A day in the life of lifeguards at Gibraltar’s pools

All of Gibraltar’s beaches and pools are attended by a team of qualified lifeguards and attendants who are directly overseen by head lifeguards and beach supervisors.  

This is the second of a four-part series and, today, Chronicle reporter Eyleen Gomez focuses on the three pools on the Rock starting with the Pavillion. 

Head lifeguard on the day the Chronicle visited the Pavillion was Samuel Chapman who described the qualification process for pool lifeguards as “quite a vigorous training”. 

“We go through, like, plenty of 400m swims...and that’s to make sure everyone’s up to a fit standard first of all,” he said. 

From there, trainees move on to a range of rescue techniques using specialist equipment, depending on whether a casualty is conscious or unconscious. 

“If they’re unconscious, you will be using your two fingers under their chin to swim out of the pool with them,” he said. 

“If they’re conscious, you’ll give them the torpedo because then they can kick.” 

For suspected spinal injuries, lifeguards deploy the PXB board in the water. 

Lifeguards are also trained to respond to cardiac events. 

“You learn how to do CPR on an infant, which is below one years old, and a child, and then an adult also,” he said. 

“You have to make sure, if a rescue ever happens, that you’re prepared to be able to adapt on the spot and know exactly what to do for the person that you’re dealing with.” 

The team trains every Wednesday, usually at Europa Pool, to keep skills fresh and responses automatic. 

Samuel has been a lifeguard for two years and this is his first year as head lifeguard.  

While most days run smoothly, Samuel noted that enforcing strict pool rules can sometimes lead to tensions with members of the public. 

“Sometimes we tell the public, you know, ‘you can’t do this’ and they can be unhappy,” he said. 

Aidan Fortunato is spending his first summer on duty and the attraction of the job was simple. 

“It’s mainly helping people, which is what I like doing.” 

When the opportunity arose to take the pool lifeguard course, he “immediately said yes”. 

While his main focus is poolside, Aidan and his colleagues also keep watch over the adjacent “river” area.  

Pool lifeguard Oscar Duarte has described his job as “a great experience” and is encouraging others to take up the role. 

Oscar said monitoring the pool is manageable because they “minimise our distractions to stay focused in the pool.” 

"If there’s more people, when there’s two on that zone, it’s easier to supervise the pools.”  

This season, he intervened during EcoFest in May, when he rescued a child who was struggling to swim. 

Four years into her role as an attendant, Jaydy Gavito said the job “always challenges me, and it shows me how to speak to the public, and my communication skills always get better.” 

Now a head Beach Attendant, she described her team as “top standards always” and stressed the importance of clear communication. 

“We always work hard to provide the best service possible,” she said.  

The main challenge, she added, is coping with the rush hours, especially when queues form as soon as doors open. 

Caine McWilliams is probably the most well known face at the Pavillion pool having being in the role of attendant for 11 years.  

Asked why he keeps coming back, he said he enjoys “everything, working, people.” 

“I like doing the tables for the people,” he said, describing how he helps decide where people want their tables so “they can enjoy the place” and set out their food and belongings comfortably for the day. 

First-time pool attendant Zara Mercer says her summer job has given her the chance to help the community, stay active, and make new friends. 

Although she currently works at an accessible facility, Zara says she prefers shifts at the beaches where there is more opportunity to use the specialist equipment available. 

“We got the wheelchairs, we got the Oceanics, we’ve got the Hippocampes. We’ve got crutches, which most people don’t know about.” 

The post also requires intensive training, which she says is made easier by an engaging instructor. 

“It’s easy. Eddie keeps it fun and light and keeps everyone focused with jokes,” she said. 

Camp Bay 

Head pool lifeguard at Camp Bay on the day the Chronicle visited was Aicha Parody, who is back for her third summer. 

“Initially, I started because I've always been interested by the medical field, and the first aid element of the job drew me in,” she said. 

Now responsible for leading a young team of lifeguards, she said one of the main challenges this summer has been a “different demographic of people coming into pools.” 

“We have a lot more foreigners coming in. Obviously, they're still unaware of the rules.” 

“People are usually respectful once they understand the reasoning behind rules. We just have to find a middle ground with everyone and make sure everyone's safe and happy,” she said. 

As head lifeguard, she also supports her younger colleagues, acknowledging that she too is young, she believes “we come together quite well as a team.” 

Julianne Martinez is in her third season on duty. 

“I’ve always wanted to help people. In uni, I do physio and I’ve always liked helping people,” she said. 

The first aid element of lifeguarding, she added, ties in directly with her academic work and understanding of the human body. 

But the role also comes with challenges. “With this job, as much as you want to have your break and everything, after being all day in the sun, you always need to be prepared to hear a triple whistle and run that way for anything that needs to be done,” she said. 

Third‑year beach and pool attendant Naomi Schwock prefers working at the pools, where there is a larger beach support team, compared with some beach posts where she can find herself working alone. 

“I like having a routine throughout summer. Obviously, helping people is very rewarding at the same time,” she added. 

She continues to return each season for the combination of routine, teamwork, and community-facing work it provides. 

Europa Pool 

Head lifeguard on the day the Chronicle visited Europa Pool was Hayley Ferrary who was promoted to the role after just one year on the team. 

“This is actually my first year being head lifeguard. I initially started off as a beach attendant and I loved it, but I wanted something with more responsibility,” she said. 

As head lifeguard, she is responsible for everyone. 

“When I'm head lifeguard, it's a lot more intense in the sense that I have a lot more responsibility. I'm not just watching over the pools, I'm watching over my lifeguards too,” she said.  

“I want to make sure that obviously the public are okay, but I need my lifeguards to be comfortable so that they can do their job to the best of their capability.” 

While open water lifeguards contend with tides and weather, pool staff face different types of risk. 

She highlighted slippery floors, uneven surfaces and inflatables as the main hazards. 

“When the public see us really go in for a rescue or do something big, they appreciate us more,” she said. 

“They really do know that it is a safe pool, and they are safe in our hands.”  

Lifeguard Sam Redman is now in his fourth season and said: “The job is really good because I'm here with some great colleagues, I'm making good money while I'm here for the summer, and it's always been a fun job which has responsibility.”  

Working in the heat brings its own challenges and Sam explained that rotations are structured to balance vigilance with rest and availability for first aid. The maximum stint on pool duty is one hour, followed by time on first aid and then rest. 

First year pool attendant Chanel Anes said her first summer on duty is “never boring”. 

“I worked with PossAbilities for three years, and I helped with people with disabilities of all ages,” she said. 

“I saw that the things for this job also required that, and I thought that I’d be a good fit for it.” 

Asked about challenges, she said there were a few. 

“Maybe there’s some days where, like when the pool gets closed, people get a bit upset,” she said.  

“So it’s sometimes just speaking to them, and saying ‘Oh, I’m really sorry that this happened, we will try and open as soon as possible’.” 

First‑year beach attendant Nicholas Andrews likes to work at Eastern Beach the most as his family goes there. He decided to take on the role after hearing positive feedback from friends already in the job. 

“I had quite a few friends who were working this job, and they always told me how good it was, and how they always got along with everyone,” he said. 

“It has lived up to it.”