East Bay Regional Park District To Hire Over 50 New Lifeguards

EAST BAY, CA — Can you swim 550 yards in under 10 minutes, carry a rescue board 50 feet, retrieve three dive rings under 4-7 feet of water, tread water for two minutes using only your legs, and retrieve a 10-pound brick from underwater?

If so, you could pass the test to work as a lifeguard this summer for the East Bay Regional Park District. More than 50 new lifeguards are sought for the 2023 swim season to work at 12 East Bay swim facilities, which include lakes, lagoons and swimming pools.

The Park District is accepting applications through March 27 for seasonal, full-time lifeguard positions from May through September. Starting pay is $20.78 per hour and anyone ages 16 and over before April 22, 2023, is encouraged to apply.

Participants who pass the lifeguard test will be invited to the Park District's Lifeguard Academy which starts April 22.

There are six lifeguard testing dates scheduled in March. There is where participants are asked to swim 550 yards in under 10 minutes, carry a rescue board 50 feet, retrieve three dive rings under four to seven feet of water, tread water for two minutes using only their legs, and retrieve a 10-pound brick from underwater. There is also a short informal interview after successful completion of the swim test on the same day.

Testing Schedule:

• Saturday, March 11, at Buchanan Pool, Pittsburg
• Sunday, March 12, at Granada High School Pool, Livermore
• Saturday, March 18, at San Leandro High School Pool, San Leandro
• Sunday, March 19, at Granada High School Pool, Livermore
• Saturday, March 25, at Buchanan Pool, Pittsburg
• Sunday, March 26, at Castro Valley High School Pool, Castro Valley

Participants invited to the Lifeguard Academy will receive paid training and certification in open-water lifeguarding. The Lifeguard Academy takes place over five consecutive weekends in April and May, and the swim season begins in late May for most facilities.

“Working as a lifeguard is one of the few ways a young adult can give back to their community and learn about public service,” said East Bay Regional Park District Aquatics Manager Pete DeQuincy. “Promoting water safety and educating park visitors on how to safely recreate in, on, and around water is paramount in what a lifeguard does.”

Lifeguards can work at any of the Park District’s swim facilities in various cities in Alameda and Contra Costa counties, such as Antioch, Concord, Livermore, Hayward, Castro Valley, Oakland, Alameda and Berkeley.

More information on how to apply is posted online at: www.ebparks.org/public-safety/lifeguard/jobs.