Shorter hours, longer lines at Adventure Bay

Nobody enjoys waiting in line, but that was the case for some trying to get into Adventure Bay and for those already in there Tuesday afternoon.

“We've been getting some requests through our social media for longer hours,” said Michael Chantler, manager of aquatics for the City of Windsor. “We would love to expand our hours and once we have the resources to do that we will absolutely do that.”

Chantler said getting staff during March Break is typically tough. Resources are already thin with regular aquatics programs going on at Gino Marcus and WFCU, both requiring lifeguards. Elite swimmers are also in town getting ready for the Eastern Canadian Swim Championships and that requires lifeguards as well.

“There were some days this week that we were concerned that we'd be in trouble and we wouldn't be able to open all the features in the park and that's certainly a concern for us, but we're really lucky that last minute we had some staff that picked up shifts,” said Chantler.

Tickets were available on the Adventure Bay website allowing waterpark goers the opportunity to skip the line, but as of late Tuesday those pre-sale tickets are sold out. However, the city saves a certain percentage of tickets for walkups and advise people to arrive early for a chance to get in.

Adventure Bay Family Water Park in Windsor, Ont. on Tuesday, July 14 2020 (Michelle Maluske/CTV Windsor)

The shortage of lifeguards is partly a product of the COVID-19 pandemic, which shutdown training in the city for two years. The Town of Essex continued offering instruction during the pandemic but was limited.

“It was a big strain on our class and made it a lot tougher to get the number of candidates normally through which would be up to 16 in a normal class,” said Zak Kolasa.

Amelie Sfalcin became a lifeguard last fall instead of the spring of 2022.

“I was scheduled to take my instructors and my NL right when the pandemic started, actually March Break I think, [but] those had to be cancelled,” she said.

Sfalcin is now working for the Town of Essex and is one of many starting to fill the gaps left in the wake of the pandemic layoffs.

“I think everybody’s experienced it to some degree,” said Cynthia Cakebread, the town’s manager of recreation and culture. “For us it’s a constant search and a constant turnover and we’re still building our programs back from COVID.”

Chantler added, “We're offering as many leadership courses as we can and they've been really well subscribed so you know, we're really looking forward to there being an end to this.”