Reduced Pool Hours in Sechelt and Gibsons

The Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) is experiencing staffing challenges at pools and a shortage of available lifeguards to support current operating hours. In an effort to provide stable operations and a reliable schedule for our valuable patrons, effective August 3, 2025, operating hours will be adjusted for both the Gibsons and Sechelt pools.  

Lifeguards are crucial for ensuring the safety of all patrons during pool use, meaning that pools cannot remain open without the required lifeguard coverage.  

The reduced operating schedule is as follows: 

Sechelt Pool
Sunday: 10:00am – 4:30pm
Monday: 6:00am – 1:30pm
Tuesday: 9:00am – 8:00pm
Wednesday: 6:00am – 5:00pm
Thursday: 9:00am – 8:00pm
Friday: 9:00am – 4:30pm
Saturday: 9:00am – 4:30pm 

Gibsons Pool
Sunday: Closed
Monday: 12:30pm – 7:30pm
Tuesday to Friday: 6:30am – 1:00pm
Saturday: Closed 

Lifeguard recruitment, retention and securing a staffing base with sufficient availability to support current operating hours continues to be a challenge, recently resulting in last minute closures of pools.  The temporary change in operating hours, while resulting in a reduction in service, is intended to offer consistent operational hours that our patrons can count on while recruitment and training efforts continue.  

The SCRD continues to offer lifeguard certification courses, and while the August courses are already full, staff are planning for additional offerings.  The goal is to build a larger pool of qualified staff for future scheduling needs. Several job postings will be available at www.scrd.ca/careers in the coming weeks.  

“We know how important pools are to the community, and we are doing everything we can to keep them open and running safely,” says, Shelley Gagnon, General Manager of Community Services. “This is not an issue that can be solved overnight, and we want our community to know we are doing all we can to stabilize operations to provide reliable service levels with a view to being able to increase the operating hours in a manner that is sustainable.” 

The SCRD appreciates the community’s patience and understanding during this time as we work towards being able to provide more reliable service at our pools. The SCRD will provide further updates on pool hours in late August. 

If you are a qualified lifeguard or know someone who is, you are encouraged to apply by visiting www.scrd.ca/careers.