November 2011 Table of Contents

Lately, I’ve been having a serious case of déjà vu, that uncanny, eerie feeling that you’ve been there before. Read more

Ocean City, N.J., has agreed to a monetary settlement with a former Beach Patrol lifeguard, who sued claiming age discrimination Read more

Almost half of the pools tested through the summer 2011 Healthy Pools campaign showed improper water chemistry Read more

Scuba diving may benefit those with spinal cord injuries. Read more

An Orange County Calif., swim coach was sentenced to 16 months in state prison for having sex with a 15-year-old female student, according to authorities Read more

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is now accepting comments regarding the deadline for newly required commercial-drain retrofits. Read more

In a court hearing last week, no charges were issued against two Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation managers formerly in charge of operating the pool where 36-year-old Marie Joseph drowned Read more

A family of a teenage girl has filed a new sexual abuse lawsuit against USA Swimming, Indiana Swimming and Metropolitan School District of Lawrence Township Read more

AquaStar Pool Products has ended its authorized installer program, created to carry out terms of the Consumer Product Safety Commission recall announced in May 2011 Read more

A Tasmanian free diver has died, apparently due to what’s known as shallow water blackout. Read more

As one indication of how far the industry still has to go in efforts to prevent recreational water illnesses, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in September a 72 percent increase in outbreaks over the previous two-year tally — and th Read more

As sprayparks — and awareness of their potential for recreational water illness — become more prevalent, more and more states are enacting tougher regulations specifically aimed at the facilities. Read more

Wasn’t it just yesterday that you were hiring guards for summer 2011? Now the year is fast becoming a memory. In case you forgot, here’s a look back at what made headlines, and how it might affect the new year. Read more

The Bristol County (Mass..) District Attorney has released a final report on the June drowning death of Marie Joseph and, as of press time, criminal charges were being sought against two individuals employed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation Read more

The Occupational Health and Safety Administration office in Tampa, Fla., is investigating the death of 21-year-old Justin Inversso, who was working as a lifeguard at Adventure Island when he was struck by lightning in September Read more

Those charged with developing the Model Aquatic Health Code anticipate that all but three modules are likely to be ready for public comment by the end of the year. Read more

Back in the mid-1980s, I was asked to develop and implement a K-12 swim lessons program for the school system. Read more

While aquatics programming provides some of the greatest opportunities for youth development, it also presents some of the highest risk factors Read more

We know that engaging minority groups in aquatics programs is a national issue, but how can we help reduce the drowning and water-related injury statistics among these groups? Read more

Aquatics professionals can play a big role in protecting swimmers against a preventable drowning death as a result of dangerous breath-holding. Here are four tips from Gareth Hedges, associate general counsel for The Redwoods Group in Morrisville, N.C. Read more

The people who succumb to this quiet killer often are stronger swimmers than the lifeguards on duty. Read more

It was just supposed to be some fun and exercise the afternoon that Drew Brislen, 40, went out free diving in the Pacific Ocean off Picnic Beach, which is part of Laguna Beach, Calif. Read more

I first started writing about the dangers of shallow water blackout in 1983, in my book Read more

Have you ever had thoughts like these: “Why does my controller sometimes seem to add too much chemical, while other times it doesn’t add enough? Why does my controller seem to be out of control? Is there a better, more predictable way of doing this?” Read more