June 27, 2025: Are you host or hostage?

Good Morning,

I attended an excellent IAAPA webinar last week with a PR consultant who asked us, "Are you host or hostage?" This was in the context of organizations not having a clearly articulated media policy or crisis communication plan. She also talked about the time she did PR at an amusement park when a girl's feet were severed by a drop ride, so this woman knows what she's talking about.

A couple of takeaways I had:

• Who is the designated spokesperson? Do they have media training?
• You can host media, or they can hold you hostage.
• Everything is on the record, even background or chitchat while setting up to record.
• Say what you have to say, and stop.
• If safety is at the heart of everything you do, prepare all people in your organization - including custodians, maintenance & front line staff, not just lifeguards - to have the same heart for guest safety.
• No shortcuts. Period. Repairs are always cheaper than a lawsuit.

The webinar recording is available in the IAAPA archives if you become a member. I get so much value from this organization each & every month that I highly recommend it! They also have tremendous free resources like these:

IAAPA Crisis Management Checklist
IAAPA Crisis Communication Plan template

It's summer in the Northern Hemisphere, so predictably a lot is happening in the swimming pool industry -

‘Cannot happen again:’ Olivia Chow apologizes for pool closures amid heatwave
Lots of drama in Toronto this week. We've had different DMs about what actually happened (budgets, staff/service levels, Ontario health & safety regulations, or unions?) so if you have more colour to add, please email me in confidence.

As Spokane city pools open, officials push levy to help with maintenance
A very important conversation about what it takes to actually operate aquatic facilities! Few communities have a clue.

Pool Lifeguard Skills Without Borders
This is HUGE! Australian lifeguards will now be able to more easily transfer their qualifications when they come to Canada.

Nine hospitalised, 200 evacuated after chemical incident at public pool in Melbourne
The scale of this is unprecedented.

Olympic-sized swimming pool in Mississauga? Not so fast, council says

Korean swimming venue draws backlash for sign claiming ‘lower income equals a dirtier body’
Not only is this awful, but my friend obsessed with Korean skin care pointed out "Wouldn't the rich ladies with loads of face creams more likely be the issue?!"

Time to put on your swimsuit! Kitsilano Pool reopens Saturday
This is the spectacular outdoor pool in BC that was previously leaking 30,000 litres per hour and required $4m in repairs since 2022.

Council votes to explore corporate naming rights for public facilities
My husband brought up an interesting point this week when it comes to naming rights. Here in Okotoks, there was an event he wanted to attend at the Viking Rental Centre. That's the local arena, recently named after Viking Rentals. But, as he rightly pointed out, the name is somewhat confusing because it could be both the business (Viking Rental center) or the arena (Viking Rental Centre).

4 N.J. town employees stole municipal pool chemicals for their pool business, cops say
At my last municipal pool job, they were concerned about people taking office supplies home. Pool chemicals is a new one for me.

10-year-old drowns in Lake Huron while tubing. What the sheriff's office says happened
Lots of people don't seem to "see" the drowning hazards on open water when it comes to tubing. This grad photoshoot struck me as incredibly irresponsible, but also very indicative of how people perceive (or don't, as the case may be) the risks of tubing.

Kelowna seeking contractor for new City Park aquatic centre

Charlottetown's new outdoor pool at Simmons Sports Centre opens with a splash

Trustees fined more than £11,000 over near-drowning in leisure pool
This is an interesting model in the UK where the management of facilities is fined for major drowning incidents? I don't fully understand the specifics.

Daddy Days: Archetypes of kids at the pool
Cute & 100% accurate.

Man dives off California waterfall, two others try to save him; all three drown
Jumping from great heights continues to be a real safety issue we don't talk about enough. Case in point? This video during this week's heat wave in Paris.

Woman drowns in pond at Albany golf course
We see quite a few of these reported in Google News every golf season.

GOGA starts water safety journey for women in the Black Country
I love that they actually consulted with the community to design the water safety program.

Ontario Place final designs revealed

Man drowns after jumping into water he believed was shallow; it was 55 feet deep

Expired pool permits: WRAL investigation spurs Wake County to inspect pools
Inspections are an important component of regulatory compliance, but they should not be entirely relied upon as the sole mechanism for your own personal safety.

Man arrested after pushing woman into Miami River, leaving her critically injured: Police
Absolutely horrific.

City of Toronto breaks ground on net-zero aquatic facility in North York
Net zero sounds great on paper, but it can lead to design decisions that are completely impractical for the community, like limits on parking spots.

These were literally ALL THE SAME WEEK!

16-year-old drowns in Genoa Quarry, authorities say
Some of you might recall that last year I talked to a mom who's made it her life mission to educate others about the risks of quarry swimming: Doing it for Dylan.

Swimmer dies in incident at Elora Quarry

Teen drowns at Empire Quarry in Lawrence County

I got to have dinner with Julian & Luka from Tube Rides last weekend. They're not as flashy as Alex Ojeda, but they've been posting since 2009 and truly love water slides & parks in a way few people do.

I also really appreciated that they're spending an entire month in Canada to showcase a real variety of aquatic facilities from West Edmonton Mall (Edmonton) to the less-famous parks like Mont Cascades & Calypso (Quebec). And no, they won't be at Canada's Wonderland because I was on the email chain with Six Flags, the new ownership, who don't allow filming on rides.

Please note there will be no newsletter next week (Friday, July 4) due to Canada Day (July 1) and US Independence Day (July 4). We'll be back on Friday, July 11. I will still be working, so please don't hesitate to email if you need a temperature check on anything pool-related.

All the best for the last few days of June!

Katie Crysdale
Lakeview Aquatic Consultants Ltd.