Crystal in full SCUBA gear when she got drysuit certified
My name is Crystal Saffel, I am an aquatics professional who has been working in the aquatic industry for more than 30 years (since I was 15 years old!). During this time I have worked at eight pools, in six communities, across three Canadian provinces, and one community in Bangkok, Thailand.
I grew up in a small farming community in Saskatchewan, Canada, where I started my aquatics career at an outdoor pool. I attended the University of Saskatchewan where I received my Bachelor of Science in Physical Education with a major in Leisure and Sport Management.
After finishing university, I moved to British Columbia for about nine years, before moving to Alberta where I worked for about 14 years. In 2019 my husband and I took our first overseas holiday together. We visited 4 countries in South East Asia, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, and Singapore.
In the fall of 2020, during the pandemic, I decided that I wanted to live somewhere that wasn’t cold and I didn’t need to wear socks. We discussed where we would like to be and decided that we really enjoyed our time in Thailand. So, it was time to start looking for jobs. I found and applied for a position in Bangkok as an Aquatic Manager. I got the job, and soon we moved half-way around the world to Thailand!
In the nine facilities I have worked at, I have been in charge of operating various disinfection systems, including: three different chlorination methods, UV, and ozone. I have been a swim teacher, lifeguard, aqua fitness instructor, first aid & CPR instructor. To add to that, I have a great deal of experience as an aquatic supervisor and manager, recreation programmer, and worked in health and safety for the recreation department.
During the last 30+ years I have easily interviewed more than 1,000 people for various roles, and hired a few hundred of those! I have done budgeting, scheduling, planning, as well as assisting in designing a new facility, and commissioning it. I have taught leadership courses including water safety instructor, first aid instructor, and lifeguard classes.
I enjoy the daily challenge of managing a pool, sharing my skills, experiences, and love of the water with my team as well as the families that I work with.
When I’m not working, I enjoy traveling (I have technically been around the world twice since moving to Thailand). I enjoy sampling the incredible variety of new foods we are exposed to in Southeast Asia, and have taken several cooking courses along the way. Photography has been a hobby of mine for many years, and there’s no shortage of amazing photo subjects in this part of the world!