Aligned Leisure, in partnership with Mildura Rural City Council, remain committed to keeping the Ouyen Swimming Pool open and accessible for the community, despite ongoing challenges in securing local lifeguards.
Ahead of this season, Aligned Leisure offered free lifeguard training locally and undertook a targeted letterbox drop across Ouyen alongside broader regional promotion to attract new team members. Unfortunately, no local candidates came forward.
To maintain operations, Aligned Leisure has relied heavily on team members travelling from Mildura and surrounding communities to cover shifts, with a focus on ensuring the school’s valuable learn to swim program continues unaffected. This has required a significant additional investment in staff overtime, travel time and associated costs, reflecting the strong joint commitment of Aligned Leisure and Mildura Rural City Council to keeping the facility open as often as possible.
“Our team understands how important the pool is to the Ouyen community, particularly during the summer months,” Leisure Manager, Caitlin Simmons said.
“Our local team have done a fantastic job of supporting the pool with what availability they can offer, which we are extremely grateful for. When our local team haven’t been available, we’ve gone to considerable lengths to maintain operations, including covering substantial additional staffing and travel costs to bring qualified lifeguards into town.”
While local staff have supported the pool wherever possible, limited availability means there have been and will continue to be occasions where a suitably qualified lifeguard cannot be secured to travel to Ouyen. This may result in unavoidable closures or reduced operating hours at times during the remainder of the season.
Aligned Leisure acknowledges the impact these intermittent changes have had on all community members, particularly those with paid season memberships, and extends a sincere appreciation to those who’ve shown patience and understanding during this period. At the conclusion of the season, Aligned Leisure will contact all membership holders directly to arrange appropriate refunds or adjustments, once the full extent of service disruptions can be fairly assessed.
Aligned Leisure says the most sustainable long-term solution is increasing the number of locally based lifeguards and is encouraging community members to consider becoming qualified, with support available.
“In partnership with Council, we are committed to financially supporting local people to gain lifeguard qualifications, including funded training places delivered in or near Ouyen where possible,” Miss Simmons said. “If several local people were able to contribute just one shift per week, it would greatly strengthen our ability to keep the pool consistently open.”
Aligned Leisure continues to work closely with Life Saving Victoria and Mildura Rural City Council to explore locally delivered training opportunities and remove barriers for community members interested in becoming lifeguards.
With around five weeks remaining in the current season, Aligned Leisure will continue to make every effort to minimise disruptions. Planning is also underway with Mildura Rural City Council, the Ouyen community and local stakeholders to identify sustainable workforce solutions ahead of next summer.
Community members interested in funded lifeguard training or casual employment at the Ouyen Swimming Pool are encouraged to contact Aligned Leisure at (03) 5018 7500 or [email protected]