Our sister park Busch Gardens is eagerly anticipating opening a new ride this season. Here at Water Country USA, we have several improvements we are excited about.

Recently, the Park Operations leadership team at Water Country USA got together to recertify our lifeguarding skills. We spent a Saturday at Water Country USA practicing CPR, AED, and First Aid methods. The next day, the group met again to complete the classroom portion of lifeguarding review. Then we headed to the Hampton YMCA to practice those skills in the water.

Water Country USA seems empty when I visit the park. No life vests, tubes, water and especially no guests. Still, we are hard at work getting ready for a fantastic 2012 season.

All of our Water Country USA lifeguards are certified through the American Red Cross. Most of you may know that, but did you know that the American Red Cross visits our park twice a year? During their site visits, they ensure our guards are properly trained and are demonstrating good skills on and off the stand. This week one of the aquatics managers from the national ARC headquarters toured the park as a guest and observed all of our guards.

For the second year in a row Water Country USA will participate in the World’s Largest Swimming Lesson. The goal of this event is to educate everyone on the importance of learning how to swim.

You don't often hear the words cute and alligator in the same sentence, but our newest Water Country USA residents are definitely an exception. I want to introduce you to our new American alligators - Elvis, Horatio, Crocket and Tubbs. These little guys or girls (they are too young to tell) are only two months old and already have me wrapped around their little webbed toes, especially Tubbs. Currently they are about ten inches long, but as adults can reach up to 15 feet … at which point I will not be holding them.