December 11, 2025: The conversation is more important than the compensation
Good Morning,
I'm coming to you a day late because the last two weeks has felt like the crunch of final exam season: so many deadlines are flying at you that you can hardly remember the day of the week, if you ate lunch or remembered to get gas!
November/December is not usually a busy time for us, so I've been perplexed and unprepared for this unexpected windfall with no identifiable source or cause. Visiting with a colleague last week, she reported her organization has taken some big steps forward on a new aquatic facility project (under discussion for 10 years ~ mind you) "since the [Alberta] election" and I suddenly realized this is all pent up power, held over to see what the political and economic landscape will be for the next three years.
I want to give my op ed this week over to this phenomenal article in the New York Times. I've linked it as a subscriber gift, so you should be able to hear the audio version read by the author.
A Tower on Billionaires’ Row Is Full of Cracks. Who’s to Blame?
This article perfectly encapsulates - at a huge scale - what exactly can go so wrong in a construction project where there are heavily competing interests: the architect has a vision, the developer needs to make a profit, the concrete team has never done this kind of work before, the client wants occupancy, the lender wants the permit closed.... I could go on ad nauseum.
If a thorny issue comes up, there may be no time in the Gantt chart to stop and reassess/discuss the problem to the extent that's actually required because of all the project codependencies. Also: people on the team are tired after working on the project for literal YEARS, possibly along with other/similar projects that create intense decision fatigue and a sense of "Why are we talking about this again? I thought it was resolved months ago," so they may go along to get along...with terrible results.
Obviously this project is not an aquatic facility, but to me this article reads like a modern Greek tragedy and a paradigm for the much smaller oversights I've seen on projects recently. One of my professional manifestos is that the conversation is more important than the compensation.
Yes, I want to be supportive and helpful, to anticipate problems, and smooth over the path forward, but hope is not a strategy. Also: just because you give communication doesn't mean it's received, fully understood or acted upon!
In the same vein, I shouldn't laugh at the end user's misfortune, but who didn't think there was going to be depth perception issues with these black pools at the new Egyptian museum in Cairo? Note: NSFW language at the end.
Furthermore, December is also a time of year that (for some people) is fraught with high expectations, lengthy to-do lists, stress, grief and overwhelm at home, never mind at work. In terms of implementable action this week, ask yourself if simply having a conversation is more important right now than "getting paid" (i.e. completing the task). It may be worth intentionally holding it over to January 2026 when clearer minds & hearts can prevail.
Here's everything I think you should know in the aquatic industry this week:
Bayonne BOE settles suit with family of 2 bros. who drowned in school pool for $26M
This is the case where security footage circulated allegedly showing the lifeguard wandering out into the hallway to get help. I would never suggest that we know the full story from a short, edited video clip, but there's a lot that appears not to meet basic lifeguard duty or standard of care.
Brothers' lawyers ask for acquittal for 18-year-old Ryan's honor killing
Content warning.
Therme Group acquires full Wund portfolio of wellness resorts
Minor injuries after tree falls in strong winds at KZN water park
I learned about the importance of regular tree maintenance around outdoor swimming pools, splash pads, parks & playgrounds from an arborist at one job who was very passionate about education. If you don't have a tree inventory, now is a good time to start one! It's a vital component of risk management.
This also reminds me of Woman killed, another injured after tree falls into pool in the Bronx
Mattel signs onto Bradley waterpark
Click here if it appears paywalled. Mattel announces that one of their five indoor waterparks (mentioned in last week's newsletter) will be in Bradley, Illinois - south of Chicago and NE of Peoria. The project appears to be much less further along than the press release may have led us to believe.
A Hiker Vanished in Colorado’s San Juan Mountains. She Was Later Found Dead in a Forgotten Mine
"A review conducted by the online platform Geology.com counted reports from newspaper articles and found that some 278 individuals died in abandoned or otherwise inactive mining sites between 2001 and 2017. The vast majority of these deaths (201) weren’t from falling, however, but from drowning."
A 17 metre professional pool is too short
No AED, delayed treatment: What led to the drowning of a six-year-old?
"The ambulance was diverted to Atrium Health Floyd in Rome, 31 minutes away from the farm. From the first 911 call to ambulance arrival at the Rome hospital, one hour and 24 minutes passed. King died at the hospital."
Olympic-sized swimming pool too costly for Mississauga to go it alone: councillors
DR attorney general fast-tracks probe into Haitian student drowning on school trip
"Local newspapers in the DR initially reported the death as a “drowning accident.” But even that account has not been supported by an official investigation. In a separate YouTube video reporting Stephora’s death, two Dominican journalists, Esteban Rosario and Delvis Durán, reported claims that three classmates allegedly assaulted Stephora in the pool and drowned her."
Egypt orders probe into drowning of a child swimmer left 12 minutes underwater during race
Unfortunately this is the classic reason why lifeguards are required at all levels of sporting events, including the Olympics.
I swam 29 miles around Manhattan in handcuffs — I had no idea the danger I was in until I finished
Who comes up with these ideas?!
Theme parks step up development as attendance drops in tough climate
I like this article because it's good evidence for the trends I've been hearing discussed on the ground by operators, both dry amusement and wet aquatic facilities.
School to start swimming lessons in memory of teen
Canadian Olympian Faces 2-Year Swimming Ban and Penny Oleksiak explains her suspension, says she's not doping
The Pryde Aquatic and Wellness Centre opening delayed, again
Respectfully, every project I know is delayed right now!
Three French teens drown after car crashes upside down in swimming pool
One of the most eye-opening things I've learned about water safety during the last few years of reading the news every day, is that we just don't talk enough about vehicular drowning fatalities like this and flash flooding. It's a leading cause of death in a lot of places.
Saving Lives on Accra's Beaches: New National Push Against Drowning
"With an estimated 1,400 drowning deaths occurring in Ghana each year, mostly from casual swims, a new national effort is underway to make the country’s waters safer."
At Least 17 Migrants Die in Greece’s Worst Shipwreck in Two Years
Similar to vehicular drowning fatalities, transportation drowning fatalities make up a huge portion of national statistics but a rarely discussed in classrooms or swim lessons.
Missing campers and pleas for helicopters: 911 calls from the Camp Mystic flood disaster in Texas
The more that comes out of this incident, the more it becomes apparently that the tragedy could have been so much worse.
Princess Charlene accompanies 316 young Monegasques in learning life-saving skills
This article showcases that water safety can be done ON LAND and in the classroom! Yes, an aquatic environment might be more effective, but when there are transportation and budget constraints, a classroom works just fine; some education is better than no education.
Windsor mom guilty of criminal negligence in pool drowning of daughter, 5
A rare example in Canada.
I'll be back next week (December 17) and then we're taking December 24th off.
Katie Crysdale
Lakeview Aquatic Consultants Ltd.
PS. Canva AI (free with your pro plan!) came up with this YouTube thumbnail, and it's so creepy I just had to use it.