Junior lifeguard registration process sparks complaints – San Diego Union-Tribune

With the recent “Face Your Fears” jump from Scripps Pier in La Jolla last month, this year’s training for the San Diego Junior Lifeguards has been completed.

However, for parents who are determined to get their children into the program, it means they need to mentally prepare for next year's enrollment—and the long waiting list that can come with it.

The Junior Lifeguards program is designed to give youth ages 7 to 17 the opportunity to learn about the ocean and ocean safety from professional lifeguards. The course also includes first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation, water rescue techniques, and physical fitness. The course fee for a four-week course in 2024 was $669.

A La Jolla mother said she has been trying to get her son into the Junior Guards for the past three years and finally succeeded this year, but she still worries about the registration process and the number of children who are unable to participate.

The mother, who wished to remain anonymous because she feared her son might be punished for her comments, said: “It's such a wonderful experience, but it shouldn't be this difficult to sign up. … I signed up the exact second I had to, and yet two of the three years I tried to sign up, [put on the wait list]… It's harder than getting tickets to see Taylor Swift.”

On one attempt, she said, she signed up a minute after registration opened and was placed 130th on the waitlist.

“I know a group of parents who have all tried to accommodate their children, and this year my neighbor [attempted to sign up] right after me and was 200th on the waiting list,” the parent said.

“I know parents who don't even try it because they don't want their kids to be disappointed. I think the kids who live here and use the beach year-round should be prepared. That's why the program is so great. It's not just fun and games; they really learn valuable skills. It's well run and popular for good reason. The kids love it, they learn a lot and gain a lot of confidence in the ocean. … … My son enjoyed it and wants to do it again, but I don't know if that will happen.”

She said she learned that many of the families participating in the program were from outside the area and were either spending the summer in San Diego or using Junior Lifeguards as a type of camp.

“It seems unfair that the children of San Diego don't have the benefit of being protected from the sea in their own city,” she said. “I thought, this can't be right.”

She said she did some research and found that other areas have systems in place that provide benefits to local residents, such as priority registration or a reduced registration fee. However, many of these programs are run by cities and funded with taxpayer dollars, while the program in San Diego is independently operated and financially self-sustaining.

The mother expressed hope that San Diego would implement something similar, but local lifeguards said that was “not the direction the program is going.”

Marine Safety Capt. Maureen Hodges said the San Diego Fire Department and local lifeguards “get questions about the waitlist from several people every year.” But the program is limited by the number of people it can hire and the number of participants it can safely supervise, she said.

“There is a student-teacher ratio for safety reasons,” Hodges said. “For what we do, we choose to have more supervision. We are very conscious of how much safety we can provide. …

“This program is about water safety and education for everyone. … It can't be done just for San Diego residents. It's first come, first served.”

Children from areas that “don’t have the sea on their doorstep” may be more in need of Junior Guard training, says Hodges.

“Children who have constant access to the sea naturally have more opportunities to practice their marine skills. Children from outside the region have less access to this. We want to reach as many people as possible who need these skills.”

Hodges acknowledged that for every child accepted into Junior Lifeguards, there may be two who don't make it, but she said the program often reaches people on the waitlist because spots open up as the start date approaches.

“The program lasts four weeks. Because it's a big commitment, sometimes people back out as the date approaches,” she said. “Then we can call those on the waiting list.”

Hodges recommends that parents be flexible when scheduling sessions for their children.

“There are morning and afternoon sessions, but sometimes parents are only open to one session or the other,” she said. “If parents are flexible in choosing the session, the chances of getting off the waiting list are higher.”

But ultimately, Hodges said, “we can only accept so many kids into the program. We hate to turn those kids away, and I feel sorry for all the parents who try and don't get in. So keep trying.”

For more information, see sandiego.gov/lifeguards/junior. ♦