Lifeguard chair
Definition
An elevated observation seat used at staffed aquatic facilities; rare on splash pads (which are zero-depth and unstaffed) but present on hybrid installations that combine a splash pad with a wading pool or shallow lagoon.
Standalone splash pads almost never have lifeguard chairs because zero-depth water removes the lifeguard requirement under most state codes. When you see a lifeguard chair on a splash pad, the facility is usually a hybrid — the splash pad shares a deck with a wading pool or zero-entry pool that does require staffing.
Families should not assume the chair covers the splash pad itself. Read the posted signs: many hybrid facilities lifeguard only the pool side, leaving the splash pad explicitly parent-supervised.