Manon and Amira, activity supervisors at the Nemausa swimming pool in Nîmes: “We talk a lot about Léon Marchand”

Pour Manon et Amira, cet été, il s’agit d’ouvrir l’œil ! Midi Libre – Pierre Meuriot

When summer comes, seasonal jobs are in fashion. Restaurants, bars, supermarkets… For their first experience, Manon and Amira chose to work at the Nemausa swimming pool as activity supervisors.

If you visited the Nemausa swimming pool this summer, you may have come across Manon and Amira, two bubbly young women who watch over the swimmers with a contagious smile and a watchful eye.

Two friends, a common passion

Manon and Amira were not born in the water, but you could almost believe it. “We have been at the Nautique Club Nîmois for over ten years”, says Manon, a bachelor's student at the Faculty of Education in Nîmes. “We followed each other, we were in competition together.”After starting swimming at a young age, it was only natural that they took their first plunge into the world of seasonal employment as activity supervisors this summer. “This is our first year as an 18 year old”, adds Amira, a biology student.

Contrary to what one might think, their role is not limited to monitoring swimmers doing lengths. “There is a difference between lifeguards and us”, specifies Manon. "We have the BNSSA (National Certificate of Water Safety and Rescue, Editor's note), so we can also do first aid."A little extra that makes all the difference! But their work doesn't stop there. "We don't give lessons, but we are often asked for advice. Then, we have a sentimental attachment to this swimming pool, explains Amira with a smile.

The Léon Marchand effect

What these young supervisors like most is undoubtedly human contact. "The exchanges with members are what makes the job fun", says Manon. And when we ask them for a juicy anecdote from the summer, both shrug their shoulders and smile: "Not much to tell. The people who come to Nemausa know how to swim, they mainly come to do laps. Nothing extraordinary happened." But after all, in their profession, no news, good news, no ?

Some 700 kilometers away, since the start of the Paris Olympic Games, a certain Léon Marchand has been making a lot of talk about him, and the effect is palpable even in the Nemausa basins. "Léon Marchand, we talk about it a lot yes", confirm the two young women. And who knows, maybe among the swimmers they are watching today is the next French swimming prodigy…