In the vernacular they are simply called pool attendants - the German Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training calls them certified assistants for swimming pools. In the case of the Karlsruhe pools they are all-rounders. Uwe Raih and Reiner Friedrich have been working at the Europabad Karlsruhe since March 2008.
In almost every occupation there exists a special sentence that gets said several times a day. This may be: "Tickets, please" or: "Would you like anything else?". Which sentence represents your profession?
Raih: "Shower before entering the pool!", "Do not jump off from the edge of the pool!", "Do not throw chips into the water!"
Friedrich: "Good day, how may I be of assistance?" (both laugh)
In spite of all the routine, is there something you cannot get used to?
Friedrich: Yes, unfortunately there are sometimes situations in which the service and the work we provide are not appreciated by the pool visitors. Apart from that it remains a riddle for me to this day how on earth one can choose to go to an inside pool at 35 degrees Celsius outside ... (laughs)
When thinking of pool attendants, I first have in my head images of life savers in red swimming trunks in the fashion of Baywatch. But seriously speaking: how often do you save lives?
Raih: This does happen every now and then, yet it does not make me proud when it happens. Rather, I think about where I may have missed out on something and whether I could not have prevented the whole event. Much more important than saving lives is to act in a prophylactic manner and then such an event does not happen in the first place.
Friedrich: What happened to me, is that regular visitors came to me and said: "I know I get help here". It is simply a great feeling to get to hear something like that; I like this form of indirect recognition.
Raih: Apart from that, saving lives is not our only job after all. We do everything: we clean the pool, take care of the technology and fulfil supervision duties. "Certified assistant for swimming pools" is too little, the occupation should be called "all-rounder" (laughs). By the by, this is the case not only here at the Europabad, but at all swimming pools in Karlsruhe.
What about your free time, do you enjoy going to swimming pools on your days off or does that feel like work?
Raih: I can enjoy that very well ... Only sometimes I catch myself gazing across the sea, the lake or the swimming pool in a scrutinising manner. You can never quite shed that - and that is a good thing.