Scott White has made a splash as a lifeguard at Nayland, Riverside and Richmond pools since 2020, surfacing a rapport, and becoming affectionately known as ‘Poppa Manu’.
The 62-year-old now has a new “amusing” title, Lifeguard of the Year, after being bestowed the national accolade at the Recreation Aotearoa – Te Whai Oranga Aquatics Awards on 31 August.
Scott was nominated by his employer, Community Leisure Management (CLM) for his significant contribution to the development of lifeguarding initiatives and projects at Stoke’s Nayland Pool, his daily conduct, commitment to safety, effective supervision, and mentoring also lapped up his candidacy.
He has provided free food for hungry visitors and free entry in return for completing certain tasks.
He has also introduced an inflatable waterpark at Nayland Pool and secured an event at the pool to select the Manu World Champs competitors, which will pop in January.
A manu is the technique of folding into a ‘V’ shape for a vertical splash.
Scott says he first got into lifeguarding when he was 28 and returned to poolside four years ago after Covid-19 grounded his airport role.
He says the poolgoers and his brief, “don’t let them drown and make sure the toilets are clean”, had kept him afloat.
“It’s literally a marae, they need to be welcomed so everyone has a nice time,” he says.
“A lot of the people that come to Stoke, that is their local swimming spot, they can’t get to the beach because it’s too far to walk… getting to know them over the last few years has been awesome.
“I spend most of my time at the Dive Well [four-metre dive platform at Nayland Pool]… I would say 80 per cent of the kids that turn up want to go there, whether they’re four years old and jumping off for the first time or they’re 54 and trying to show off for their kids.
“On a hot summer’s day, that whole lawn area is just covered in towels and people watching, the manu is alive and well at Nayland.”
Scott says his ability to backflip and manu, including in a Santa suit, also made waves, as does his sunglasses with orange fluro lens.
“They’ve been worn by probably every kid in Stoke, they all think that they’re the bee’s knees when they wear them,” he says.
Scott has also trained 67 new lifeguards.
“I’m really fortunate, I’ve got some older people who have retired who are still fit, right through to 16-year-olds and lots of university students,” he says.
“Some of them have gone to the West Coast to work at pools there, and I’ve got some in Wellington, it’s cool when they carry on guarding when they leave because it’s often a part-time job while you’re doing something else.
“It’s an unusual time in my career to be adding to my CV, but it’ll go in there, and we’ll think hard about what the future holds.”
