This summer, I became a lifeguard. I work mainly at an indoor pool, but this past week, I have been working at a local outdoor pool. The rules are generally the same, the techniques are the same and the concept is the same. However, they are completely different beasts.

At the indoor pool, the chances of having to save someone are drastically lower. This is partially due to fewer people swimming. Let’s face it, summer is not the season people say, “Let's all go to the indoor pool.” It’s the season where people want to have fun in the sun. The indoor pool draws many people, but not the quantity and quality of people the outdoor pool does. The outdoor pool draws more families with children and teenagers than the indoor pool. The indoor pool is mainly used for fitness, having a children’s area, but only as a secondary part of the facility.

At the outdoor pool, big slides on the pool deck bring in more kids, but they create a need for more guards, the slide area always needing at least two: one guard to send the people down and another to make sure they make it down alright. The outdoor pool also presents a greater risk of heat-related injuries. Also, lifeguarding at the outdoor pool means no air conditioning at all for the whole day. Lifeguard tans are a thing.

To some people’s surprise, Lifeguards are the ones who clean the bathrooms and pool deck. Cleaning the bathrooms at the indoor and outdoor facilities are similar processes, but they also seem completely different. The outdoor pool’s facilities aren’t as nicely designed (mostly concrete with the bare essentials), whereas the indoor pool has this weird linoleum-like flooring (that is really slippery). Also, when cleaning the pool deck at the indoor pool, you have to worry about far less. At the outdoor pool, you have to organize chairs and pick up a lot of trash people left behind. The indoor pool has bleachers and very rarely do people bring food or trash into the building.

Being a lifeguard is difficult anywhere. Dealing with people and having to be calm in the face of anything can be taxing. So please follows the rules of the pool if you end up going to one this summer, and for the love of everything, do not run.