DISCUSSION TODAY REGARDING REGULATIONS ON SWIMMING POOLS AND LIFEGUARDS - POSSIBLE RETURN TO THE PROVISION OF A PREVIOUS LAW AS THERE IS A SHORTAGE OF LIFEGUARDS - Filenews 9/7 by Vassos Vassiliou
The Plenary Session of the Parliament decides today, Thursday, whether or not the Cyprus Lifeguard Federation will have the power/responsibility to grant diplomas or certificates to lifeguards, with all that this implies for the safety of pool users.
It is noted that in the last session of the relevant regulations before the Parliamentary Committee on the Interior, speaking on behalf of the Cyprus Lifeguard Federation, Mr. Polys Pallikaros indirectly raised the issue of the safety of the users of public swimming pools, even referring to "monkey" lifeguards.
Specifically, Mr. Pallikaros stated that there are lifeguard training companies that do a very good job, but "there are others that someone passes by and tells him 'let's make you a lifeguard'. We will have such problems with the regulation that is being proposed," he said, to continue: "There is a person who works with hotels and in his effort to help them find lifeguards he refers to YouTube or e-texts about what a lifeguard can be like."
In the relevant report, which is put before the MPs, it is stated that the purpose of the Regulations, which are issued under article 13 of the "Swimming Pools Law", is to amend the "Swimming Pools Regulations", so that: "Recognition or certification (by the Cyprus Lifeguard Federation) of the diplomas and certificates granted to safety supervisors is not required, which provide lifeguard protection in swimming pools whose use is public'.
These include leisure pools, sports pools and hotel and tourist accommodation pools.
The report of the Parliamentary Committee on Interior states that "the Regulations provide for the deletion of the interpretation of the term "lifeguard diploma or certificate", according to which, for the purposes of employing a person as a safety supervisor in swimming pools for public use, the relevant diploma or certificate must be provided by a school recognized either by the Cyprus Lifeguard Federation or by the competent authorities of a member state of the European Union, provided that it is certified by the said federation".
According to the data submitted to the Parliament by the representatives of the Ministry of the Interior, during the implementation of the new legislative framework, (i.e. the existing one) regarding the licensing and operation of swimming pools, it was found that private companies are active in the field of lifeguard protection, which provide lifeguard pool certificates, which, however, are not recognized within the framework of the legislative framework in question.
According to the Ministry, these private companies have until now covered the bulk of the needs of hotel units for the recruitment of pool lifeguards. Therefore, it is necessary to take measures to increase the availability of appropriately certified persons during the tourist season.
The report also states that the Regulations seek to implement a licensing regime for lifeguard education providers, similar to the one in force before the adoption of the new legislative framework in the field of licensing and operation of swimming pools.
It is noted that according to the current Regulations, the safety supervisor is required to hold a lifeguard certificate, a first aid certificate, a health certificate and a clean criminal record.
In theory, "the proposed legislative regulation will be applied for a limited period of time, until the whole issue is finally settled, in the context of finding a permanent and institutionally correct solution for the overall settlement of the issue in question".
The representative of the Cyprus Lifeguard Federation expressed concerns and reservations regarding the deletion from the existing regulations of the interpretation of the term "lifeguard diploma or certificate", noting that a long period of time may be required for the adoption and implementation of a new certification system.
Therefore, as he said, there may be issues regarding the level of training and the quality of the services provided by the lifeguards who will staff the swimming pools during this transitional period.
Lifeguards from third countries are being hired
It is noted that at the last session of the Interior Committee of the Parliament, a representative of the Ministry of the Interior stated that the Cyprus Lifeguard Federation (which trains lifeguards) is not approved, so it must submit an application in order to register as an association. He also referred to financial interests in the lifeguard industry.
One of the main issues that concerned the Interior Committee concerned the fact that the criteria required to obtain a lifeguard diploma or certificate are considered very strict and so not many people obtain the diploma, so lifeguards are hard to find.
The shortage is such that, as has been said, lifeguards from third countries are also hired in swimming pools because there are no Cypriots available. It is noted that a swimming pool cannot operate if there is no lifeguard. As it was said, the provincial administrations do not even find lifeguards to staff the beaches.
The issue of the certification of the bodies, which are active in the training of lifeguards, is expected to be assigned to the HRDA.
The debate was postponed to the Plenary Session of the Parliament
At the stage of discussing the Regulations, the Committee was informed by the representatives of the Ministry of Interior regarding the promotion at a later stage of a relevant legislative regulation regarding the implementation of a new certification system for lifeguard training providers.
The Parliamentary Committee on the Interior studied the above Regulations at a meeting held on July 2, 2026.
Due to the importance of the Regulations and the prevailing situation, combined with the fact that we are going through the tourist season, the Committee considered it appropriate to discuss them as a matter of priority, in accordance with the provisions of Regulation 40A of the Rules of Procedure of the House of Representatives.
The chairman and the members of the Interior Committee, taking into account everything that was put before them, reserved their position on the Regulations during their discussion in the Plenary Session of the Parliament.
