October 29, 2025: World Waterpark Association (WWA) Show
Greetings,
I'm obviously coming to you a week late. I should have planned to skip last week's newsletter (October 22), but the reality is I wasn't anticipating how busy I'd be at the annual World Waterpark Association (WWA) Conference & Tradeshow at Walt Disney World (WDW) in Orlando.
If you were a subscriber last year, you know I did a whole conference review of WWA for YouTube. I genuinely thought I knew what to expect. However! Last year I was invited to zero private events before & after the conference, whereas this year I was invited to FIVE. That's not meant to be a flex, it's just the reality there's a whole "secret menu" of private events for clients & suppliers. I rolled into bed after midnight each night (and skipped the after after after parties), so please forgive my newsletter delinquency when I opted to sleep! 😂
I vlogged the experience this year, so look for a video on our YouTube Channel (realistically) in several weeks because I'm on multiple client deadlines this month.
In the interim, I shared learnings from some sessions on Instagram:
Identification & Remediation of Common Waterpark Safety Issues
Maximizing the Effectiveness of Law Enforcement Presence at your Park
Defending Negligent Security Liability Claims
Our complete 2026 Certified Pool Operator (CPO) class schedule is now posted on our website & open for registration. You will notice a small price increase of $15 CAD for classes, and $5 CAD for retests to keep pace with USD supply costs. I'm happy to honor 2025 pricing on any 2026 registrations completed by December 31, 2025 - just reply to me to get the discount code for our website, or mention it when booking on credit for repeat clients.
We continue to ship via FedEx and UPS on Tuesdays & Thursdays from Calgary while Canada Post is on rotating strikes.
I am also happy to announced that our website now qualifies for buy now, pay later (BNPL). Your CPO registration payment will be split by our provider, Shopify, into instalments (with or without interest) of your choosing. Your registration is paid in full to us, so the spot is confirmed, materials will ship and you can complete CPO training even if you don't have the cash on hand.
Lastly, as a Sagittarius, I like to take a lengthy break over Christmas. We do not have any CPO classes scheduled from December 11, 2025 - January 25, 2026. Please note the following registration deadlines to minimize panic.
Registration for the November 10 - 13 CPO class closes Monday, November 4.
Registration for the November 17 CPO class closes Monday, November 10.
Registration for the November 24-25 CPO class closes Monday, November 17.
Registration for the December 8 - 11 CPO class closes Monday, December 1.
My apologies that some of this industry news is two weeks old now -
Texas camp owners want more flexibility in meeting safety, licensing requirements after drownings
I will be digging into this more in a future newsletter. As a former camper, I'm sympathetic to the concerns on both sides, but need to do more reading to have an educated opinion about this response to the Camp Mystic drowning fatalities.
Circuit court upholds water park drowning case acquittal
This is an acquittal. HOWEVER, I believe we need to talk about deficient employee training mentioned in this scenario.
Vesturbæjarlaug Swimming Pool Closed Again Over Peeling Paint
One of the things I really try to stress with consulting clients is that we actually have a pretty black & white choice in pool operations: we can spend money, or we can spend time. Obviously I don't know all of the circumstances around the paint in this basin, however broadly I would extrapolate (from direct personal experience) that operators and owners make many decisions that afford short-term gains (let's reopen ASAP!) without understanding the long-term pain (we have to redo the work, again). You need to take a 360 approach in terms of value and what will be best for the equipment and facility operations long-term.
Sydney mum-of-five asked to get out of pool while breastfeeding 7mo baby
Three Rivers aquatic centre pool closed while undergoing structural repairs
Texting mother charged with manslaughter in toddler’s bathtub drowning
I haven't shared one of these in a while, but honestly I see one almost every week for the caregiver of a small child.
Studio Dera converts disused swimming pool into flexible teaching space
This might be one of my favourite retrofits ever!
'Swim with Pumpkins' at Folsom pool Oct. 18
Poor Planning Saddled Portland Parks With Maintenance Backlog of Up to $800 Million, City Auditor Says
This type of crisis is coming to so many communities - see also the recent permanent Dallas pool closures.
City of Fort St. John explores new location for future aquatic center
Cost to install Parrot Island Waterpark slides will push the project over budget
"The problem is, the city only has $650,000 remaining from the initial $4.2 million approved by the board to buy and install the slides. The city, according to Dingman’s outline of expenses, has spent $3.55 million to acquire the slides and to prep them for installation."
Statehouse committee weighs adding drowning prevention to K-12 health curriculum
Scuba expert who witnessed NTX 12-year-old's death questions ongoing investigation
Huge shortfall in visitors to The Wave, figures show
This is such a bizarre business model: "The attraction is closed to the majority of people for most of the year, with general admission only available in school holidays, Friday afternoons and weekends."
Brightwater Lagoon offers free admission for veterans, active military through November
This is a unique marketing idea!
Prince George, B.C., closing aquatic centre for 2 years
Winnipeg's Seven Oaks pool closing for at least 1 year
Thanks so much for being here, we'll see you next week (I promise!)
Katie Crysdale
Lakeview Aquatic Consultants Ltd.
PS. The audio version of last week's newsletter - including my mini rant about pricing at Walt Disney World (WDW) - is here!