11 out of a total of 19 lifeguard towers located in the city and district of Larnaca are staffed with lifeguards, Savvas Ioannou, Administrative Officer A, District Supervisor of the Lifeguard Office at the Larnaca District Administration, told CNA.
So far, he continued, "we have carried out five recruitment processes, at least one every month, while the last one took place last week. Tomorrow, four more people will start work who will staff the new lifeguard tower that will open in front of the Lenios Hotel in Larnaca," he said.
He added that "currently there is a shortage of lifeguards and at the same time the procedures for recruiting people for this sector have become stricter. People interested in working in the profession must be more experienced, which is better for bathers because now they will know that they will have professional protection," he noted.
Responding to a question, Mr. Ioannou said, "out of the 19 lifeguard towers that exist in the city and province of Larnaca, 11 will be staffed. However, if there is interest from individuals for this specific profession, a new process may be carried out with the possibility of staffing another lifeguard tower," he noted, and added that "in the summer, those interested are students who meet the criteria. "However, most show their interest and inform us, late May early June. However, it is doubtful whether there will be interest from individuals to become lifeguards from now on," he pointed out.
Responding to another question, Mr. Ioannou said that "the pay for lifeguards is very good while the criteria have become more selective for some time now, since we are trying to keep up with international standards with the primary goal of protecting bathers."
Regarding the criteria, he said that "candidates must have training with at least four medals from Lifeguard Clubs, which exist in all cities of free Cyprus and be certified by the state. Because there is not enough interest from people to work as lifeguards, we ask that they hold three medals in order to facilitate the process," he said, and explained that "the new lifeguard always serves with an older colleague, in order to gain experience."
Furthermore, he continued, "the recruitment criteria include swimming, meaning someone must be able to swim 300 meters in under 7 and a half minutes, knowledge of First Aid, followed by an oral examination by a three-member Committee."
Asked whether the situation with the manning of the lifeguard towers this year is worse or better than last year, Mr. Ioannou replied that "it is approximately at the same levels. For two years now, the lifeguard towers have been continuously manned with two shifts starting from 06.30 in the morning until 8 in the evening," he said.
He said that "in Larnaca there are manned lifeguard towers on the beach of the CTO, at the Oroklini Pavilion, at Chrysopsaro, at Lenios beach, at Finikoudes (3), at Kastela, at Makenzi (3)."
Finally, Mr. Ioannou called on the public, "especially the elderly and those who may have medical problems, to be more careful when going to the sea and sitting on the beach, preferring the morning or late afternoon and to take the necessary measures to avoid sun exposure."
Source: KYPE
