Arlington Hts. lifeguards living up to high standards

Lifeguards across the suburbs resumed their training in preparation for this weekend's pool openings, but in Arlington Heights staff members approached their rescues with renewed energy.

Over the winter, the Arlington Heights Park District won a national award for "Excellence in Aquatics," for communities with a population of between 50,000 to 100,000.

Steve Neill, aquatics program supervisor, accepted the award in Houston at the National Aquatics Conference & Exposition hosted by officials with the National Recreation and Park Association.

"It was the first time we've won the award, and I think it reflects the hard work of all of our staff members in aquatics," Neill said.

Specifically, the award recognizes the park district's responsiveness to community needs, its quality of services, ability to overcome challenges, accessibility and professionalism of staff.

With its lake facility -- Lake Arlington -- as well as one indoor pool and five outdoor neighborhood pools, the award also acknowledges the visibility of aquatic recreation in the community.

"Arlington Heights is a swimming town," Neill says. "Its residents recognize the importance and benefits of aquatic recreation, and know that the benefits of swimming are life long."

The numbers back him up, with something like 246,000 patrons using one of the village's aquatic facilities last year. What's more, they had 850 different types of programs to choose from, ranging from swim lessons and competitive swimming to water exercise and sailing.

Last summer alone, swimming lessons drew 7,900 youngsters, Neill said, and another 600 participated on a competitive swim team.

Still, there's little time to rest on laurels. Lifeguards grabbed familiar orange rescue tubes starting on Friday, to begin training for this summer.

Over the weekend, Neill and his staff certified approximately 100 lifeguards, on their way to training the 280 he expects to have in their chairs this summer. All of them are trained in the Jeff Ellis & Associates methods, which has set the industry standard for victim detection and response times.