August 1, 2025: The costs of making something "easier"
Happy August!
I don't know about you, but I'm very happy to say goodbye to the dumpster fire that was July 2025.
Last weekend I went to someone's house for dinner in Cochrane, Alberta. Cochrane is a town just outside of Calgary. I don't know the community well, I haven't spent a lot of time there. According to Stats Canada, Cochrane's population has grown by 43% between 2016-2024. It's one of the fastest growing communities in Canada.
To make a long story short, in speaking to a Cochrane resident about my work, we went down a lengthy rabbit trail about a news story I was completely unaware of: the Town of Cochrane had tendered an RFP to have a third-party operate the SLS Centre, the community's newer recreation complex.
According to the Cochrane resident, the successful YMCA bid to operate the SLS Centre claimed they would reverse operating losses and make the facility profitable within three years. I haven't seen the specific business modelling in that proposal, but responded "Of course they would!" based on how non-profit YMCAs historically operate. Double swimmer to instructor ratios; halve staff salaries; subcontract out essential services to the cheapest bidder; heavily rely on volunteers & grant funding, and you can make your profit & loss statement look awesome.
Apparently many Cochrane residents participated in public Council sessions, expressing their concerns about components in the YMCA's RFP response, and the tender process was recently cancelled.
YMCA Calgary withdraws from running Cochrane recreation centre
YMCA Calgary Withdraws from Cochrane Recreation Facility RFP Process
I mention all of this for two reasons.
1) It's very interesting to me that I didn't hear a peep about this RFP or proposed operating change. It also 100% explains the aquatic staff attrition at the SLS Centre I've witnessed first-hand since teaching a class there in late 2024. Many staff likely thought they would automatically lose their jobs when the YMCA took over, and jumped ship.
2) I wanted to share this story because I don't think enough operators or facility managers have a full 360° view of their facility. They simply look at short-term outcomes for specific pain points such as how can I make this easier or cheaper?
If you haven't worked in aquatics, it can be very easy to think you only need to change one thing to "improve" a situation. Unfortunately, aquatics is a tight web of many things that need to be managed in concert. I talk about this often in the Certified Pool Operator (CPO) class: a pool or rec center is just as complex as managing a busy household. Depleted resources in one area (e.g. staffing) will impact another area (e.g. water quality) which will ultimately impact tertiary areas (e.g. safety, customer satisfaction scores and facility revenue).
There's several versions of this Venn diagram, but I quite like this one as a quick way to understand possible outcomes to incomplete decision-making.
To be clear, I have nothing against the YMCA as a historic organization that performs a critical function on a shoestring budget in many communities where they might be the only facility some people can afford to access. However, as the Cochrane resident said, it wasn't a Cochrane-centered approach to operations; the Town never needed to tender out SLS Centre operations in the first place (a whole other question...), so residents & Council are entitled to make the best - and final - choice about service levels & programming for their community.
Here are some of the big conversations in our industry this week -
Hotel housekeeper finds dying toddler in pool next to sleeping dad, FL cops say
No Accident: Red Hook Pool Closure Saga Stems from Adams Administration ‘Underinvestment’
This article comes across as fairly political, but some of the larger points being made are also not wrong.
9-Year-Old Girl Dies in Wave Pool at Hersheypark in Pennsylvania
100 trained lifeguards were on duty, including 10 stationed on the wave pool called the Boardwalk.
Cause of death of 9-year-old girl who died at Hersheypark revealed by coroner
"The decedent did not have a medical event that caused the drowning."
American Red Cross revokes more than 100 lifeguard certifications; Who’s to blame?
140 people were affected by this quality assurance issue.
NORWEGIAN CRUISE LINE ANNOUNCES NEW GREAT TIDES WATERPARK
Every cruise line now wants to do what Royal Caribbean did with Coco Cay. Carnival's Celebration Key just opened last week.
Carmacks, Yukon, pool reopens after 6-year closure
Yorkton water park shuts down on Monday as maintenance work begins
Regina's planned indoor aquatic centre is another $40M over budget, says new report
The current project cost is $285m before a shovel is even in the ground.
Poop or puke in a city pool? El Paso city leaders float issuing fines to clean up the mess
Super unpopular opinion, but sometimes a threat like this is absolutely necessary for repeat offenders taking up a disproportionate amount of facility resources. I had a situation where we had two cases of diarrhea from members of the same swim team within 10 days. I interpreted this as the coach not advocating for swimmers to miss practice, even when sick with obvious symptoms. We threatened to levy a $1,600 fee (chemicals, water, staff time, lost swim lesson revenue, etc.) against the swim team if another 24-hour closure was needed within the next 90 days.
About 7 people a year die trying to save others from drowning in Canada, study finds
Woman developed flesh-eating bacterial infection from Ann Arbor hotel pool, lawsuit says
This article is paywalled, but the headline tells you what you need to know. We all need to take bacteria risks seriously.
Royal Caribbean Cruise Passenger Falls Over Edge of Infinity Pool
Click here to see an aerial view of the ship's pool during daytime hours, and a view of the aft (rear) of the ship to show the height the person could have fallen from.
Here’s a 1st look at the new water park planned for West Memphis
If you watch the video for the renderings, it's really interesting to see a whole community/neighborhood planned around the amenities.
Palm Springs Surf Club faces review amid noise complaints, operational setbacks
Free summer swimming sessions for 6,000 children
Citywave USA & Aquatic Development Group Forge Partnership to Elevate Deep-Water Surfing in North America & Caribbean
I don't share a lot of press releases, but watching the consolidation of surf technology companies is extremely pertinent to current industry conditions.
El Paso water parks garner recognition as autism centers
If you don't offer adapted programming or sensory hours at your aquatic facility, or offer neurodivergent training for team members, you are falling behind what is quickly becoming an industry standard.
Swim sessions introduced for adults with sight loss
Disney+ Heading to the Swimming Pool to Stream Classic Movies
Buried deep in this story is that Disney is partnering with Swimply.
Sun cream forces pool to close over water quality
If you don't follow us on Instagram, you might not have seen a reel I shared recently explaining exactly why your pool is cloudy.
Lifeguard Supervision for Open Water Swimming Events (DRAFT)
The Lifesaving Society is seeking guidance on this draft policy. If you're not familiar with the hazards of open water events, check out this interview with Dr. Katie Cleasby regarding her research on open water races; last year's discussion of the CrossFit drowning fatality; and the hazards of mud runs as I drove by Spartan Races setting up in Red Deer today.
Six drown across Finland in one of summer's deadliest days on the water
In a stressful human world, ‘mermaiding’ gains popularity in D.C. area
Boy, 8, dies after drowning incident on field trip to nature preserve
Drowning can easily occur even when there's no plan to go swimming.
14-Year-Old Boy Drowns at Church Camp Weeks Before He Was Set to Begin High School
As a former camp counsellor I am qualified to say that simply being a camp counsellor does not make you adequately prepared to supervise activities in & around water. Even if you are dual-certified as a lifeguard, you still need to have a lifeguard safety system in place at the site (rescue equipment, response plan, etc.)
If you don't have a safe work procedure for aquatic staff during extreme heat, now is a good time to develop one:
Pool in St. Augustine closes due to heat
Indoor pool staff at two sites refuse to work | Here’s what we know
2 Toronto pools close as staff refuse to work, citing excessive heat, humidity
There continues to be lots of issues with broken glass, so I'm resharing further safety campaigns:
West St. Paul pool closes due to glass in the water
City of Red Deer
City of Edmonton
Town of Bonnyville
Have a great long weekend to those of you in Canada.
Katie Crysdale
Lakeview Aquatic Consultants Ltd.
I truly couldn't recall if I shared this video when it came out in May. This is a good one to reshare with family & friends who do not work in aquatics.