INDUSTRY VIEWS
COLLABORATION IS KEY RAISING STANDARDS IN THE LEISURE INDUSTRY
There is a fundamental need for partnerships and collaborations in our industry to ensure that knowledge is accessible to everyone, especially those who need to make decisions about servicing and maintaining, and ultimately, about upgrading leisure facilities and their associated equipment. Without this knowledge, mistakes will be made that will definitely cost money (e.g. due to ill-informed procurement decisions) and may result in facilities being closed (temporarily, or permanently). A lack of knowledge may also cause reputational damage (e.g. chemical incidents in plantrooms) and in extreme cases (although very rare) may cause serious injuries, or even fatalities. When relevant parts of the supply chain collaborate with commercial leisure operators, it helps to share information and raise awareness about available market options that can meet their needs, to minimise the likelihood of these procurement mistakes occurring. Gaining knowledge can be achieved on an individual basis, but collaboration is a potentially more powerful way of supercharging this. Collaboration is evident in The Swimming Alliance, which aims to provide a unified voice on key issues affecting public swimming pools and open water spaces throughout the UK. It is important for this Alliance to focus on operational, as well as strategic aims, to ensure that things can change for the better. Similarly, collaboration is evident in the way Sport England has recently reached out to stakeholders to gather feedback on its Swimming Pool Design Guidance. It will be great to see what changes are adopted, to further enhance the guidance over the coming year. Bringing stakeholders together can quickly boost the sharing of ideas and information. Conferences, webinars, and exhibitions, provide excellent opportunities for this to occur. Leisure DB have shown how their events can make a difference, with meaningful dialogue due to active networking opportunities. Other opportunities to work together are provided at Elevate, PWTAG, SPATEX and STA. There will be other bodies having their own conferences / events over the next 12 months, hopefully you can invest some time in attending at least some of them. At SPATA, we already work closely with many other associations such as BISHTA and, of course, with SPATEX, which as an industry-owned show, reinvests a significant portion of its profit back into industry promotion, through the PIP Committee. SPATA also works with ISPE (Institute of Swimming Pool Engineers) who offer a range of courses and other support to their individual members. Much of the workshop programme at SPATEX is overseen by ISPE, with invaluable contributions from STA, PWTAG, IoS, RLSS UK, LCA, WMSoc, and others. The education programmes at these exhibitions and conferences help to update the industry with the latest knowledge. As you can see from the above, there is plenty of scope for working together in our industry, to raise standards, awareness and knowledge to minimise the chances of mistakes being made, and to embrace the changes that are impacting us all.
Bringing stakeholders together can
quickly boost the sharing of ideas and information. CHRIS HAYES Managing Director, SPATA
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STATE OF THE UK FITNESS INDUSTRY REPORT 2023
STATE OF THE UK FITNESS INDUSTRY REPORT 2023
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STATE OF THE UK SWIMMING INDUSTRY REPORT 2025
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