April 5, 2024: charges against Canadian lifeguard dismissed

Three City of Calgary pools to be closed for upgrades
The city has quietly announced that three indoor pools will be closed simultaneously for several months over the summer to conduct urgent emergency repairs. The City of Calgary has a number of outdoor swimming pools, operated through a partnership with the Calgary Outdoor Swimming Pool Association (COSPA), but this will still significantly impact 1.6 million Calgarians access to swimming this summer.

Criminal case against Alberta lifeguard dismissed in Fort McMurray drowning death
I'm late to catch this update, but criminal charges have been dropped against the lifeguard in the 2020 drowning fatality of Dumitru Serbulenco at MacDonald Island Park in Fort McMurray. The absence of public information in this case has created a lot of stress within lifeguard communities in Alberta. What exactly happened? Why was the lifeguard charged? How do we prevent this from happening again?

Unfortunately, neither dismissing this case nor reading this article answers any of those questions. I will provide future updates if more information becomes available.

Big O's pool remains closed after fire, Canada must relocate Olympic trials
Mere weeks before the facility was scheduled to host Swimming Canada's trials for the Olympics, the aquatic facility is now closed due to fire damage. How will this impact athletes (swimming, water polo, diving, artistic swimming) training for Paris 2024? There are a limited number of indoor 50m pools in Canada suitable for this type of high-profile athletic event, especially on such short notice.

Side note as pool person who has experienced a real fire at a swimming pool, now is as good a good time as any to (re) evaluate your preparedness in terms of staff training procedures and evacuation/go bags. In particular, do you have evacuation supplies for colder weather if you're located in Canada?

Our fire occurred in March with snow on the ground and wet swimmers needing to go outside (there was an actual fire...) in temperatures well below freezing, and let's just say we were not adequately prepared. Consider investing in emergency foil blankets, socks, hats, mittens, flipflops, towels, etc. and a duffel or hockey bag that will make a big difference when you need it most.

Meet the world's longest serving lifeguard who's rescued hundreds of people in Dorset
Of particular note for his age, Lewis is a beach (open water) lifeguard.

Did I miss an aquatic industry story you think I should have included? Let me know in the comments below!

Thanks so much for being here.

Katie Crysdale
Lakeview Aquatic Consultants Ltd.