By Thomas Barlas, Press of Atlantic City, Monday, September 3rd, 1990

The beach crowds wane as the summer tourist season winds down.

Beach patrols throughout the state are starting to pack up rescue equipment and the lifeguard stands will soon be empty.

And while there’s still a good bit of time before next year’s summer season arrives, some beach patrol officials are worried about how they’ll fill the lifeguard stands in 1991.

Several beach patrols in southern New Jersey are experiencing a problem that’s facing a growing number of seaside resorts along the East Coast, that being a decreasing number of men and women who apply to be lifeguards.

Whether it’s blamed on low pay or a “baby-bust generation,” many beach patrols from Maine to Florida are finding it harder to fill the ranks.

Forced to take some kind of corrective actions, many beach patrols are planning everything from recruitment drives to seeking bigger salaries in an attempt to attract more potential lifeguards next year.

“It’s terrible,” said Anthony Cavalier, beach patrol captain in North Wildwood, Cape May County.

Several years ago, North Wildwood Beach Patrol officials could expect about 40 people to try out for the squad, he said.

This year, only 12 people tried out for eight spots on the North Wildwood Beach Patrol, Cavalier said.

“I could only fill seven of the eight spots,” he said.

The Long Beach Township Beach Patrol in Ocean County has about 35 to 40 openings each year.

Several years ago, almost all of the 90 to 150 people who applied for the jobs showed up to take the lifeguard tests, said Long Beach Township Beach Patrol Capt. Donald Myers.

While the number of applicants to the Long Beach Township Beach Patrol remains the same, only about 40 to 50 of the applicants are now showing up to take the tests, he said.

Only about 30 people pass the tests, Myers said. Of the 30 people who pass the tests, only about 20 may wind up working for the beach patrol, he said.

The number of openings and applicants for lifeguard jobs is “basically the same” anymore, said Bud Johnson, captain of the Wildwood Crest Beach Patrol in Cape May County.

“You don’t have a whole lot to choose from,” he said.

The number of people applying to be lifeguards in Wildwood Crest has decreased by about 50 percent during the past several years, Johnson said.

“We’re taking just about every applicant,” he said.

While beach patrol officials say all the applicants must pass the appropriate tests, that standards for lifeguards are becoming tougher and the squads are generally attracting better athletes than in past years, Cavalier maintains that might not always be the case.

“You end up taking some people that aren’t as physically qualified as others,” Cavalier said. “I don’t know if other beach patrols will admit it.”

No one can come up with one solid reason as to why the number of beach patrol applicants is dropping.

Beach patrol officials in southern New Jersey point to several factors, including:

* The low salaries paid to lifeguards for a job that, since it involves activities such as rescues and crowd control, is potentially dangerous and stressful. The starting pay for lifeguards in southern New Jersey generally runs from $5 to $6 an hour. Many beach patrol officials say a good percentage of their lifeguards work a second job.

* Higher salaries offered by other tourism businesses, including motels with pools.

* The increasing cost of seashore living, such as housing and food, which eats up money that many lifeguards in past years put towards their college education.

* A more serious and professional approach to the occupation. The approach drives away some people who don’t like the regimentation and who see the job as an easy way to get a tan and find dates. “I’ll fire a guy on the drop of a dime if he’s talking to a woman too long,” one beach patrol captain said.

One beach patrol captain even blames part of the problem on the “baby-bust” generation that’s causing a decreasing number of people ages 16 to 24 - an age group that filled a good part of the lifeguard ranks.

Whatever the reasons, beach patrols must cope with the situation.

All of which means beach patrol officials must take some steps they never considered several years ago.

For instance, Cavalier said North Wildwood is considering advertising for lifeguards next year and sending recruiting letters to high schools and colleges.

Johnson, who, like other beach patrol officials, said his squad attracted members by “word of mouth,” said Wildwood Crest is planning to advertise in the Philadelphia media for lifeguards.

Long Beach Township has a Lifeguard-in-Training program, which gives youths ages 13 to 15 the chance to “learn everything there is about being a lifeguard,” Myers said.

“It develops an interest in the youths and if they someday start to work for us, they know what to do and come in as trained guards,” he said.

Some of the program’s graduates have wound up manning the lifeguard stands, Myers said.

Additionally, Long Beach Township’s beach patrol has been recruiting lifeguards for about four years by setting up booths in shopping malls, working with chambers of commerce and sending letters to colleges, he said.

“I didn’t want to wait until the problem hit me in the face,” Myers said.

Some beach patrols have bucked the trend of decreasing applicants.

For instance, the number of people applying to the beach patrol in Ocean City, Cape May County, increased this year by about 30-percent after decreasing for the past several years.

However, Ocean City Beach Patrol Capt. Oliver Muzslay said he’s not sure if the number of applicants will keep rising.

“I would hope it continues to increase,” he said, adding that the beach patrol has been sending lifeguard recruiting letters to collegiate swim coaches.

The situation “seems to run in cycles,” said George King, captain of the Margate Beach Patrol in Atlantic County.

“We’ve had problems, but during the last two years we’ve seen increasing numbers,” he said.

One reason for that might be the fact that Margate’s beach patrol, which recruits heavily at Atlantic City High School and Holy Spirit High School, several years ago dropped its minimum age limit for lifeguards from 16 to 14, King said.

Margate and several other seashore resorts in Atlantic County may also benefit from a “pretty sizeable year-round population,” he said.

“A lot of (seaside) municipalities are virtually closed-down in the winter,” King said. “They have to bring recruits from out of town. We hardly take anybody from out of town.”

Other beach patrol officials said certain squads - such as in Wildwood, Ocean City and Atlantic City - benefit because of name recognition.

For instance, the beach patrol in Wildwood, Cape May County, this year had 75 candidates vying for 45 openings.

“I think it’s name recognition,” said Wildwood Beach Patrol Senior Lt. Thomas McCann. “The numbers (of applicants) are there.”

“It seems to me that when they come down (to Wildwood) they don’t think of North Wildwood and Wildwood Crest. A lot of people are surprised to hear that there are three municipalities.”

Photo: Wildwood lifeguards head for the water during a morning workout before going on duty. Staff photo by Tom Kinnemand.

© 1990 The Press of Atlantic City. Reproduced with permission.