Las Vegas-area gym announces pool closures, Southern Nevada Health District says alternative plan being discussed

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Christine Shaighan held up her gym membership card as she arrived for her weekly morning swim, but she was disturbed to see that her routine was about to be disrupted. In red block letters, the top of the laminated paper posted stuck in Shaighan’s memory as it read: “POOLS CLOSED.”

On Wednesday, the Las Vegas Athletic Club announced it would close its pools to comply with a Southern Nevada Health District regulation that requires lifeguards at all gym pools.

The requirement for Las Vegas-area gym pools is a reversal of a 2020 waiver that had previously allowed some venues to operate without lifeguards. The safety rule change follows a health district investigation that found a woman drowned in an LVAC pool, followed by a near-drowning incident earlier this year.

New details about the swimmer’s death and apparent inaction were obtained after 8 News Now filed a court intervention amid disputes between the LVAC and the health district over the lifeguard requirement.

The health district released a statement following LVAC’s announcement of the pools’ closure and cited ongoing discussions aimed at finding an alternative plan to save the facilities.

“Revised versions of the LVAC lifeguard staffing plans were submitted on August 9 and August 15, but could not be approved due to incomplete information,” a health district spokesperson wrote. “The health district and LVAC are meeting this week to develop the final version of the lifeguard staffing plan.”

The closures are already impacting gym members with health restrictions like Shaighan who rely on LVAC pools for exercise.

“I know there is no lifeguard on duty,” Shaighan said. “I choose to swim at my own risk, I am willing to do that.”

Shaighan said she faced the same hurdle again after recently ending her membership at EōS Fitness following the closure of one of their pools.

“I don’t have my own pool and I don’t live in a neighborhood where there is one,” she said. “It’s a very important form of exercise for me, and I don’t know what I’m going to do next.”

After a swimmer died in an LVAC pool, Shaighan said she understood the risks and responsibility she was taking to get the exercise she said she needed.

“I think what happened is really sad,” Shaighan said. “But then again, we could sign waivers, maybe not hold anyone accountable.”

Shaighan said she found it unfair that the regulations limit private gym pools but not private neighborhood pools or private beaches, which she said pose the same risk.

“Are we going to regulate this?” she asked. “Where do we draw the line?”

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