{"id":613366,"date":"2026-04-18T23:51:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-18T23:51:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/613366\/"},"modified":"2026-04-18T23:51:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-18T23:51:14","slug":"vancouver-lifeguards-raise-concerns-over-potential-staffing-cuts-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/613366\/","title":{"rendered":"Vancouver lifeguards raise concerns over potential staffing cuts"},"content":{"rendered":"

Vancouver\u2019s beaches may be quiet now, but with the arrival of warmer weather, locals will once again be drawn to the water.<\/p>\n

However, due to budgetary constraints, five city beaches \u2014 Spanish Banks East, Spanish Banks West, Third Beach, Sunset Beach, and Trout Lake \u2014 could soon no longer have lifeguards, the City of Vancouver says.<\/p>\n

The move would save around $600,000, it says.<\/p>\n

Analise Hofmann, who has been a lifeguard at Spanish Banks West since she was a teenager, says she was stunned when she heard the Vancouver Park Board was planning on removing lifeguards from the beaches.<\/p>\n

\"\"Lifeguard Analise Hofmann. (CityNews Image)<\/p>\n

\"\"Lifeguard Analise Hofmann. (CityNews Image)<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are preventative. We can rescue people in the water,\u201d said Analise Hofmann, a lifeguard at Spanish Banks. \u201cWe\u2019re there quickly enough. If we aren\u2019t here, those incidents can very much turn into recovery efforts.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know these areas like the back of our hand, and it doesn\u2019t take many of us to keep these areas safe. So really it\u2019s\u2026the most cost-effective way to keep the public safe and happy at the beach and having a good environment.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is not the first time Vancouver lifeguards have fought to keep their posts. In 2012, these same beaches were set to lose their lifeguards until the community spoke up.<\/p>\n

Craig Amundson has been patrolling Vancouver\u2019s beaches for over 30 years. He says lifeguards have extensive knowledge of the dangers near the water\u2019s edge.<\/p>\n

\"LifeguardLifeguard Craig Amundson speaks with CityNews reporter Kurt Black. (CityNews Image)<\/p>\n

\"LifeguardLifeguard Craig Amundson. (CityNews Image)<\/p>\n

He fears this loss of know-how could impact the thousands of tourists who will descend on Vancouver in two months for the FIFA World Cup.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople who\u2019ve come to this area without that level of training or understanding\u2026very quickly, a beautiful day can turn into a tragedy,\u201d Amundson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what we\u2019re here to stop.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are ongoing efforts to avoid these concerns altogether. On April 22, Vancouver Coun. Pete Fry will table an urgent motion directing City Hall to allocate the $600,000 in funding needed to keep lifeguards at all Vancouver beaches throughout the summer.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to have appropriate supports for folks to enjoy the water, enjoy the beach, enjoy our city, especially if they are visiting for the World Cup,\u201d Fry said.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, any accident\u2026 the $600,000 would be trivial in the context of someone\u2019s life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Amundson remains hopeful that council will be swayed, as in his view, the potential savings do not outweigh the inherent risks.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn 2021, there were some times where lifeguards were pulled from beaches, and accidents and tragedies did result,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat will happen again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\tA lifeguard at Spanish Banks in Vancouver. (CityNews Image) <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Vancouver\u2019s beaches may be quiet now, but with the arrival of warmer weather, locals will once again be…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":613367,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194298],"tags":[49,48,55],"class_list":["post-613366","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-vancouver","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-vancouver"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/613366","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=613366"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/613366\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/613367"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=613366"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=613366"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=613366"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}