Due to a shortage of available certified lifeguards, Penticton Community Centre needs to close the pool on Saturdays and reduce hours on Friday evenings from July 4 to Aug. 12. The recreation department apologizes for any inconvenience and thanks you for your patience.

The revised schedule has been posted to the city’s aquatics webpage, at penticton.ca/aquatics.

Patrons are reminded that last-minute updates involving pool schedule closures will be posted to the Recreation Penticton’s Facebook and Instagram social media pages @recreationpenticton.

The City of Penticton has an active job posting for available certified lifeguards to provide increased hours of operation and programming. The job posting is available to view at penticton.ca/careers.

Lifeguards are paid $24.10 per hour and yet the city can’t find people to fill the positions. The lifeguard shortage has been an ongoing issue for Penticton since the onset of COVID, said Penticton’s manager of recreation, arts and culture Kelsey Johnson earlier this year.

“Like many industries both globally and locally, the pandemic has had a significant impact on staffing, particularly in our aquatics sector. Due to our reduced resources, we will not be able to offer pre-pandemic service levels for our public swimming, aquatic fitness and learn to swim lessons,” said Johnson last August.

READ MORE: Penticton pool limits aquatic programs due to staffing

As a reminder, the pool will be closed for its scheduled shutdown maintenance from Aug. 13 to Sept. 5.

Last maintenance shutdown extended into late October because of a leak that needed fixing.

READ MORE: Leak continues to plague Penticton pool

Employment