Prominent issues around community aquatic operations and design: IAKS Australia & New Zealand held the seminar on Thursday 22 June 2022 in conjunction with the largest aquatic exhibition in the southern hemisphere, the 2022 SPLASH!EXPO. The event had over 150 exhibitors and over 3,000 visitors through the door, and the IAKS seminar was a fantastic opportunity to connect industry experts at this premier event.
The IAKS seminar focused on two focal streams which included resilience and reinvention and designing for sustainability and safety.
As part of the resilience and reinvention stream, the presenters and panel discussed the importance of customer service, retention and personalising the customer journey, and highlighted the methods they were using to solve staff shortages, difficulties in recruiting, training, and retaining staff as part of the post pandemic recovery.
The designing for sustainability and safety stream showcased a range of speakers including architects who had delivered various new community aquatic and leisure centres who shared their tips on the latest design trends for inclusivity. Royal Life Saving shared key considerations in the design and operation of aquatic facilities to enhance water safety. The conversations extended to include how facilities built for elite sports and events can be designed in a sustainable way that the community can enjoy for future years to come.
The seminar attracted over forty attendees from various local councils, aquatic centre operators, and planners from around the region. The mix of professions in the room led to key discussions around potential solutions to the challenges faced by aquatic operators and key design considerations, particularly for councils looking to develop or redevelop aquatic centres.
A special thanks to our speakers: James Ellender (ActiveXchange), Bryn Whales (Jonas Leisure), Todd McHardy (BlueFit), Scott Vanderheyden (Belgravia), Jay Clarke (City Venue Management), Adam Luscombe (The Y), Andrew Tripet (NBRS Architects), Yuri Dillon (Liquid Blu Architecture), Peter Legaz (Phlozone), Nikki Thornhill (RLSS Queensland), Simon Haire (Pool Super Vision).
