The city will open three of its pools in Westwood, Northside, and Oakley this Memorial Day weekend to coincide with the holiday and end of the school year for many kids in the city.
The Cincinnati Recreation Commission will also open all nine of its spraygrounds across the city the same weekend.
The Recreation Commission is still looking to hire lifeguards to staff pools. To stay competitive with other lifeguarding positions, the city has raised pay from an hourly wage of about $12 last summer to between $16 and $18 an hour this year.
In 2022, the city only managed to open 11 pools by the end of summer due to a lack of lifeguards, even with a $750 bonus. Right now things appear to be heading in a similar direction. The city has 24 public pools, but only 13 of them are scheduled to open by mid-June.
On top of raising pay, the city is offering paid lifeguard training for people between the ages of 14 and 24 years old to recruit more applicants.
Pools will also be offering summer programs for swimmers of all ages including beginner swim lessons starting May 28 and the Citywide Swim League starting May 30 which invites kids and teens to join teams and compete in swim meets on Wednesday evenings with a championship meet in July.
Cincinnati Pool Opening Schedule:
May 27 - Memorial Day Weekend
- Dunham Otto Armleder Pool (Westwood)
- McKie Pool (Northside)
- Oakley Pool
June 5
- Dickman Pool (Saylor Park)
- Evanston Pool
- Hirsch Otto Armleder Pool (Avondale)
- Lincoln Pool (West End)
- Mount Washington Pool
- Pleasant Ridge Pool
- Ryan Pool (Westwood)
June 12
- Bond Hills Pool
- Dempsey Pool (East Price Hill)
- Madisonville Pool
