Westchase's Pools Gave Up Lifeguards for Longer Hours. The Courts Are Next.

On September 22, 2026, the Westchase Community Association announced that its move from lifeguards to Community Service Attendants was finished. Both of its pools are now "Swim at Your Own Risk." Removing the lifeguards was one part of a larger trade. The WCA replaced a $534,000-a-year lifeguard and cabana staff at Countryway and West Park Village, extended the hours, and is now installing cameras and card readers while it weighs court booking software. Both swim and tennis sites are being rebuilt to run on less supervision and more access control.

Up to Two More Hours a Day

The hours are the clearest place to see the change. Under the schedule in the WCA's January 2026 board minutes, Countryway's pool opened at 7 a.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. on weekends and closed at 8 p.m. West Park Village ran from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day. The September notice set both sites, pool and tennis, at 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., seven days a week.

At the October 8 board meeting, according to WestchaseWOW's report, property management confirmed the change was complete and the facilities were open 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. The facilities page on the WCA website still showed the old hours in mid-October, with West Park Village opening at 10 a.m. The September notice and the October board report are the newer word.

West Park Village gained two hours a day, and the extra hours land where a lifeguard schedule made them hardest to offer. A 7 a.m. lap swim and a pool still open after dinner both need staff, and the old staffing model was failing to cover the hours it already had. WestchaseWOW reported in April 2025 that staffing shortages had already been closing the pools.

How the Numbers Moved the Board

The question came from Voting Members, who asked the board in April 2025 to look into whether lifeguards were necessary. That month the association's insurance broker said dropping lifeguards would not change insurance costs as long as the right signs were posted. After that, cost drove the debate.

1. August 2025. According to WestchaseWOW's report on the Voting Members meeting, Inframark, the property management company, offered three staffing scenarios with projected savings of $208,000 to $328,000 a year. In an unofficial straw poll of Voting Members, the top choice was lifeguards in summer only, with 8 votes. Eliminating them entirely and keeping them only for summer camp got 4 votes each.
2. September 2025. At the September 11 meeting, WestchaseWOW reported, the board president put the savings at about $208,000 a year if lifeguards were removed outside the Memorial Day to Labor Day season.
3. October 2025. Inframark proposed replacing 22 lifeguards and cabana attendants, who cost $534,000 a year, with 12 CSAs, plus a facility manager and contracted deep cleaning, according to WestchaseWOW.
4. August 2026. The board reviewed proofs of the new "Swim at Your Own Risk" signs.
5. September 22, 2026. The WCA announced the transition was complete.

The savings figures above were projections made during the debate. No realized figure has been published. The 2027 budget does show where some of the money went. At the October meeting, the board approved a 2027 assessment of $465 per household, $12 less than in 2026. It also moved $31,624 of payroll it no longer needed after ending a lifeguard-era facility-management service agreement. Of that, $27,084 went to the contingency fund, $2,040 was set aside for possible staff overtime, and $2,500 was held for occasional consulting.

What a CSA Does at the Gate

Community Service Attendant is the WCA's official term for the new role. The September notice says CSAs check residents in, keep the facilities clean, monitor the grounds and answer general questions. The notice also says there are no lifeguards on duty, CSAs "will not continuously monitor swimmers," and parents, guardians and patrons are "solely responsible" for their own safety and for supervising children in and around the pools.

The CSA's main job is at the check-in desk, and that is where the next phase of the change takes place. The facilities page says residents 12 and older need a verified Westchase address and photo ID to use the pools and tennis courts. The age rules on the new signs were still being worked out in August, according to WestchaseWOW's report on that meeting. The draft required adult supervision for children under 14. One director suggested 15 to match existing Swim & Tennis rules, and another pointed out that current rules set 12 as the age for unsupervised use. The same report says an Inframark director told the board that Florida statute requires the hours to appear on the sign. The final wording is on the signs posted at each pool.

This post is general information, not legal or financial advice. For rules that apply to your household, check with the association directly or with the right professional.

The Front Desk Is Becoming a Card Reader

With fewer staff walking the pool deck, the board has turned to equipment. In March 2026, according to the board's meeting minutes, it approved an access-control plan offering card, fob or QR-code entry tied to resident accounts. Access would be suspended automatically for delinquent accounts, and staff could still help with entry. The first phase included 12 cameras, two of them pointed at the pickleball courts.

The video surveillance work was tentatively set to start August 24. By the October 8 meeting, the contractor RedWire had finished phase one, wiring cameras and access controls at both sites. The controls are waiting for an electrician to connect them to the system. The Technology Advisory Committee chair told the board the project should still be done by the end of the year. The plan does not yet say how residents will receive cards or fobs or how pool guests will be handled. Watch for those details as the year-end date gets closer.

Pickleball Showed the Problem First

The courts help explain the cameras. In October 2025, a board member raised concerns that unauthorized nonresidents were using the pickleball courts, and the board asked for bids on a metal lock-and-button system for the court entrance. In December 2025, the Swim & Tennis Committee asked for signs requiring everyone to check in with a cabana attendant and show valid ID before entering the Countryway pickleball courts, starting January 30, 2026. Countryway has six permanent pickleball courts.

Court booking is changing too. In October the Technology Advisory Committee reported it was still reviewing a court reservation system and that YourCourts was coming in cheaper than the alternatives. Tennis and pickleball court resurfacing is already approved. The color choice moved to the November agenda after property management raised concerns about the proposed vendor and said it would look for vendors with better references. New benches at West Park Village and Countryway will be scheduled around the resurfacing.

Outside groups want court time as well. A local Special Olympics chapter asked to use two or three WCA courts on Fridays from 4 to 5 p.m. starting January 8, while its current courts at the HCC campus are torn down and rebuilt. The board sent the request to the Swim & Tennis Committee and AB Tennis for feedback, and it is on the November agenda.

This Saturday, November 7, a tournament will honor former Swim & Tennis chair Dan Haigy. A memorial plaque will be dedicated during the event, and the board has approved where it will go.

Who Has the Lanes at 4 p.m.

Contracted programs hold set blocks at both pools. Pipeline, the swim team based at 10405 Countryway Blvd., can use up to five of Countryway's eight lap lanes Monday through Saturday from 3 to 7 p.m. That leaves three lanes for residents, who may have to share one when Pipeline is using all five. In November 2025, WestchaseWOW reported, the Swim & Tennis Committee compared Pipeline with a proposal from Swim Tampa Aquatics and found no reason not to renew Pipeline. In December 2025 the board raised Pipeline's monthly facility fee 10%, from $1,300 to $1,430.

AB Tennis, led by Alex Bogdanovic, uses Countryway's four tennis courts and the West Park Village courts as needed for youth and adult programs. The facilities page also lists Aqua Fitness Services at West Park Village on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 10 to 11 a.m., using three lap lanes. None of those blocks fall in the hours added since September, which are 7 to 8 a.m. at West Park Village and 8 to 9 p.m. at both pools.

How Westchase runs its amenities is part of what a home there costs and what it gets you, and it is one of the things we track for clients who live here. If you're thinking about a move within Westchase or nearby and want to know how changes like the new hours and $465 assessment compare across neighborhoods, the team at Vincent Zeoli Homes can walk you through it. Let's Connect.