The best offense: it's time for all certification courses to get serious about the war against RWIs.(recreational water illnesses)

A war is raging in the aquatics world today--a war we seem to be losing. The enemy is an insidious and increasingly hard-to-kill one known as recreational water illnesses, or RWIs. And by many indications, we are losing ground to them.

In 2001-2002, 60 percent of all RWI outbreaks occurred in treated water facilities, according to the most recent statistics available from the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta. More recently, as we've all no doubt heard by now, a spraypark in New York is the subject of a class action lawsuit after a crypto outbreak sickened thousands. The problem has gotten so bad that the CDC gave the industry a real slap in the face. It is now recommending that people check pool and spa water with test strips before entering public venues.

Why is the enemy gaining ground? The answer is quite simple: Aquatics professionals don't have the proper information to fight RWIs. That is why I'm proposing a relatively simple concept that could well prove to be a turning point in the war. I think it is time for the industry to expand the current certification processes of aquatics professionals (operators, lifeguards, service technicians, coaches) to include certification in preventive disease transmission and identification.

The curriculum for such an idea is already in place and available nationwide. But it would require that aquatics organizations such as the National Swimming Pool Foundation, the American Swimming Coaches Association, United States Swimming, United States Diving, and the National Parks & Recreation Association integrate this information into their current requirements.

While it is logical to include operators and service techs in this approach, it may be less clear why swimming and diving coaches need to be included. Let me explain:

The education of a coach should not be limited to stroke or diving technique, physiology or biomechanics. Basic course requirements necessary for aspiring coaches in swimming and diving clearly do not prepare the future coach to recognize disease transmission dangers. These courses need this basic prerequisite to make it possible for coaches to become aware of the danger that RWIs present to the athletes under their direct control. They also must ...