Pool parties

Six things decide whether a pool party goes well.

None of them is the number of guards. This is the plan we draw before a booked party, and the letters are the six.

A plan of a pool deck set up for a party, lettered A to F The pool sits in the middle of a fenced yard with deck all around it. A rope crosses the water where the floor drops away. Two guard chairs face each other across the long sides. Shade and seating sit along the top edge, a food table stands off the deck at the right, the gate is at the bottom left, and bags are stacked at the far left of the deck. SHALLOW DEEP shade and seats food, off the deck gate bags A B C D E F

A

The water, and the rope

A rope across the shallow break is the single most useful object at a party. It gives non swimmers somewhere to be that is not the edge, and it gives a guard a line to enforce that is visible rather than verbal.

B

Two chairs, facing across

Chairs go on the long sides looking across the water, not along it. A guard looking down the length of a pool is looking through the glare and through every head between them and the far end.

C

Shade, and enough seats to empty the water

People leave the pool when there is somewhere to sit. A party with no shade keeps everybody in the water for four straight hours, which is the condition every incident we have ever heard about started in.

D

Food off the deck

Anywhere but the wet ten feet. Food on the deck means bare feet on dropped food, and it means a bin next to the water. Both are avoidable by moving one table.

E

One way in, and it stays shut

A gate that latches, checked before the first guest, and nothing propping it. This is the item hosts forget and the item a guard will ask about first.

F

Bags away from the edge

Towels and bags at the far side of the deck rather than the near side. It keeps the walking route dry and it keeps the tripping hazards away from the part of the deck people run on.

What we bring

  • Guards, on shift, in uniform, with their own whistle and rescue tube
  • A rope and floats for the shallow break if the pool has no line
  • A first aid kit, checked that morning, and a rescue backboard
  • A written head count at the start and at every rotation
  • A walk of the deck and the gate before the first guest arrives

What we need from you

  • The gate latch working, and nothing propping it open
  • Somewhere shaded to sit that is not the water
  • A table for food that is off the wet deck
  • The pool clear and the water balanced the day before
  • One named person on site who can make a decision

How many guards, and why we will not print a ratio.

The number that governs your party is set by the code for your address and by what a guard can actually see from a chair at your pool. Those are two different constraints and the stricter one wins. Any ratio printed on a website is somebody else’s jurisdiction, and quoting it at you would be a guess about the law where you live.

So we look up the code for the address, look at the pool, and tell you the number with the reason attached. If the answer is one guard, we will say one guard.

Ask about a date Call (555) 555-0142