Sparkling water, screaming children, scraped knees. The Haarer outdoor pool is a place where something moves. And in the midst of all the confusion, bath manager Sante Ciavarella. Tanned, with a seemingly relaxed smile on his lips, eyes fixed on the cymbals. “Because drowning is a quiet death,” he says. Anyone who suffers a heart attack or circulatory collapse in the water no longer has the strength to scream. To save lives, however, seconds are crucial. That’s why Ciavarella’s attentive eyes ensure a carefree bathing summer. But until recently there were no lifeguards next to him.
Ciavarella was therefore only able to open the outdoor pool at 10 a.m. instead of the usual 7 a.m. and he had to temporarily close the indoor pools completely. The problem has been solved since the beginning of June, and all three pools are open again as usual. “With ten new lifeguards, plus five in training, we are well positioned again alongside the eight permanent employees,” says the pool manager.
One of them is Anastasiia Zhmailova. At the end of March, the 30-year-old Ukrainian had to flee her hometown of Kharkiv. She has been working at the Haar outdoor pool since the beginning of June. As a former swimming champion of the Ukrainian state team, she is well equipped for the job. Not only that: she can now live her dream of being close to the water again. An injury forced her to stop swimming professionally at the age of 16. At least there was something good about fleeing her home country. “This profession makes my soul happy,” says Zhmailova.
The job on the water makes Anastasiia Zhmailova from Kharkiv happy.
(Photo: Claus Schunk)
But apparently not many people see it the way they do at the moment. According to the Federal Association of German Swimming Champion, at least 2,500 trained specialists for pool operations (the official name) are missing. Ascending trend. According to its President Peter Harzheim, the situation is so serious that many swimming pools throughout Germany have reduced opening hours or are not even able to open despite the summer temperatures.
Mistakes are not allowed in the lifeguard profession
The work doesn’t seem to be very popular at the moment. Sante Ciavarella suspects several reasons. “In this job you have a lot of responsibility. And not everyone wants to take it on.” After all, it’s about nothing less than human life. “Actually, as the manager of a pool company, I always have one leg in prison,” he says. If he or his employees make even the slightest mistake, it can be held against him. Quite apart from the fact that hardly anyone wants to feel responsible for someone else’s death. “Should a person die from under your hands, it will remain in you for the rest of your life,” Ciavarella is certain.
So what looks so relaxed when the tanned lifeguards stroll up and down the pools is actually systematic. One colleague on the slide, another on the springboards, one in the 50-meter pool. “Prevention is the most important thing,” says Ciavarella. The better his staff positions themselves, the sooner they recognize dangerous situations, the less often rescue operations have to be started.
Acrobatic jump from the three-meter board in the Haarer outdoor pool.
(Photo: Sebastian Gabriel)
For many in the municipality and the surrounding area, the outdoor pool in Haar is the most beautiful place in the summer.
(Photo: Municipality of Haar)
If the worst-case scenario does occur, it is an enormous stress for everyone involved, even if such situations are trained during the training. Then it’s time to overcome shock and function. Last year a five-year-old drowned and lifeguards had to revive him. Fortunately, the boy survived everything well, “but afterwards, when the tension drops, my employees tremble,” says Ciavarella. So far everything has gone well under his supervision. However, there is never a guarantee. “When I look to the right, I cannot look to the left at the same time.” The lifeguards are present, but they cannot be everywhere at once.
Just because there are enough staff at the moment, Ciavarella can take a moment to breathe and take time for the interview in the afternoon heat in the lounge next to his office. Despite this, the walkie-talkie always stays on. “I’ve been in Germany for 22 years and since then I’ve done nothing else,” says the native Italian. In his home region of Apulia, he completed his Bagnino training at the age of 16 during the long Italian summer holidays – the Italian lifeguard. In Germany you have to be 18 years old, then you can do the four to six-week training and examination at the German Life Saving Society (DLRG) or the water rescue service.
During the corona pandemic, many resigned, and now there is a lack of supervisors everywhere
Of course, the conditions by the sea were far more difficult than in the pool, says the pool manager. Unmanageable currents, waves and weather conditions can turn the Mediterranean Sea into a death trap. As Bagnino, Ciavarella had to save someone’s life three times. When he came to Germany years later, he knew what responsibility means. And when the community was once again looking for lifeguards, Ciavarella came at the right time. In 2020 – during the pandemic – he finally took over the reins.
According to Ciavarella, in addition to the high level of responsibility, the physical strain is also a reason why few people are enthusiastic about this job. The lifeguard is only part of the training. What you have to be able to do, however, is high-performance sport: swimming in jeans and a jacket for less than twelve minutes, diving up to five meters deep, 35 meters long distance diving – this can even bring people to their knees who otherwise feel like fish in water.
Lifeguard training is difficult and the job requires responsibility.
(Photo: private/BRK Kreisverband Ebersberg)
During Corona, many pools were also closed, which led to short-time work and layoffs. Many lifeguards have reoriented themselves professionally during this time and now no longer want to come back. “Maybe the new job pays better, maybe they have less responsibility and less stress,” Ciavarella speculates. Because lifeguards, as skilled workers are colloquially called, work when others are on vacation, on public holidays, at weekends, in shifts, six and sometimes even twelve days at a time. In Haar, for example, work begins at 6:30 in the morning. “As long as you don’t have a family, you can still do it, but even then many are not willing to take it upon themselves,” is Ciavarella’s experience.
He lives with his family in Haar and his two children spend their free time with their dad at the outdoor pool. At the age of ten and 13, they had already grown into good swimmers. Ciavarella doesn’t know if they want to practice the profession later, but if they do, he won’t stop them. “It’s still a wonderful job. You spend so much time with people and I’ve seen a lot of Haarer children grow up.” He can see that too when he stands at the edge of the pool.