Taking the plunge
Hayden Stuart is first pool manager from Tuk
Kassina Ryder
Northern News Services
Published Monday, July 28, 2014
TUKTOYAKTUK
Hayden Stuart says he's proud to be the first pool operations manager from his home community.
Previous managers have been from other locations, but Stuart, 18, was raised in Tuktoyaktuk.
"I'm the first person in the community to have this certification," he said.
Stuart took part in a program at the Midnight Sun Complex in Inuvik earlier this summer, which provided him with his Bronze Cross certification, lifeguard certification, CPR and First Aid.
Now, he's qualified to supervise Tuk's pool, as well as two other workers.
Stuart said it was the former manager, Geoff Solomon, who encouraged him to take the training. He said Solomon was planning to leave the position and wanted someone from the community to take over.
"He wanted someone else in the community to work in their own community instead of spending money to bring somebody in," Stuart said.
Now that he's in charge, Stuart's responsibilities include daily pool maintenance, lifeguarding and a variety of other duties.
"I operate the filtering system out back in the mechanical room, which keeps the water nice and clean so it can be open daily," he said.
Stuart is also there to offer basic First Aid if someone receives a cut or a bruise while at the pool.
He said an average of about 60 kids visit the pool every day, but that number can increase to more than 100 when the weather is warm.
The pool can host 30 people per swim session and the schedule has public swims twice a day from Monday to Thursday.
The pool is open during the summer months and Stuart said he already has plans for when it shuts down.
This fall, he and his father are planning a trip to Europe.
"I like to travel so I want to go to new places I haven't been before," he said.
After his trip, Stuart said he plans on looking into college programs.
He said he hopes to attend the Writing and Publishing program at Okanagan College in British Columbia.
He said anyone thinking of pursuing a career as a pool supervisor or a lifeguard should be prepared to pay attention during training courses.
"It's a bit of a tricky course," he said. "But you kind of get the rhythm that it all fits together fluently. You'll get the hang of talking about different subjects that all bind into one."
Stuart said he's glad he decided to take the course.
"The job is stressing at times," he said. "But all in all, I love it."
