Rising temperatures are attracting more and more people to bathing lakes and outdoor pools. But there is a lack of swimming champions in the southwest. In some places, this is already having an impact on bathers.
Elzach (dpa / lsw) – Because lifeguards in particular are missing, several baths in the southwest have to shorten their opening hours. “The situation is precarious,” said the state chairman of the Federal Association of German Swimming Champion in Baden-Württemberg, Edgar Koslowski, in Elzach (Emmendingen district) of the German Press Agency. “We can no longer fill all positions to ensure operations.”
According to the operators, for example, in Freiburg, Friedrichshafen and Bad Mergentheim, pools have to close earlier than usual due to a lack of employees. According to a city spokeswoman, an indoor pool in Mannheim ended the season earlier because the employees are needed there in the city’s outdoor pools.
“Overall, there is a lack of well over 2,000 trained specialists in Germany,” said a spokeswoman for Freiburger Stadtbau GmbH. “Of course, this is also noticeable in summer.” Many people who had worked as seasonal workers in the pools before Corona would have looked for other jobs during the pandemic-related closing times. In addition, due to a lack of training opportunities, there was a lack of junior staff.
The city of Mannheim has therefore started a new campaign to look specifically for trainees for the pools, said a spokeswoman for the city. In Bad Mergentheim (Main-Tauber-Kreis), due to the lack of young professionals, the city itself has started training again and has created a trainee position for specialist employees for pool operations.
The bathing center in Sindelfingen, one of the largest baths in the Stuttgart region, wants to use a “Job Day” to promote work at the pool edge. “So far we have been able to maintain the current opening hours with our staff,” said a spokesman for the city of Sindelfingen. In addition to the shortage of skilled workers, some employees are currently absent due to illness. “Should other employees fail, we do not rule out a reduction.”
This case occurred in Freiburg at the weekend. Due to several cases of illness and the low staffing level, the Westbad was closed on Saturday and Sunday. While the closure of the indoor pool should be manageable for many leisure swimmers in view of the summer temperatures, the shortened opening hours of the open-air Loretto pool will probably hurt early swimmers and late visitors in particular: The outdoor pool only opens at 12 p.m. instead of 10 a.m. and closes at 7 p.m. instead of 8 p.m Watch.
A spokeswoman for the city-owned operator company said that the opening hours could at least be covered with one shift. The lack of employees has many causes. However, it cannot be due to the monetary aspect, after all, you pay according to the tariff.
In order to get more people excited about the profession of swimming champion, not only fair payment is necessary, emphasized the head of the swimming champions association, Edgar Koslowski. “Appreciation should also be visible on site by the bathers. In the meantime, you first have to earn the respect of some.” In addition, the job is not attractive for many young people because the working hours leave little room for private life and a family of their own.
