Last season, lifeguards made $11 per hour. This year, they stood to make $14 per hour.
But after the shortage of lifeguard applicants, they decided to boost the pay to anywhere between $19 and $21 for this season.
That helped recruit more applicants, and now the YMCA has enough lifeguards to staff Park Point beach house swimming area.
Lifeguards monitor safety conditions and provide residents and visitors a trained and knowledgeable eye.
Lifeguards are in service from Memorial Day weekend and continue through Labor Day on a schedule that provides more guard hours on typical high-use days.
Lifeguarding Hours:
May 28– 30: noon-5 p.m.
June 3– 5: noon-5 p.m.
June 10– 30: noon-5 p.m. daily (No Lifeguards June 18)
July 1 – Aug. 28:
Monday-Thursday noon-5 p.m., Friday – Sunday 11 a.m.-6 p.m. (July 4 – 11 a.m.-6 p.m.)
Aug. 29 – Sept. 5: noon-5 p.m.
Flags and rescue stations will be in place starting May 26, 2022 for the season.
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