Liz Mason has been a lifeguard at the aquatic centre in Grand Forks 25 years and while her time is winding down, she’s enjoyed every minute of it.
Mason is set to retire on June 21 but she will still work until then.
“I used to be in aquatics when I was a lot younger and I used to bring my daughter here and actually, Cora Ludwar, who is still here, was the one who said, ‘Why don’t you see if you can get your medallion and cross (lifeguard certification) and you can work here,’ and I did,” Mason reminisces.
Mason is a Lifeguard 3 and does WaterFit classes and circuit weight-training classes on top of lifeguarding – she also teaches Red Cross swim lessons and Bronze medallion and Bronze cross courses as well.
“We encourage people to stay fit and rehab as well,” Mason says. “A lot of people come here after surgeries, new knees or hips, so we have programs and give them a reason to come in here and stay fit.”
A lot changes in 25 years and Mason said that when she started out, the lifeguards were Jack-of-All-Trades.
“When I first started here, we actually did everything. There wasn’t a cashier, there was no maintenance person, so we did everything. We’d guard, we’d come off the deck and bring people through and do the cash-out at the end of the night. We’d do water tests to make sure the chemicals were balanced and clean at the end of the night,” she says.
While she is a lifeguard, Mason says she hasn’t had to resuscitate anyone thankfully.
“I’ve been fortunate that I haven’t had to use my skills that way but we prevent as many things as we can. We find out about every patron, when they come into the pool,” Mason explains. “When I first started, I was on nights and weekends and so we would have 100 to a 150 people and so you wouldn’t necessarily know who was with who and so that was more challenging in a way.”
Mason says its interesting now because aquatic centre staff know every patron that comes in – they know that their issues are and their needs and thus, it’s more personalized.
In fact, the social aspect is something Mason says she enjoys the most.
“I think I like to get to know the people and I’m enjoying the fitness classes,” she explains. “It’s a different classroom. We have circuit weight-training classes and people come a long way in their abilities. They start by being quite fearful and unsure and within a month, or less, they know how it works.”
She says it’s been a wonderful career choice and she says she’s worked with some great people. She plans to keep busy even after she’s retired.
“I have (two hectares) and rental property and puppies,” Mason concludes.