Sure, it was going to be a busy day at the Kearns Oquirrh Park swimming center. But Christensen would be watching over dozens of fellow lifeguards who had gathered at the pool to participate in the Red Cross' 12th annual Lifeguard Games.

"There are 50 lifeguards watching other lifeguards do lifeguarding things," said Christensen, who studies computer animation at Brigham Young University when he's not poolside. "I'm sitting here watching the watchers."

Still, Christensen and the other guards on duty kept a wary eye on the park's pools. Even with dozens of lifesavers present, poolside is no place for complacency.

An average of 25 people drown each year in Utah, with more than five times that many seen in emergency rooms for near-drowning injuries, according to the Utah Department of Health.

But most of the casualties occur in the state's lakes, rivers and reservoirs. Severe injuries and fatalities at public swimming pools - like those represented by the teams of lifeguards in Kearns on Saturday - are rare. And that's chiefly because lifeguards are on duty, game organizers said.

Yet some of those on duty are too young even to drive a car. And few are old enough to drink.

Among the six members of one team from Cottonwood Heights, for example, the oldest was 20. But each of the members had participated in at least two critical rescues (known as "backboards" for the stretchers with which the rescued are taken away from the pools.) In all, the Cottonwood team's members counted 31 backboards and more than 100 lesser "saves."

Yet lifeguarding pay starts just about a dollar above minimum wage, with few pools paying more than $8 an hour for newly hired rescuers.

"I guess when you're 15, $8 is a lot of money," said Cottonwood team member Mary Rosenbury, who has worked as a lifeguard for three years. Now, almost 19 years old, Rosenbury isn't nearly so excited about the size of her paycheck.

Among the six members of a second team from Cottonwood Heights, Danni Gregory is the veteran. At 19 years old, she has five summers of lifeguarding behind her. She makes $7.82 an hour.

Patti O'Connor, program director for the Utah Red Cross and an organizer of the games, said she would like to see lifeguard wages increased, particularly at a time in which a nationwide shortage of qualified guards has led some public pools to adopt unattended, "swim at your own risk" policies.

"These are trained rescuers, like firefighters or policemen," said O'Connor. "They have a lot of responsibility and a lot of training."

mlaplante@sltrib.com