Never Again!

The video is all the more shocking for its surveillance camera fuzziness and the calm of the woman’s voice narrating it. Over about 14 minutes of this video you watch the tragic drowning death of a 4-year-old boy. And you realize why it’s so important, so imperative, to properly train lifeguards.

The video I’m referring to, is the one used in the now infamous Yoni Gottesman drowning lawsuit that resulted in a $16.3 million judgment against the facility where it happened. The drowning was so upsetting and the negligence so unbelievable that the jury took the unusual step of finding staff liable.

If you haven’t seen the video, I urge you to do so now. Then I urge you to make your lifeguard staff watch it. Watch as the camp counselor dunks Yoni about a dozen times. Watch as the counselor then abandons the child to play with others. Watch as Yoni struggles to reach the counselor, but fails. Watch as one lifeguard takes a break, adjusts his umbrella while Yoni drowns. Watch as this same lifeguard remains oblivious to the boy for more than 8 minutes, until a supervisor points out something floating. Then watch as the guard carries Yoni's lifeless body out of the pool.

There is much shame in this video for all of aquatics. But there is also much opportunity to make sure this kind of negligence never happens again.

Beating the Downturn

It’s official: the country’s near economic collapse is shutting down pools and putting aquatic professionals out of work. But there’s more to the story than a historic downturn. As pointed in a surprisingly well thought out article from the Longview, Texas News Journal, aquatics is a victim of costs and liability.

In article after article, in other local reports of pool closures, it’s pointed out that pools are heavily subsidized often to the tune of $200,000 to $600,000 annually. When communities are trying to decide how to fund schools, or keep streets passable, that kind of subsidy is no longer palatable. Some cities are so desperate they've turned to KFC to patch their roads in exchange for street advertising.

At the same time, many of the nation’s 300,000 or so public pools have been woefully neglected for years, meaning they have nagging and persistent maintenance problems that make them all the more costly to operate. Couple that with the extra burden VGB compliance is putting on aquatics and you’ve got a recipe for mass facility closures.

How bad is it? Other than anecdotal reports gleaned from the Web and other sources, it’s hard to say. But I’ve been following such closures on my Twitter feed and urge aquatics professionals to follow it, if only so they can stay up on what’s happening with their industry in these extraordinarily difficult times.

Additionally, we’ve teamed up with our sister publication, Pool & Spa News, to find out how many facilities are being forced to close or delay opening due to VGB compliance. We hope to have a running list on our Web site soon.

In these desperate times, operators must become advocates for their facilities in the same way that brave people like Rachel Levine have stood up and defended her pool in a letter to the editor. It’s great to have such clear-headed community support, but operators need to be the ones making these arguments. If they wait for the community, it could be too late. So check back with our Web site often, sign up for our e-newsletter and avail yourself of tools such as Twitter to stay in the know and build community. Together, we can come out the other side of this downturn stronger, smarter and safer.

Aquatics International Joins the Twitter Universe

Unless you’ve been living under the media equivalent of a rock lately, you’ve heard of twitter. It’s the micro blogging site that allows users to post 140-word “thought bites.” And it’s all the rage. Politicians were twittering during the President’s address to Congress. George Stephanopoulos recently “twitterviewed” John McCain.

Of course, I was skeptical of the whole twitter phenomenon. How useful can 140 words really be? But that was before I realized that those words are often links to articles and information that can be incredibly useful. In fact, I treat my twitter feed just like a news feed. There’s a brief introduction to the link and then readers can click on it to see it for themselves. It’s pretty cool.

So if you’re thinking about dipping your toe into the world of twitter, I invite you to dive right in -- the water is just fine. And be sure to start following the magazine you rely on for all the latest in aquatics facility information. It’s now on twitter and the tweeting has just begun!

VGB and Budget Shortfalls Spell Trouble for Aquatics

Seems like the Virginian Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act is the gift that just keeps on giving -- if you like headaches. Now municipalities are using it as an excuse to keep pools closed for the season, rather than admitting that it’s more about budget problems.

In truth, the two are connected. VGB act compliance can be difficult and costly. And in some cases, that extra expense and hassle is just enough to convince public officials to keep the pools closed indefinitely. That’s happening in at least two places, according to Jill White, the Aquatics and Emergency Care Division Director for Human Kinetics in Champaign, Ill.

White says half the pools in Indianapolis won’t be opening this season due to VGB/budget concerns. In Lee County, home of Fort Meyer, Fla., all pools will stay closed. Fort Meyer also happens to have one of the worst foreclosure rates in the nation right now.

I couldn’t find any confirmation of those reports online, but I did find this report about Baylor, which backs up what White and others have been suggesting about how VGB act problems combined with budget shortfalls are bad news for aquatics.

Are you finding that to be the case at your facility? If so, please share your stories here.  

Give Michael Phelps a Break

Americans are funny about their heroes. First they build them up into Godlike figures. Then, when we see the tiniest chink in the golden armor we’ve clad them in, an indication of their actual humanity, we dump them, treat them like the lowest form of life.

This seems to be scenario playing itself out around the Michael Phelps scandal. For anyone living under a rock, Phelps — he of the history-making eight gold medals — was photographed taking a marijuana bong hit and a British newspaper published the photo.

Since then, all hell has broken loose. Kellogs dropped Phelps from its endorsement list. The cable news channels have been only too happy to keep us up on the latest “developments.” And editors all over the world have been gleefully writing bad pun headlines, such as “What a Dope.”

Fortunately, not everyone has lost their mind. After about a week of lamenting this “tragedy” in the media, some brave souls are coming forward to defend Phelps. I’d like to add my name to this list.

First of all, let’s give Phelps credit for not doing what most politicians would have done: Deny that it was him in the photo. Phelps manned up, took responsibility for his actions and admitted his fault. That is something that should make him a real role model for youth.

Secondly, let’s keep perspective. Phelps was caught smoking marijuana. Not crack. Not heroine. There were no prostitutes involved and no one was hurt. He was at a party, having some fun. As he’s noted, he’s just a 21-year-old kid. And most of us, including our President, Barack Obama, experimented with drugs and alcohol at that age.

If anything, this a teachable moment, a time to tell Phleps Phans and youth that sometimes, even our heroes can let us down. They are only human, after all. The real test is how they handle themselves once we realize they are not infallible. 

Unintended Consequences

The Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act is affecting operators all over the nation. It even affects pools that haven't even been built yet, as noted in this article from the Daily Lobo. The staff estimates it will cost $6 million to retrofit the pool's drains to comply with the law, even though the chance of an entrapment is almost nonexistent. Surely this is not what the creators of the law had in mind.

The center's staff doesn't know when they will be able to reopen the pool, which has been closed for remodeling since November 2007. It was less than a month away from reopening in November when the project hit a snag.

In December 2007, President Bush signed a bill into law requiring all pools and hot tubs in the United States to be equipped with approved drain covers and other safety devices. The law is called the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act and went into effect Dec. 19, 2008. It was passed in an attempt to prevent child-drowning incidents caused by suction devices in pools.

Ken Lucas, aquatics manager at Johnson Center, said the law is more of a frustration than a help in UNM's case.

"The way our draining system is set up, it's almost impossible to drown as a result of the pool's draining system," he said.

Lucas said the draining system, which is 14 feet under water, consists of three separate drains.

"For someone to get stuck by one of these drains, it would take two other people to block the other drains at the same time as well," he said. "It may be possible for someone's hair to get caught, but I don't think many people hang out at the bottom of the deep end of the pool anyway."

Read the rest of the story to find out how this delay is affecting lifeguard recruitment. How has your facility been affected by the VGB law?

New Year, New Inspiration

Here's a great way to start off the New Year. Got this inspiring email from a reader and wanted to share it with everyone. It's another great example of how important aquatics is in people's lives. For more on how good water is for you, check out our important article by Dr. Bruce Becker.

I grew up a competitive swimmer and thank God (and my mom for making
my sister and I take swimming lessons) for my love of the water every
time I get a chance to get in.

I have serious problems with spacicity, balance and chronic pain due
to the spacicity. Growing up a very active and athletic person one of
the hardest things for me to deal with was not being able to play the
sports I love anymore. I was an avid tennis player and played up until
I started having problems with the MS but did not know it was MS at
the time and the heat was keeping sick all the time.

I was getting more frustrated and more depressed at my lack of
activity. Every time I tried to work out or do something to try to
stay in shape I just felt worse. I even tried Yoga which is highly
recommended for MS folks and was in so much pain from one session I
thought I would never recover

I finally decided to try getting back in the pool which was my last
resort. Who wants to deal with trying to keep your hair looking nice,
smelling like chlorine all the time and the worst for me was putting
on that bathing suit at 45 yrs old

Little did I know how wonderful that water would feel! Its the only
time I don't feel pain or at least very little. The stress relief is
unbeatable and I never get sore. The hardest thing is getting started
and making time just for me to go and get it done but its the best
thing I ever did and you don't have to be a swimmer to get in that
pool. The pool I go to is a sports medicine facility and there are all
levels of ages, disabilities and abilities that participate in water
therapy.

Its the best drug out there that I have found to deal with our complex
disease and I don't know where I would be with out it.

Barbara in Houston

She went on to say:

I am more than happy to share the benefits of water
therapy! If your friend wants any more info just let me know and I
will PM you with my e-mail.

I never anticipated the pain relief from being in the water. The
spacticity has inflamed all the tendons around my joints and so I am
in constant pain from the muscles being pulled so tight. Between the
cervical spine lesion and the brain lesions my entire body is
affected. I was so taken back with the pain relief I found myself
talking to perfect strangers who were in the pool with me to see if
they were reaping similar benefits. They all said the same thing and
they all had different problems and diagnoses. They felt the best they
ever had since getting to the pool on a regular basis.

I don't think there is anything more insidious than the vicious cycle
of dealing with chronic pain and fatigue. But the endorphins released
during the exercise in the pool helps so much with the depression,
fatigue and stress problems that come from being in pain all the time
and the support from the water takes all of the pressure off the
tendons and joints.

I have tried every thing out there. The treadmill (makes me very
nauseated for some reason, like being car sick), the weights just make
me hurt more, the bikes cause knee problems and I can't get enough
upper body work with the bikes. The swimming is also great way to cool
off since the heat is such a problem for us. Even a one degree rise in
body temp is a problem for us MS folks.

Anyways, I will help in anyway I can to promote water therapy.