Australasian Leisure Management 160 2024

www.ausleisure.com.au

ISSUE 160

AQUATICS Inflatable Waterparks Water Filtration

ENTERTAINMENT Coldplay’s Sustainable Touring Post Pandemic Recovery

FACILITIES

Melbourne’s Interlude Bay Pavilions

FITNESS

Print Post Approved PP100022562

Grant Gamble’s Affinity Principle AUSactive’s Sustainability Initiative

VENUES

Cedar Mill Group Crowd Safety

SPORT

Netball Australia Motorsport Governance

PLUS

Remembering Simon Weatherill Designing Community Facilities Keeping Tennis Courts Cool Beaches are Big Business NSC24 Program

Let’s talk

1300 088 922

www.perfectgym.com.au

contents 18

48

30

52

26

Issue 160

72

features 18

62

A New Standard for Sustainable Touring Coldplay’s environmental touring measures

22

Live Again The post pandemic recovery of live entertainment

26

Chilling Out A cooling tennis court surface

30

Meeting Future Needs Rethinking the delivery of aquatic and recreation centres

34

A Bigger Splash Aquatic inflatables bring the fun through summer

47 48

Remembering Simon Weatherill Innovations in Water Filtration Silicon carbide filtration

52

Transforming a Town with Aquatics and Culture Batemans Bay’s Bay Pavilions

Cover: Aquatic fun with Aflex Inflatables.

See ‘A Bigger Splash’ on page 34.

54

The future of beach management

56

regulars 6 From the Publisher 8 Two Months in Leisure 75 People in Brief 76 People 77 Products To subscribe go to subscribe.ausleisure.com.au

The Business of Beaches An Interlude of Redemption The transformation of Melbourne’s former Pentridge Prison

58

Reshaping Fitness Club Management Grant Gamble explains how gyms can leverage AI

62

Sustainability: Fitness Clubs’ Key to Future Success AUSactive’s ECOactive pilot program

66

The Right Crowd Crowd management as a business development tool

69 70

Disputes in the Governance of Australian Motorsport More Music: More Venues Introducing the Cedar Mill Group

72

4 Australasian Leisure Management Issue 160

Poisoned Chalice?

The issues facing Netball Australia’s next Chief Executive

From the Publisher Shame about the Weather

Published by Leisure Media Limited c/o 45/30 Nobbs Street Surry Hills NSW 2010 AUSTRALIA ABN 33 673 565 609

Tel: 02 8018 6808 E-mail: leisure@ausleisure.com.au www.ausleisure.com.au Facebook: www.facebook.com/ausleisure

Editor Karen Sweaney Publisher Nigel Benton Managing Director Lindsay McGrath Advertising Inquiries Nigel Benton Tel: 0411 551 731 E: nigel@ausleisure.com.au David Stennett Tel: 0404 725 554 E: david@spasa.com.au James Croll Tel: 0488 090 904 E: jcroll@ausleisure.com.au Printed in Australia by Pegasus Print Group Building B, 1A Bessemer Street, Blacktown NSW 2148 Tel: 02 8822 0600, www.pegasusprintgroupcom.au Annual subscriptions cost $99 in Australia and New Zealand.

Details at subscribe.ausleisure.com.au or call 02 8227 6486.

Members of ARI NSW, ARQ, ASSA, ExerciseNZ, IAKS, LIWA Aquatics, the Sports and Play Industry Association and the VMA receive the magazine as a membership benefit.

The views contained in Australasian Leisure Management are not necessarily those of Leisure Media Limited or the Editor.

While every care is taken with advice given, Leisure Media Limited and the Editor can take no responsibility for effects arising therefrom.

Views expressed by contributors may be personal and are not necessarily the views of their employers or professional bodies/associations.

© Leisure Media Limited, 2024. ISSN 1446-1374

Official Publication

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Buffeted by the pandemic and under constant mainstream media scrutiny over ride safety, it was truly sad to see the major theme parks and attractions of the Gold Coast impacted by a severe weather event late on Christmas Day - on the eve of what was hoped to have been their busiest operating periods of the year.

The storm that hit the Gold Coast on Christmas night led to fatalities along with uprooted trees, downed power lines and extensive flash flooding throughout the region - preventing Dreamworld, WhiteWater World, Warner Bros. Movie World, Topgolf Gold Coast, Paradise Country and Wet’n’Wild Gold Coast from opening on Boxing Day. As a result, Sea World was the Gold Coast’s only theme park to open its doors on Boxing Day. Severe weather also returned to the region over the New Year, again closing the major attractions along with City of Gold Coast facilities the Pimpama Sports Hub, Upper Coomera Aquatic Centre and Miami Aquatic Centre.

Elsewhere, two campers in Victoria and three friends on a fishing trip were among lives lost to the Christmas storms.

These events, along with the impact of Tropical Cyclone Jasper in Far North Queensland before Christmas, delivered a severe setback to the tourism industry.

An example of this was explained by Tourism Tropical North Queensland Chief Executive Mark Olsen, who advised that Cyclone Jasper and the flooding it caused had created difficulties for tourism in the region, stating “we’ve already seen about $125 million worth of forward bookings and bookings that would normally come through at this time of the year for January wiped off the book.”

And in the aftermath of this turmoil, and facing the likelihood of an ever increasing number of extreme weather events, it has been commendable to see the way in which professionals have bounced back, overcoming the obstacles and challenges they faced to rapidly reopen to the public.

More Content for a Dynamic Industry Readers will notice that we have started 2024 with an enlarged Australasian Leisure Management, with more content aimed at professionals and decision makers across all sectors of the industry.

Under our new owning entity Leisure Media Limited, we are, more than ever committed to delivering a wide range of informative, relevant and diverse industry content.

In publishing this content, we rely on those in the industry, and particularly industry associations and bodies, to share their news, achievements and case studies with us.

Here, the growing list of links we have with industry organisations is vitally important with us providing a prominent avenue for the sharing of expertise and insights with the broader industry.

Such partnerships signify a commitment to shared growth, innovation and the betterment of all involved in this dynamic industry.

Nigel Benton, Publisher

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Dreamworld - Whitewater World, Gold Coast, QLD

North Star Holiday Resort, Hastings Point, NSW

Cockburn Aquatic & Recreation Centre, Cockburn Central, WA

The Big Banana Fun Park, Coffs Harbour, NSW

Aquatopia Waterpark, Prairiewood, NSW

BIG4 Gold Coast Holiday Park, Gold Coast, QLD

Oak Park Sports And Aquatic Precinct, Pascoe Vale, VIC

Dubbo Aquatic Centre, Dubbo, NSW

Raging Waters, Sydney, NSW

42nd Battalion Memorial Pool, Rockhampton, QLD

Tattersalls Hobart Aquatic Centre, TAS

Splash Aqua Park and Leisure Centre, Craigieburn, VIC

DESIGN CONSTRUCT SPECIALISTS

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Two Months in Leisure Some of the industry headlines over recent months.

Daily industry news can be read at www.ausleisure.com.au

The Peninsula Hot Springs Group has announced the opening of a new hot spring wellness destination in Cunnamulla, Queensland, overlooking the Warrego River.

In Brief

Parklands at Rosny on Hobart’s eastern shore have been chosen as the location for the high-performance centre for Tasmania’s new AFL club.

Following a thorough selection process including Wellington Skate Association committee members, Wellington City Council has confirmed the Destination Skatepark in Kilbirnie will be designed and fabricated by skatepark specialist company CONVIC.

Ardent Leisure re-brands as Coast Entertainment Holdings December saw the Ardent Leisure Group Limited inform the Australian Stock Exchange of a change in its trading name to Coast Entertainment Holdings Limited from Monday 18th December.

Approved by a special resolution of shareholders at its recent AGM, the change was accompanied by a statement from the company advising “there is no change to the ownership, structure or operations of the group or the Dreamworld, Whitewater World or SkyPoint businesses.”

The group has also new branding and what it calls an “elevated experience” for the SkyPoint Observation Deck on the Gold Coast.

The City of Hobart has announced the completion and opening of the refurbished Springs Lookout on kunanyi/Mt Wellington which offers impressive views over Hobart, the River Derwent, Storm Bay, and the Channel.

Australia’s first permanent immersive experience location - the Immersive Big Top - offers a world-first, Australian made immersive experience - Luna Park Dream Circus - which has premiered at Luna Park Sydney.

Perisher has announced that a brand new, six-seater chairlift is on its way to Mt. Perisher and is expected to be ready for the 2025 Australian snow season.

Victoria’s new $132 million State Basketball Centre - part of the expansion of the Knox Regional Sports Park in Wantirna South – is now complete.

Wellington’s new convention and exhibition centre, Takina, has injected about $24 million of spending into the city’s economy since its opening on 1st June 2023 - more than four times over the initial forecast.

Survey of major fitness groups shows club openings outstrip closures at rate of two to one New data from retail intelligence platform GapMaps shows 221 new fitness clubs opened and 112 closed across Australia for the 12 months to 31st August - a ratio of two openings for every closure.

Reversing the findings of GapMaps’ previous survey which showed a net reduction of clubs, the new data would appear to indicate new strength in the industry as it recovers from the pandemic with the 20 leading brands covered by the survey operating at 3,258 locations.

The findings show Anytime Fitness as Australia’s largest gym brand with 559 locations (growing by +23 during the year) followed by CrossFit with 510 outlets and F45 Training with 490 sites.

However, F45’s well publicised troubles saw its footprint decline, with a new decline of -21 sites during the 12 months.

www.ausleisure.com.au for all the latest industry news 8 Australasian Leisure Management Issue 160

The AFL’s Adelaide Crows have secured a 42-year lease to Thebarton Oval where it intends to establish a new $100 million sporting and community precinct.

The City of Parramatta has advised that the $26 million upgrade of the Epping Aquatic Centre will begin in May 2024 after the conclusion of the swimming carnival season.

Collective Wellness Group has launched its new fitness brand, SUMHIIT Fitness, to the Australian market - with the inaugural HIIT studio now operational in Sydney suburb of Crows Nest.

The NSW Government has unveiled its draft plans for its proposed $309 million redevelopment of the Penrith Stadium that will include a new western grandstand with steeper seating and a significantly redeveloped eastern grandstand, increasing ground capacity at the venue to 25,000.

Release of latest industry guidelines aimed at increasing safety in aquatic facilities Royal Life Saving Society - Australia and the National Aquatic Industry Committee have released two new sets of Guidelines for Safe Pool Operations (GSPO).

Both sets of guidelines have involved more than a year’s worth of work including widespread consultation with aquatic facility owners, operators and industry groups.

The first set of guidelines provides practical guidance for owners or operators of aquatic facilities in relation to measures needed to protect children and young people from abuse and/ or related harm relating to aquatic facility operations.

The second set of guidelines provide practical guidance for owners or operators of aquatic facilities in relation to the qualifications, skills and training needed for staff for entry into employment in the aquatic industry.

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Crystal Lagoons signs contract to develop 16 new Public Access Lagoons in Australia US-based multinational innovation company, Crystal Lagoons has signed a contract with investment fund Vibranium Capital Partners to develop 16 new Public Access Lagoons™ projects in Australia.

The agreement also offers the possibility of entering with 10 additional projects in other countries in Oceania and Southeast Asia.

Like all public access projects of Crystal Lagoons, the centrepiece is a crystalline lagoon, which can be accessed via ticketed entry, with complexes also incorporating restaurants, multifamily areas, hotels, retail, beach clubs and residential properties.

www.ausleisure.com.au for all the latest industry news

Australasian Leisure Management Issue 160 9

Legal Wearable fitness technology company Fitbit LLC has been ordered by the Federal Court to pay penalties of $11 million after misleading consumers about smartwatches and fitness trackers that were not fit for purpose.

The Court ordered the penalty for the Google owned business for making false, misleading or deceptive claims to 58 customers who, between 2020 and 2022, had sought replacements or refunds when devices proved faulty.

A 24-year-old man who indecently recorded young children in the changing rooms of public swimming pools in Perth for personal sexual gratification has been sentenced to six years jail.

Roman Wolodymyr Kopytko was first charged in May 2023 after being arrested after a young boy alerted his father to being recorded in a cubicle at Craigie Leisure Centre.

Rosemary Gamble, the jumping castle operator charged with workplace safety breaches over the Hillcrest Primary School tragedy of December 2021 in which six children died has pleaded not guilty to health and safety charge in Court.

In the Devonport Magistrates Court on 2nd February, Gamble, who traded as Taz-Zorb entered a plea of not guilty to a failure to comply with health and safety duty.

She was granted bail and is expected to next appear in Court in March.

It is alleged that prior to the incident the inflatable castle was tethered at only four of its eight anchorage points, that pegs were not installed at the recommended 45-degree angle and pegs recommended by the manufacturer, or a suitable alternative, weren’t used.

Seven people involved in the organisation of mountain marathon crosscountry race in north-west China in 2021 during which 21 runners died in extreme weather conditions have been handed prison terms ranging from three to five and a half years by a Court in Baiyin, a prefecture-level city in northeastern Gansu province.

In May 2021, the 100 kilometre cross-country mountain race turned deadly as freezing rain, high winds and hail hit the competitors.

A Canberra man has been charged with murder over the apparent stabbing death of a 29-year-old woman at the National Zoo and Aquarium in Canberra before Christmas.

Tshewang Choden was found dead in the Zoo’s commercial kitchen area after emergency services responded to reports of ‘loud screams’.

Shortly afterwards her co-worker Jude Wijesinghe, was taken into custody after being found with what appeared to be self-inflicted wounds.

A Perth-based karate instructor who sexually abused a teenage student and then threatened to kill her if she reported it, has been sentenced to eight years jail.

Having been found guilty of 26 charges of sexually abusing the girl, Gavin Michael Smith was sentenced in the Perth District Court in December.

10 Australasian Leisure Management Issue 160

Billboard names Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena among world’s top 10 live music venues The Qudos Bank Arena at Sydney Olympic Park has been named one of the most popular and successful venues in the world by American music and entertainment magazine Billboard.

In its 2023 year-end global boxscore charts, the TEG owned, ASM Global managed venue was named seventh among indoor venues with a capacity of 15,000 or more, just behind internationally renowned venues such as New York’s Madison Square Garden and London’s O2 Arena.

During Billboard’s tracking period from November 2022 to September 2023, Qudos Bank Arena generated $79.4 million in ticket sales, welcoming over 785,000 patrons across 75 shows during this timeframe.

AFL’s Melbourne Demons investigate move to Caulfield Racecourse The Melbourne Football Club (MFC) has announced a feasibility study to identify a location for the AFL club’s long term homebase at a redeveloped Caulfield Racecourse.

First announced in 2019, the $570 million redevelopment for the racecourse would see its in-field, which is Crown land and about 10 times the size of the MCG, opened up as a community precinct, to be known as the Caulfield Racecourse Reserve.

This study will focus on the community benefits of the Demons building their high-performance home base at Caulfield Racecourse, while at the same time enhancing the experience of individuals and sporting Clubs within the Glen Eira area.

Religious festivals overtake sporting events as scenes of deadly crowd incidents With crowd accidents on the rise globally, a recent study shows religious festivals are overtaking sporting events as scenes of deadly crowd incidents, with India and West Africa emerging as the key locations for dangerous crushes.

Published earlier this year in the journal Safety Science, the study Trends in crowd accidents based on an analysis of press reports, by lead author Project Associate Professor Claudio Feliciani from the University of Tokyo and Dr Milad Haghani from the University of New South Wales (UNSW), reveal that their frequency has increased over the past 120 years.

As reported by SBS Hindi, Dr Haghani, an expert in crowd safety, said that while crowd management incidents were few and far between in Australia, time, effort and research were needed to maintain this record.

Gabba redevelopment in doubt New doubts have emerged over the planned redevelopment of Brisbane’s Gabba ahead of the 2032 Olympics after the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) laid out a series of new options that would not require the rebuilding of the stadium.

A delegation including AOC President Ian Chesterman told the review into the infrastructure plans for the 2032 Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games “we believe there are other, more creative solutions than rebuilding the Gabba for the Games which provide a legacy for our sports and even greater access for fans to an exceptional Olympic and Paralympic Games.”

The AOC delegation recommended using existing Brisbane venues instead, including Suncorp Stadium for the opening and closing ceremonies and the Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre in Nathan for athletics.

The AOC delegation were the latest stakeholders to address the 60-day review into the Games infrastructure ordered by Queensland Premier Steven Miles as one of his first acts when taking on the role.

Concept for the Parkwood Village surf park.

Gold Coast artificial surf attraction gains conditional planning approval Plans for the Gold Coast’s first artificial wave attraction have moved forward with the Gold Coast City Council granting conditional approval for the $300 million surf resort at Parkwood Village.

Currently an 18-hole golf course and the training base of the Gold Coast Titans, the proposal is for the site to be redeveloped with a 300 metre-long surf park as the centre piece of a precinct that will include a hotel and 225 residential units along with medical facilities, a brewery and retail and F&B/hospitality outlets.

www.ausleisure.com.au for all the latest industry news

Viva Leisure continues growth with new gym and studio openings ASX-listed fitness brand operator Viva Leisure has opened its 107th Club Lime outlet in Westfield Parramatta mall in NSW. Commenting on the opening on social media, Viva Leisure Chief Executive and Managing Director, Harry Konstantinou wrote “the club’s presentation is exceptional, showcasing a comprehensive range of equipment, meticulously prepared for our pre-sale members.

“I commend the exceptional work of our projects team, led by Aaron Brown, and the oversight of Michael Cunico, our Head of Fitness (amongst other things).”

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LPA ‘sets the record straight’ on new performers collective agreement With negotiations on a new performers collective agreement (PCA) having stalled and theatrical productions being leafletted by trade union delegates, Live Performance Australia (LPA) has released advice on its negotiation with the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA).

In their a campaign to lift the pay of about 6,000 actors and dancers along with protections against workplace fatigue and stability of employment, the dispute is set to see theatregoers targeted by MEAA member outside Australian performance venues.

In response, LPA has advised that it “supports a fair pay rise for all performers (but that) we also recognise the difficulties faced by performers and the producers of theatre in Australia during COVID.”

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Australasian Leisure Management Issue 160 11

CVM Academy’s rebrand to Ampd Academy marks move to expand training services to the aquatic industry and beyond In a move aimed at addressing the evolving needs of the aquatic industry, the CVM Academy has announced its rebrand into Ampd Academy.

The significant move for the Ampd Academy (which will retain its RTO registration number - 31946) will see it extend its Registered Training Organisation (RTO) services beyond its original scope, to encompass the entire aquatic industry and with plans for national expansion to support other industries.

Survey reveals fees charged by Western Australian aquatic, recreation and sport centres Adult users of aquatic centres and local government fitness facilities pay more for single entries in regional Western Australia than they do in Metropolitan Perth according to new figures from the Leisure and Aquatic Centre Fees and Charges Project.

Conducted under the auspices of Parks and Leisure Australia (WA), the WA 2023-24 Leisure & Aquatic Centre Fees and Charges report shows that a single adult pool entry cost an average $7.19 in Metropolitan Perth and $7.33 in regional Western Australia, casual gym entry costs $19.10 in Perth and $19.73 in the regions and that adult sports court hire generally cost more outside Perth.

By contrast swim school fees were cheaper outside of Perth with average school aged lessons costing $17.25 in the city and $16.45 in the regions, baby lessons costing $16.74 and $15.99, preschool lessons costing $17.56 and $16.82 school aged lessons $17.25 and $16.45 and adult lessons $18.89 and $17.45.

Developments at Dreamworld Dreamworld has opened its latest attraction, The Big Red Boat Coaster, while also anticipating the opening of its new Jungle Rush rollercoaster for later this year.

Opened before Christmas and the wild weather that briefly closed the park, the Big Red Boat Coaster - inspired by children’s entertainment group, The Wiggles - is now the centrepiece in Dreamworld’s new family precinct, Kenny and Belinda’s Dreamland.

The Gold Coast theme park has also previewed its soon to open Rivertown themed precinct, part of its $60 million future growth plan – the centrepiece of which will be its $35 million Jungle Rush rollercoaster to be built by Dutch ride specialist Vekoma.

‘New organisational design’ sees departure of NRL executives Counting down to the opening round of its 2024 season in Las Vegas the NRL has seen the departure of three of its senior executives this week.

The departures include Executive General Manager of Partnership, Jaymes Boland-Rudder; Executive General Manager of Strategy and Transformation, Andrew Every (who was also acting Head of Participation, Community and Game Development) and Grant Williams, Executive General Manager of Media and Communications.

The trio’s departure follows NRL Commercial Manager, Alex Stanley – who has moved to the AFL - while at the end of the year General Manager - Clubs, Jonathon Stewart, and Chief Customer and Digital Officer Alexi Baker, depart the body.

AUSactive identifies exercise for mental health as top fitness trend Revealing its predictions for the top fitness trends of 2024, the latest release of AUSactive’s Annual Health and Fitness Industry Trends report shows Exercise for Mental Health not only making its debut on the annual list but also reaching top spot - highlighting the important role exercise plays in the overall wellbeing of the population.

Providing an industry snapshot of the trends exercise professionals and business operators are seeing among their clients and members right across the nation, the survey’s Top 10 Fitness Trends include exercise for mental health, fitness programs for older Australians, group exercise training, functional fitness training, exercise is medicine, traditional strength training, employing registered exercise professionals, Pilates, wearable technology and inclusive exercise services.

12 Australasian Leisure Management Issue 160

Adelaide Oval unveils multi-million-dollar LED tower lighting upgrade Adelaide Oval has unveiled a new $5 million LED upgrade to its tower lighting system, making it the only major stadium in Australia with tower lights equipped with both immaculate white sports lighting and full colour ‘light show’ capabilities.

The LED system replaces high intensity discharge (HID) lighting that was last updated in 2014 as part of the Adelaide Oval redevelopment. LED allows for two things - instant switch on and off of a focused, consistent lighting level across the field of play, as well as new capabilities including colour, flash and animation. The new lights will also use approximately 40% less power than their predecessors, contributing to Adelaide Oval’s sustainability goals.

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Finance

Partnerships

Sustainable hospitality partnership forged to drive net positive tourism Aimed at driving net positive tourism, a landmark partnership has been forged between World Sustainable Travel & Hospitality Awards and The Sustainable Hospitality Alliance.

The Alliance will help steer the World Sustainable Travel & Hospitality Awards (WSTHA) program including serving on its new Advisory Board. The announcement, made at Fitur 2024, comes ahead of the inaugural WSTHA Ceremony in Belize on 27th September 2024. WSTHA is the sister program of the World Travel Awards, launched in 1993 to recognise and reward excellence in tourism.

Financial concerns sees Australian Professional Leagues make staff redundant The Australian Professional Leagues is reported to be “consolidating” its operations in the wake of financial concerns with up to half of its staff complement of 80 set to be made redundant.

The APL, the governing body for the A-League Men, A-League Women, A-League Youth and E-League, is reported to be undergoing an “organisational restructure” in the wake of declining income - brought to a head by poor crowds at last weekend’s Unite Round in Sydney.

As part of the changes, the APL’s digital and content arm ‘KeepUp’, which is understood to have cost the organisation $40 million, is to be scrapped.

Sweat co-founders buy back iFIT Kayla Itsines and Tobi Pearce co-founder of leading women’s health and fitness platform Sweat, have taken back control of the company less than three years after their reported $200 million ($US150 million) sale to US firm iFIT in 2021.

Sold at the height of the COVID pandemic when many physical gyms around Australia and the world were shut due to COVID restrictions, Sweat has reportedly engaged with millions of women around the world in their journeys to become healthier, stronger and more confident.

The Sweat app is translated into eight different languages and is available in 155 countries.

Alta Global Group sets terms for IPO in the USA Alta Global Group, the NSW-based technology company focused on the mixed martial arts and combat sports industry, has announced that it has set the terms with the US Securities and Exchange Commission for a US$10 million initial public offering.

The company plans to raise US$10 million by offering two million shares at a price range of US$4 to US$6 with analysts suggesting that at the midpoint of the proposed range it would command a fully diluted market value of $61 million.

14 Australasian Leisure Management Issue 160

Two-year partnership announced for AusFitness Expo and AUSactive AusFitness Expo has entered into a two-year partnership with AUSactive, building on a previous collaboration.

As part of the enhanced partnership, AusFitness Expo Sydney, which is now scheduled to run from 11th to 13th October, will align with AUSactive’s Gala Awards Night and Senior Management Summit, offering a convergence of networking opportunities and industry insights for participants.

Additionally, the AUSactive - Active Health & Trainer Summit will take place directly on the Trade Show floor - seamlessly integrating with the Expo and elevating the overall experience for all involved.

Fanatics signs first Australian club partnership with AFL’s Essendon Football Global digital sports platform, Fanatics, has partnered with the Essendon Football Club, marking Fanatics’ first ever partnership with an AFL team.

The partnership builds upon Fanatics’ landmark league deal with the AFL that offers fans worldwide the largest assortment of officially licensed AFL merchandise ever made available.

The deal, which includes opening a fully refreshed online store, will offer Essendon fans a full assortment of officially licensed Bombers merchandise, including guernseys, training wear, headwear, fan apparel, official Essendon member apparel and accessories.

ACTVENTURE waterpark site to be sold A company owned by the developer behind the proposed ACTVENTURE waterpark and resort on the Sunshine Coast has gone into administration, with the land to be put on the market.

First proposed in 2016, the much delayed $350 million project was to have included waterpark and surfing wave attraction along with a four-star 160-villa family resort and luxury apartments.

Nurrowin Pty Ltd, which has entered administration, with debts believed to total at least $10 million, bought the 25-hectare property on Steve Irwin Way, Glenview, for $4.1 million in late 2015.

As part of the debt recovery process, a commercial real estate agent has been appointed to handle the sale of the land, which is located near to Australia Zoo at Glenview.

ASTN report highlights power of University partnerships Australian Sports Technologies Network (ASTN) has released their inaugural ‘Power of University Partnerships’ report which highlights the importance of collaboration between sportstech founders, technologists and entrepreneurs with higher education institutions to increase innovation across the sportstech sector.

The ASTN report includes an evolving list of 120+ university leaders of mostly professors, researchers and sportstech industry engagement leaders who have been recognised as experts in their field. The report also includes 30+ Internship and Student Placements programs, as well as the 20+ top Research Centres for sports and technology innovation.

Three-year partnership announced between Paralympics Australia and McDonald’s A partnership between Paralympics Australia and McDonald’s Australia has been announced highlighting McDonald’s support for the Para-athletes striving to compete for Australia at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris, which starts on 28th August 2024.

It also signals McDonald’s intent to back Paralympics Australia’s quest to facilitate better access to sport for the 20% of Australians who live with a disability.

Partnerships

PGA Institute partners with Torrens University Opportunities for students in the golf industry will continue to grow following a new strategic collaboration between the PGA Institute and Torrens University - Australia’s fastest growing University.

Thanks to the partnership, PGA Institute diploma graduates will now receive credits from Torrens University.

All students undertaking the Diploma of Golf Management, Diploma of Sport, or Diploma of Business, will be able to use the new pathway to continue their education.

Torrens University is also the first and only partner of the PGA Institute to offer bachelor degrees online, further broadening the flexible study opportunities for students.

PlayHQ announces new partnership with New Zealand Cricket New Zealand Cricket has partnered with Fast-growing sports tech startup PlayHQ that will see game stakeholders join over 22,000 administrators and over two million registered users in cricket, netball, basketball, AFL and hockey competitions on the platform.

The move follows a successful partnership between PlayHQ and Cricket Australia, and will see New Zealand Cricket gain access to a suite of user-friendly tools for registration, instant payments, fixturing, grading, game day management, live scoring and more.

Wollongong City Council partners with Symbio Wildlife Park to plant Koala Food Forest

Royal Life Saving announces NSC collaboration Royal Life Saving Society - Australia has announced its partnership with the National Sports & Physical Activity Convention (NSC) and IAKS 2024.

Royal Life Saving’s involvement with NSC will spotlight sustainable and inclusive practices, youth engagement and environmental stewardship, and offer insights into meeting the evolving needs of the national aquatic industry.

A significant emphasis of the stream will be on diversifying both the user base and the workforce within the aquatic and leisure industry, thereby enhancing the sector’s appeal and contribution to community well-being.

NSC24 runs on 27th and 28th June at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Wollongong City Council is expanding their Urban Greening Strategy to protect the koala.

Wollongong City Council has partnered with Symbio Wildlife Park to plant a new Koala Food Forest that will feed their growing family of koalas.

Students from Koonawarra Primary School joined Wollongong City Council and Symbio last October in planting around 700 specially selected local eucalyptus trees within Eleebana Reserve in Koonawarra.

It’s a long-term project as it will take roughly 18-24 months before leaves off the newly planted trees can be harvested. But, once the trees have established roots, the leaves will be harvested regularly to feed the koalas that live at Symbio.

In the event of large-scale natural disasters, such as the 2019/20 bushfires, leaves from this Koala Food Forest can be used as an emergency food source for koalas in emergency care.

Australasian Leisure Management Issue 160 15

Mt Buller set to open Via Ferrata adventure experience

Brisbane performing arts school acquired by UK-based Global Education Holdings The Australian Performing Arts Conservatory (APAC) has new owners following the announcement that the Brisbane-based cultural institution has been acquired by UK-headquartered Global Education Holdings (GEDU).

Founded in 1993 by Marcus Hogan, who remained Chief Executive until 2020, APAC has produced many successful TV, theatre, and film professionals including Mirko Grillini (The Chronicles of Narnia, Home and Away), Libby Munro (Wild Woman, Grounded), Lasarus Ratuere (Mabo, Ghost in the Shell), Luke McKenzie (Wentworth) and Ilai Swindells (Bay of Fires).

Victoria’s Mt Buller is counting down to the opening of RockWire, a new Via Ferrata adventure tourism experience that is the first of its kind in Australia.

Based on Via Ferrata experiences and traverses in the Italian, Swiss and French Alps, RockWire Mt Buller which opened on 3rd February, is described as “bringing the safety of indoor climbing to the excitement of outside”.

In operation, RockWire sees climbers safely clipped onto a continual steel cable system - similar to that used on BridgeClimb Sydney - while ascending the west face of Mt Buller’s Summit.

Review recommends that the Australian Institute of Sport remain in Canberra A Federal Government review into the location and infrastructure of the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) has recommended that the institution remain at its current site in the Canberra suburb of Bruce.

Amid calls for the AIS to relocate to South East Queensland in order to link with preparations for the Brisbane 2032 Games, the review, which commenced in October last year, considered the optimal location for the AIS, the level of investment required, including appropriate accommodation facilities for athletes and staff, along with international best practice.

Scope of work revealed for upgrade to UTAS Stadium Launceston The next step in plans to upgrade the University of Tasmania (UTAS) Stadium in Launceston has been confirmed with the announcement of the scope of works for the $130 million redevelopment project.

With the Federal and Tasmanian governments each committing $65 million to the redevelopment and upgrade of the venue, works are expected to be completed by 2027.

They include a new eastern stand and plaza entry, a new centre-west stand, an upgrade to match day facilities, sport lighting upgrades and replacing the LED ribbon board.

The City of Launceston has voted to transfer ownership of the venue to Stadiums Tasmania - the Tasmanian Government’s venue management authority.

Commercial pool equipment repurposed for a sustainable future Commercial pool equipment is being repurposed by Wellington Shire Council to promote sustainability and resource efficiency.

Council is repurposing its existing plant equipment resulting from the redevelopment of the $23 million Aqua Energy Leisure Centre in the Victorian community of Sale.

The redevelopment has led to a surplus of equipment, including solar panels, a pump system, grandstand seating, and more. Solar panels have an estimated value of up to $100,000, and at just three years old, will be used to repurpose other Council-owned community facilities, and as part of future infrastructure projects throughout the Shire.

16 Australasian Leisure Management Issue 160

Anytime Fitness makes significant improvement to member experience in Australia To enhance its members experience in clubs across Australia, Anytime Fitness - with more than 550 clubs and 650,000 members - has recently launched AF SmartCoaching technology and AF App. AF SmartCoaching will provide Anytime Fitness members with personalised coaching that can now be accessed via the app anytime, anywhere. The app also features the ability for members to upgrade to the AF Access Pass and enjoy the convenience of opening the door to clubs around Australia with their smartphone.

The tech rollout is part of the brand’s continuous strategy to provide members with Anytime Fitness access and coaching both inside and outside a club to ultimately improve their personal health.

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A New Standard for Sustainable Touring

Coldplay at Perth’s Optus Stadium in November 2023. Credit: AnnaLee Media/Live Nation.

Coldplay have introduced game-changing environmental measures on their ‘Music Of The Spheres’ world tour. Nigel Benton explains

W

hile the headline news for British supergroup Coldplay’s ongoing Music of the Spheres world tour has been about it breaking the record for the most concert tickets sold for a tour, behind-the-scenes the band have adopted a series of environmental measures that, last year, saw them reduce by half their carbon emissions while performing.

This followed the band - comprised of Chris Martin, Jonny Buckland, Guy Berryman and Will Champion - having announced in 2019 that it would take a break from touring in order to assess how future tours could be more sustainable and less damaging to the environment. As a result, when the Music of The Spheres tour began in 2022, the band pledged to cut emissions by 50% compared to their previous world tour between 2016 and 2017.

At the time, the band advised “playing live and finding connection with people is ultimately why we exist as a band. At the same time, we’re very conscious that the planet is facing a climate crisis.

“So we’ve spent the last two years consulting with environmental experts to make this tour as sustainable as possible, and, just as importantly, to harness the tour’s potential to push things forward. We won’t get everything right, but we’re committed to doing everything we can and sharing what we learn.

“This is a good start - and something that our incredible crew should be very proud of - but clearly there’s still room for improvement.”

To achieve this the band worked with their partners and suppliers to reduce their impact further down the supply chain as much as possible.

DHL was brought on board as the tour’s official logistics partner, with a focus on using advanced biofuels in the air and

18 Australasian Leisure Management Issue 160

Coldplay, above, credit: James Marcus Haney and Perth’s Optus Stadium lights up for their November 2023 concert, below, credit: David Etherton/VenuesWest.

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Coldplay at Perth’s Optus Stadium in November 2023, above, credit: Stevie Rae Gibbs and below, credit: AnnaLee Media/Live Nation.

electric vehicles on land. Where the band cannot reduce their impact, they have been drawing down unavoidable emissions following guidance within the Oxford Principles for Net-Zero Aligned carbon offsetting.

With the tour ongoing, Coldplay have pledged to continue capturing climate impact data and calculating the band’s environmental footprint.

On stage, the band have adopted greener ways to power production from the use of solar, sustainable biofuels to grid renewables. In a partnership with car manufacturer BMW, the band helped to develop a mobile, reachable show battery made from recyclable BMW i3 batteries. This battery powers 100% of shows through renewable energy.

Additionally, the band have been installing kinetic floors in locations around the stadiums and venues, with fans’ dancing and movement converted into energy and used to power shows.

In June last year, Coldplay revealed that they had reduced CO2e emissions by just shy of their 50% target.

Travel has been carefully planned to minimise flying, while the band send a sustainability rider to all venues and stadiums in advance to request best environmental practices. Stages are built from lightweight, low-carbon and re-usable materials, which can be re-used or recycled at the end of the tour.

The reusable LED wristbands worn by the audience as part of Coldplay’s shows are made from 100% compostable, plantbased materials while wristband production has been reduced by 80% through collecting, sterilising and recharging them after each show. In the first year of the tour, the wristband return rate averaged around 86%.

Sustainability has even been embedded in lighting and audio production, with low-energy LED screens laser and lighting systems, as well as a PA system that uses up to 50% less power compared to the previous tour. Confetti used during the show is 100% biodegradable and uses less compressed gas for ignition.

Fans have also played a role.

Coldplay partnered with SAP, a provider of enterprise application software, to develop a free tour app that encourages fans to use low-carbon transport to and from shows. Fans that commit to low-carbon travel have been rewarded with a discount. Concerts have also been accompanied by activations such as the energy zone, powered by solar and kinetic energy.

The band have also worked with venues to focus on reducing 20 Australasian Leisure Management Issue 160

water and plastic consumption, eliminating waste and recycling where possible.

Within the band’s crew catering operations, plant-based and locally sourced food has been provided while surplus food donated to local food banks.

Merchandise has been sustainably and ethically sourced, while Coldplay have also supported good causes during the tour. The band have worked on reforestation projects, have avoided mono-culture plantations and supported ocean conservation.

Coldplay have collaborated with One Tree Planted to plant one tree for every ticket sold to the Music of the Spheres world tour, reducing the impact of the crowds.

The tour is also working with the non-profit organisation KultureCity to make the tour inclusive for audience members with sensory issues through providing sensory bags and access to a mobile sensory room.

The sustainability initiative is guided by three principles: Reduce - less consumption, more recycling and cut CO2 emissions by 50% (in comparison to the 2016-17 tour) Reinvent - support new green technologies (including kinetic dance floors) and develop new sustainable, super-low carbon touring methods Restore - fund projects and draw down more CO2 than the tour produces Ultimately, Coldplay have committed to being transparent with the ongoing measurement of the band’s environmental impact - negative or positive. Working alongside Live Nation’s sustainability platform Green Nation, the band hope to develop sustainable practices to share across all other artists’ tours.

Martin previously spoke about why he believes eco-friendly tours make “business sense” in the music industry, advising

BBC Radio 4’s Today program at the end of the year “what we’re trying to do is actually not advocate at all, but just prove that it makes business sense because that’s where we feel you’ll really get people to change, like ‘Hey you can make more money’.”

Martin also said that “way more people than you think” are interested in looking after the planet, adding “most people, if they have the luxury of being able to care about it, care about it.”

Noting that they are trying to show through their tour that being green isn’t “some charitable, left-wing, wishy-washy thing, it’s like, ‘No, no, this is the best business sense, too’.”

The band also reacted to a claim that they’re being used as “useful idiots for greenwashing.”

They partnered with Finnish oil company Neste to cut their touring emissions by half. Neste claims to be the world’s largest producer of sustainable biofuels but the firm’s palm oil suppliers cleared at least 24,710 acres of forest in countries including Indonesia and Malaysia between 2019 and 2020 [via Friends Of The Earth].

Carlos Calvo Ambel, a Senior Director of the Belgium-based Transport and Environment campaign group stated “Neste is cynically using Coldplay to greenwash its reputation.”

In response, Coldplay released a statement advising “when we announced this tour, we said that we would try our best to make it as sustainable and low carbon-impact as possible, but that it would be a work in progress. That remains true. We don’t claim to have got it all right yet.

“Before we appointed Neste as supplier of these biofuel products, we received their guarantee that they do not use any virgin materials in their production - most especially not palm oil. It’s still our understanding that they use renewable waste products only, like cooking oil and byproducts from wood pulp manufacture.”

They were also criticised for working with BMW, which

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Coldplay fans at Perth’s Optus Stadium. Credit: David Etherton/VenuesWest.

they addressed in their statement which added that they had approached other electric car manufacturers but advised “BMW were the ones that offered to help”, adding “we have no connection to or influence on their corporate policies.

“We just need their batteries so that we can power our shows with renewable energy.

“We are doing our best, and always genuinely welcome suggestions as to how to do it better.”

Overall, Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres World Tour stands as a pioneering example of sustainable touring, showcasing innovative approaches and partnerships to minimise the environmental impact of live music performances. The band’s dedication to transparency and continuous improvement sets a new standard for the industry, encouraging others to follow suit in adopting eco-friendly practices.

The band has now resumed their tour with dates across Asia, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.

Nigel Benton is Publisher of Australasian Leisure Management.

What’s your impact?

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Australasian Leisure Management Issue 160 21

. Taylor Swift - on stage at Sydney’s Accor Stadium in 2018 - is set to be one of the biggest concert draws of 2024. Credit: VenuesLive.

Live Again LPA’s latest report shows the post-pandemic recovery of live entertainment led by international acts. Karen Sweaney looks at the challenges fter two years of disruption and COVID-19-induced living pressures that are increasingly seeing audiences buy cancellations, Australia’s live arts and entertainment A late and more selectively. industry experienced a post-lockdown peak in attendance and revenue last year.

According to Live Performance Australia’s 2022 Ticket Attendance and Revenue Report (released at the end of last year), the industry’s total revenues reached $2 billion in 2022 - up almost 200% on the previous year - with ticketed attendances of 24.2 million.

Contemporary music and festivals accounted for about 50% of show revenues, led by international acts with 42% of all attendees enjoying performances by acts including Guns N’ Roses and Bruno Mars.

The report also shows that musical theatre had its biggest year since the survey began, with shows such as Hamilton, Frozen and Phantom of the Opera driving the stage business.

Contributing to the revenue rise, average theatre ticket prices rose from $69 to $90, an increase of 30% in one year while average concert ticket prices leapt 53% - with the rises being below pre-pandemic peaks.

Festivalgoers paid an average of $169.53 for their tickets compared to $128 for a night of musical theatre, where Hamilton, Phantom of the Opera, Frozen and Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella were the biggest draws.

Classical music, too, recorded its highest-ever ticket sales of $88.9 million, off the back of tours by Andrea Bocelli, Croatian duo 2CELLOS, and Iraqi singer and composer Kadim Al Sahir.

However, Live Performance Australia (LPA) says the growth belies rising production and touring costs, as well as cost-of22 Australasian Leisure Management Issue 160

LPA said the sector was aware of the limited ability of consumers to absorb soaring costs of production and touring, one of many lingering impacts of COVID. The cost of transporting shows between Melbourne and Sydney rose 40% in the last year alone.

Commenting on the challenges, LPA Chief Executive, Evelyn Richardson stated “you can’t keep putting ticket prices up especially in a cost-of-living crisis.

“People might be still seeing shows, but they are being more discerning, especially families.

“We are sensitive to the ability of audiences to pay … (while) parts of our industry, particularly small-to-mediums and not-forprofits, are still being impacted by COVID, and that plays out in crippling skill shortages, huge production costs and changing audience behaviours.

“People are buying later and now are grappling cost-of-living pressures. Companies don’t have reserves and no longer are eligible for COVID support. We are still in pain.”

This sentiment was echoed by smaller festival organisers, particularly in regional NSW and Victoria, who highlighted their struggle with rising costs amid belt-tightening measures resulting in a number of cancelled, postponed or financially precarious music festivals and events. Smaller organisers, such as Jamie Lea, the mind behind GROUNDed Live at the Dookie Quarry, revealed the precarious position of festivals that traditionally bring communities together.

Since the release of the LPA report, this January saw two

Adelaide Hills Vintage Vibes Festival will not be held this year due “economic pressures”. Credit: Vintage Vibes Festival.

music festivals cancelled a short time in advance of being held - with both citing the mounting pressures of economic headwinds and consumers reigning in their spending habits.

Adelaide Hills music festival Vintage Vibes made the difficult decision to postpone just two weeks out from going ahead. The organisers of the Mornington Peninsula music festival Coastal Jam also cancelled their scheduled January event.

Vintage Vibes organisers blamed economic pressures and supply chain issues on their decision, advising on Instagram “this decision has not been made lightly; however, current economic pressures have created a landscape within which the festival cannot proceed this month.

“Increased pressure on supply chains, especially to venues outside the CBD, alongside shifts in economic climates reflect the broader challenges many are facing within the industry.

“It has become clear that moving forward with the event in two weeks would not meet the high standards of experiences we promise our attendees, artists, and partners.”

Adam Metwally, the organiser of Coastal Jam – due to have been held on the Mornington Peninsula - also took to Instagram to break the news to ticket holders.

Metwally explained “everyone that I know has been feeling the sting of the cost of living crisis and one of the consequences of this has been the much slower than usual and very much last minute sales for boutique events like Coastal Jam.

“Unfortunately it’s led to smaller boutique festivals and events such as ours to fall by the wayside.

“I’ve tried everything I could think of to try and steer the ship back in the right direction, and I have to make the call, but nothing I have come up with has worked. I’m sorry for letting people down.”

Frozen has been a significant draw. Credit: Lisa Tomasetti.

The Sunshine Coast’s NightQuarter closed in late 2022.

24 Australasian Leisure Management Issue 160

Pressure on Smaller Venues In parallel with the LPA report, last October saw music rights management organisation APRA AMCOS reveal that Australia has lost 1,300 small and mid-sized live music venues since the start of the COVID pandemic - one-third of the entire sector.

However, the annual Year In Report from APRA AMCOS showed that while the small to medium venue scene has been “decimated”, overall the live music industry reported record revenues of $690 million in 2022/23, an increase of 12% on the result in the previous financial year.

Within this figure, major concerts and festivals had seen their revenue rise 400% in the first entire post-pandemic financial year, with net distributable income including royalties paid to songwriters and publisher members, affiliates and rightsholders rising 11% to $595.2 million.

APRA AMCOS also advise of the buoyancy of the international market, with global income for Australian and New Zealand artists exceeding $70 million for the first time - an increase of 17.7%.

Phantom of the Opera was a significant draw in 2022. Credit: Daniel Boud.

The gross revenue revealed in the Year In Report and for the 2023 financial year also saw a dramatic increase - $270.3 million more than the $420.2 million of five years ago.

The annual report also entails some of the best-selling concert tours of 2022/23 with Australian music fans heading to large-scale concerts by huge international acts such as Ed Sheeran, Elton John and Harry Styles delivering a record year in licensing fee earnings for the Australasia’s music rights collecting agency.

APRA AMCOS also reveal that the situation is bleak in nightclubs, with crowds halved since pre-pandemic times and annual attendance dipping to 1.6 million from over 2.8 million in 2019.

Commenting on the report’s findings, APRA AMCOS Chief Executive, Dean Ormston advised “there remains cause for considerable concern regarding the decimated venue-based live music market.

“The establishment of a national music development agency, Music Australia, is a landmark result (and) we warmly welcome state-based support.”

Rising Ticket Revenue The LPA’s report, serving as a barometer for the industry’s health, illustrated that after spending over 200 days under lockdowns in 2021, Victoria and NSW led the resurgence in attendance and ticket revenue in 2022.

Victoria, in particular, bounced back after being eclipsed by NSW during the pandemic with 7.8 million attendees against 7.2 million, becoming the home to the most enthusiastic and big-spending fans.

While contemporary music dominated both these markets, Queensland saw 3.7 million people paying to see live performances, representing less than half the year-on-year audience growth of NSW and one third of Victoria.

On the back of pent-up demand and rescheduled global tours, ticket revenue for contemporary music tripled, although it fell short of the peak seen in 2018. Musical theatre recorded its most successful year in history, with a record seven shows playing on Sydney stages in September, buoyed by the surging popularity among a new generation of young ‘superfans’.

Into the Future Looking ahead, the report anticipates a positive outlook moving forward, driven by pent-up demand and rescheduled global tours. Summer concert tours by global icons like Paul McCartney, Foo Fighters, Kiss and, in 2024, Taylor Swift are expected to drive a bumper outdoor stadium concert season.

In addition, rumours that Beyonce will bring her Renaissance

tour to Australia are adding further anticipation within the industry.

Despite the strong figures masking struggles within the sector, Richardson remains cautiously optimistic about the industry’s future.

She added “Australians love live performance, and more people attended a contemporary music performance than the AFL, more saw a musical theatre show than the NRL, and theatre attracted bigger audiences than the A-League.

“We saw many audiences come back to their favourite shows, venues and festivals in 2022 as COVID19 restrictions were lifted and borders reopened, especially in Victoria and NSW. “There was also a lot of pent-up demand in 2022 for shows, tours and festivals that had been delayed or rescheduled from the previous couple of years due to COVID-19 restrictions and border closures.

“Despite the strong improvement in attendance and revenue in 2022, many parts of the industry are being impacted by ‘long COVID’ and grappling with critical workforce shortages, soaring production and touring costs, and shifts in audience behaviour alongside deepening cost of living pressures.

“We know these problems are particularly acute for some sectors of live performance, especially our small to medium and not for profit companies.

“It’s pleasing to see governments recognising the economic, social and cultural importance of live arts and entertainment through arts and cultural policy frameworks at the federal and state levels. “It will be absolutely critical moving forward that governments match their policy ambition with the level of strategic investment in our industry to achieve these goals over the longer term.”

Karen Sweaney is Editor of Australasian Leisure Management Guns N’ Roses are among the major international acts driving ticket sales. Credit: Shutterstock.

Australasian Leisure Management Issue 160 25

The Zayed Sports City International Tennis Centre, home of the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open (above) and top 20 ranked WTA player Beatriz Haddad Maia on court (below).

Chilling Out James Croll speaks to Jim Tritt, the research scientist behind Laykold Chill, a groundbreaking tennis court surface which is set to transform the game

H

eat is a big problem in tennis. It has a huge impact on player welfare at all levels of the game. From exhaustion to heat stroke, extreme heat reduces the length and quality of play. It isn’t healthy for players, clubs, events, or the game.

However, research scientists at Laykold - a product brand of Sport Group - have developed a breakthrough solution Laykold Chill court tech. The patented temperature reduction technology uses Phase Change Materials to dissolve rather than reflect heat. Tested in Australia, Laykold Chill technology delivers a 30% reduction in ambient to court surface temperature. The new and advanced technology debuted at the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open in early February and is set to revolutionise the game.

The technology has been driven by Jim Tritt, Chief Operating Officer at Sport Group Asia Pacific and Laykold’s lead research and development chemist. Drawing on 25 years of research experience within the sports surface industry, Tritt has driven the development by using conductive materials and phase change materials (PCMs), a substance that absorbs and releases heat at a constant temperature when it changes phase (such as from a solid to a liquid).

Tritt explains “Laykold’s Chill technology integrates tiny PCMs into the court surface and as the court temperature rises the advanced chemistry starts to activate.

“At defined temperatures (their melting point) the PCMs within the surface start melting.”

Tritt advises that a Laykold Chill surface contains trillions of PCMs, therefore there are trillions of micro-melting reactions

26 Australasian Leisure Management Issue 160

“We are pleased to be integrating the Laykold Chill tech courts here in Abu Dhabi which will provide a cooler court surface and will optimise the conditions for our players. It is part of our commitment to player welfare and to constantly improving the conditions to allow players to compete at their best level.”

Nigel Gupta, Tournament Director, Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open

which literally dissolve the heat under your feet. The outside temperature may keep rising but during the phase transition from solid state to liquid state, the surface temperate plateaus.

Normal courts do not feature this temperature plateau and as a result the temperature of a normal court will continue to rise unabated according to the outside temperature and impact of direct sun. Once all the PCMs are dissolved the temperature plateau stage ends and the court temperature will rise, but it will always remain cooler than a normal court which has heated up faster. What’s more, as the court cools down the PCMs change back to their solid state ready for another day in the sun. In short, they never run out or stop working.

Pointing out that court surface temperature very much depends on the angle of the sun, Tritt notes “in winter the sun’s

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Installation of the Laykold Chill Court surface at the Zayed Sports City International Tennis Centre (above) and inspection of the results (below).

angle is low in the sky, but in summer it is high. When the sun’s angle is low, the sun’s rays go through more of the atmosphere before they hit earth, which filters away a lot of the energy of the sunlight which is why you can look at a sunset or sunrise but if you look straight at the sun high in the sky it hurts your eyes.”

As such, on a warm day in winter the court will not get as hot as it might do on a cooler day in summer.

Explaining that the colour of the court also makes a big difference to surface temperature, Tritt states “in general, darker colours get hotter, especially colours that contain black pigment.

“Colours with the highest amount of white pigment are the coolest. The darker blues and greens - which are popular in the major hardcourt tournaments - are inherently hotter than lighter colours.”

Tritt advises “we started with a system we know well; evaporative cooling.

“This is used in our synthetic turf products, where the system can release water for cooling. Evaporative cooling uses a phase change - essentially, a change from liquid to gas which requires energy. The energy needed to evaporate water is extracted from the substrate in the form of heat.

“As a result of this process, the surface is cooled down.

Sweating is an example of evaporative cooling; sweat sits on the skin and when the water component evaporates, the skin (the substrate) cools off.”

Checking the court surface temperature.

28 Australasian Leisure Management Issue 160

Tritt and the team knew that phase change was a way to hack into cooling. But because they could not include water in tennis courts, they started investigating other phase change materials, and found some PCM technology in the form of capsules which were filled with wax.

Tritt goes on to say “once the temperature hits the activation point the wax starts melting but remains in the capsule.

“This creates the phase change which causes the temperature to plateau. The capsules do not break, and when the temperature drops, they freeze again and essentially recharge. And what is even more brilliant about this technology is that we can use waxes that melt at different temperatures.

This gives us the ability to ‘tune’ the temperature reduction to suit the conditions.”

Tritt and the team Initially put the phase change materials in the base coat, but found the results were not as strong as they wanted. They then started exploring ways to add the tech into the other layers of the system.

To draw the heat from the surface down into the system to enhance the cooling, he continues “we identified that the technology was more effective when next to the substrate (the concrete or asphalt).

The Zayed Sports City International Tennis Centre.

Installation of the Laykold Chill Court surface.

“But most traditional acrylic coatings act as insulators, which means they don’t transfer heat well. This is when we came up with the idea of adding conductive elements to pull the heat down from the surface to the substrate. For Laykold Chill we have added graphite as the conductor, graphite works well due to its molecular structure, which allows electrons to move freely through it.”

However, Tritt was conscious that there would be comparisons with IR Reflective Technology that is already on the market.

IR reflective technology is well known by Sport Group because the company have been using it for more than 15 years in their synthetic turf materials. The science behind it is that sunlight energy (heat) is comprised of UV (ultraviolet) radiation, visible light, and IR (infrared radiation).

The UV and IR components are invisible to us, but we feel them. UV radiation is a higher energy radiation that can break molecular bonds and cause damage such as sunburn or wrinkles.

IR radiation is much weaker, and only results in molecular vibration, which creates heat. Examples of IR heat is the warm sun on your face or the heat from a fire. The idea behind IR reflective technology is that if a substrate reflects the IR, it will not heat up as much as one that does not reflect the IR. Tritt goes on to say “our experience is that IR-reflective pigments cause the materials to heat up more slowly.

“As a result, we see the best results with this technology at lower temperatures or with partial cloud cover. When temperatures are very high, the impact of these pigments is very low. For Laykold, when we started working with the phase change materials, we were looking at incorporating the IR reflective pigments but saw minimal temperature differences.

We could have included IR reflective pigments in the Chill product but did not see the value of it. IR reflective pigments are also restricted to a limited number of colours which is frustrating, especially as court owners increasingly want more dynamic colours.”

Laykold has been working on Laykold Chill for over two years and research on the technology is continuing. With patents pending, the company has also taken steps to protect the work that they have done.

The phase change materials are smaller than a grain of sand, and there are trillions of them in a court. To be using

nanotechnology to help the players has been described as amazing science in action.

The company’s initial field test was on Queensland’s Gold Coast on a full-sized court on new concrete. Temperatures of a traditional court and a Laykold Chill court were recorded within minutes of each other. The weather conditions were full sunshine with an ambient temperature of 29.80C. This gave the normal court a surface temperature of 520C, which is an ambient-to-surface increase of +22.20C. The Laykold Chill surface temperature was 450C which was +15.20C above the ambient. The testing showed that in this instance, the Laykold Chill surface delivered a 32% reduction (70C) in ambient-tosurface temperature when compared to a normal surface. In short, a significant amount.

Tritt adds “it is important to note that each scenario will be different, depending not just on the ambient temperature, but also the height of the sun and the overall makeup of the court system.

“We are still working on the effect of two or three temperature plateaus. Our ongoing work is also exploring different phase change materials with each colour and with different environments and temperature ranges.”

The temperature reduction tech promises to be great for all court sports including netball, but it is especially important for tennis which, unlike netball, is a summer sport and tends to be played in hot climates. Tennis is never played when the courts are wet, so court surfaces can become extremely hot which has a negative impact on player welfare.

It is a huge benefit that Luke Burden, Laykold Brand Manager, believes will be of great interest to many venue owners and tournament directors.

Burden notes “when the heat of a hot tennis court reaches a tipping point, the body is no longer able to cool down through normal means.

“This can result in heat exhaustion and heat stroke. By lowering the temperature of the court, Laykold Chill tech enables players to keep their body temperature within safe limits for longer. This equals more play and play at a higher level which in turn equals happy players and fans and increased event and club revenue.”

James Croll is Partnerships Manager at Australasian Leisure Management.

Australasian Leisure Management Issue 160 29

For many children, splash pad facilities will be their first experience of water play. Credit: Life Floor.

Meeting Future Needs Dr Neil Gibson suggests a rethinking on the delivery of aquatic and recreation centres Reengineering through design istorically, cities protected areas of green space from Aquatic and recreation centres, because of their patronage urban development so that residents had somewhere for H can and should include businesses that provide additional recreation activities.

As far back as the Romans, cities provisioned public baths, some of which are still in use. With the march of time, green space and public baths were supplanted with aquatic and recreation centres complete with swimming pools, changing rooms, cafes and sports halls with their often austere facades.

However, around the world these facilities are in crisis.

In Scotland, the government is contemplating the closure of eight leisure centres because of financial pressure.

Here, a Royal Life Saving Society - Australia study (State of Aquatic Facility Infrastructure in Australia - Rebuilding our Ageing Public Swimming Pools - published in 2022) found that 40% of swimming pools will reach the end of their lifespan this decade with an estimated $11 billion required to replace or refurbish the ageing infrastructure.

A new era Contemporary thinking has evolved and, aquatic and recreation centres of the future are unlikely to look like their predecessors.

This is the opportunity presented to Councils who have received funding to refurnish or build new facilities. How will these developments reflect the changing needs and interests of communities while being financially viable in the long term?

Projects will have to battle the temptation to retain what is already in situ. Existing users will make a strong case for facilities to be retained, irrespective of the level of use. Users and operators may struggle to imagine a facility working in a different way; inertia exists in all organisations with little incentive to challenge the status quo. If existing facilities are not replaced, someone must decide what would represent better value for money and result in greater use. This is not an easy task, even when supported by industry experts.

30 Australasian Leisure Management Issue 160

community benefit. This might include the co-location of health centres, non-prescribing pharmacies, education providers, counselling services and retail stores such as book shops, hairdressers, sports medicine providers and community advisory services.

Families will see benefit in accessing education services in the same place as swimming lessons, or, in being able to see a doctor in a setting where exercise can be used as part of their treatment. Co-locating businesses in aquatic and recreation centres also brings a financial incentive; rental income can help offset long-term subsidies.

Permeable boundaries Increasing permeability and allowing free access to at least some facilities, delivers a social benefit for those to whom the entry fee poses a barrier. This might include positioning the reception and associated turnstiles to allow free access to end of trip facilities or locating bike racks near external seating and the cafe. Both will attract those who enjoy walking or cycling as a starting off point or somewhere to stop along their route.

For many children, splash pad facilities will be their first experience of water play and can be positioned so that access is free and unrestricted, in the same way that community playgrounds are. While this represents an ongoing cost, the social benefit cannot be measured in monetary terms alone.

In Australia especially, providing access to water facilities during the hot summer months as a heat refuge cannot be underestimated. The more families use a facility, the more likely, through habit alone, they will be to use chargeable facilities as their families get older.

Physical literacy underpins an active lifestyle and is best

INTRODUCING MURALS REVOLUTIONISING ICONIC DESIGN IN AQUATICS

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The Gunyama Park Aquatic and Recreation Centre (above and below) in inner Sydney allows users and families to access bodies of water that cater for different levels of competency.

learnt during the formative years of childhood. It includes the ability to run, jump, land, throw, twist and hop, skills developed through unstructured play. New developments may consider how such areas can be included in their design. This may be outside the facility or, for the more adventurous, form part of the building’s structure.

A project undertaken by Buildcorp at the Santa Sophia Catholic College in Sydney, saw a large-scale play structure included in the fabric of the building, allowing students to traverse levels by climbing, sliding, hanging, and swinging.

It has made informal play and physical activity part of the students’ daily habits, something research tells us is important in achieving positive long term health outcomes. There is no reason why aquatic and recreation centres cannot follow suit.

Mixing things up Aquatic and recreation centres no longer reflect the multitude of activities that comprise people’s leisure time. While there is a demand for traditional sport halls, participation in the activities they host is dwindling. Where sport halls are unavoidable, technology that allows court lines to be projected onto the floor should be preferred to permanent markings. Smaller, modular rooms may be a better solution with fixtures and fittings reflecting the aesthetic nature of activities like Pilates or Tai Chi. As much as possible, spaces should be flexible and able to accommodate a range of activities; we do not yet know what we will be doing with our leisure time in 20 years.

E-gaming is the fastest growing sport and, in time, will appear in mainstream events like the Olympics. Despite this, the inclusion of facilities catering for gamers in aquatic and

recreation centres is lacking, even in those built more recently.

Spaces that provide screens where people can connect their device would be a popular choice for participants of all ages.

The room might also double as a space where people could congregate to watch movies and TV programs, especially during the day when centres tend to be quieter. Although many people have this capacity at home, lots of people don’t, or would welcome the opportunity to do so with company.

Aquatic and recreation centres can make a significant contribution to reducing the negative health consequences associated with the growing levels of loneliness and isolation.

The 50 metre swimming pool is a mainstay of aquatic and recreation centres. Few people, however, are competitive or lap swimmers – and those who are, tend to be willing to travel.

“Spaces should be flexible ”. Credit Pexels.

“Inclusion of facilities catering for gamers ... is lacking”. Credit Pexels.

32 Australasian Leisure Management Issue 160

As a result, installing a 50 metre pool in each new development may not be the best strategy. Recent developments have included program pools designed specifically for youth and adult swimming lessons.

These pools cater for aqua classes that are popular among older user groups and those recovering from injury, as well as being a safe place for adults who are not themselves confident swimmers to take their children.

Other facilities include free play areas, for example, the Gunyama Park Aquatic and Recreation Centre in the inner Sydney suburb of Zetland allows families to access bodies of water that cater for different levels of competency. Incorporating ample seating into such pools allows parents who do not swim themselves or who prefer not to go into the water a place from which to supervise their children. Pools like this should not be just an add on to the traditional 50 metre pool but considered as an alternative.

Sign a non-compete clause Gym memberships are often a significant component of the revenue plan for aquatic and recreation centres. This is despite increased competition from budget and boutique gyms offering greater flexibility in terms of membership options and opening hours. Why create a gym when the community can access a very similar offering in the private sector at a competitive rate?

Better to use this capital budget to create new spaces that the private sector does not offer.

New developments cannot answer every question raised here. Indeed, in some cases, the traditional idea of an aquatic and recreation centre may be valid. In others, a more strategic approach will be warranted. This will involve an assessment of similar facilities in the surrounding area and include community consultation regarding which facilities are in demand and which are under supplied. As a starting point, a change in language may help facilitate some of this analysis.

“Gym memberships are often a significant component of the revenue plan ... centres”.

If we continue to refer to aquatic and recreation centres as such it will reinforce traditional stereotypes. Equally problematic is when we label them aquatic centres, removing the potential to question whether a pool is required, or not.

In the late 1800s Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr established the Hull House project in Chicago. It provided a settlement for the promotion of education, practical skills, cultural exchanges, medical services, exercise, play and political debate. It was, in modern day terminology, the combination of an aquatic and recreation centre with a community centre. The Hull House project imagined a cultural centre as somewhere the community could grow, recover, play, share stories and be cared for. Perhaps what we need are more cultural centres combining placemaking, the arts and social enterprise with spaces in which the community can be active. Achieving this may be the best way to future proof new developments.

Dr Neil Gibson is the Project Director for Blacktown International Sports Park and Blacktown Exercise Sports and Technology Hub.

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Australasian Leisure Management Issue 160 33

A wet entry inflatable from Aflex Inflatables.

A Bigger Splash Karen Sweaney looks at how giant aquatic inflatables have kept crowds entertained over the summer cross Australia, commercial inflatable devices are a proven swimmers to join in the fun with lifejackets mandatory as the popular attraction at aquatic centres and waterparks along course navigates through the three-metre-deep pool. SA A with as ‘pop-up’ attractions at a range of locations - keeping Aquatic and Leisure Centre also offers Wibit Parties on the youthful users and families entertained with their obstacle courses and slides providing exhilarating experiences.

They also represent a relatively low-cost way (by comparison with fixed waterslides) to turn facilities and precincts into fun and exciting destinations delivering a means to attract new and repeat visitors while increasing revenue.

The floating inflatables challenge both children and adults to navigate through a series of obstacles, including numerous climbing walls, slides, and other exciting features. Participants need to balance, climb, slide, jump, and crawl their way to the finish line.

Meeting this demand, Aflex Inflatables, Aquaglide, and Wibit supplier MIZU Leisure and Sports supply some of the most popular and reputable aquatic inflatables.

The SA Aquatic and Leisure Centre in Adelaide, which first installed Wibit inflatables in 2016, promoted its current course over the recent summer school holidays as “the ultimate aquatic adventure” offering participants the challenge of “conquer the giant inflatable obstacle course with climbing, jumping, and sliding”.

Participants need to be at least six years old and confident

Giant Inflatable Challenge for an additional revenue source.

Set in the pristine waters of Nelson Bay in the NSW Hunter region, just outside of the marina, SPLASH Waterpark is an open-water attraction offering different Wibit modules. The site is owned by Anthony Kelly, who has had numerous sites in NSW and who is also credited for introducing the very first inflatable waterpark to Japan in 2014 - which he still operates during the northern hemisphere summer each year.

Also in NSW, Jason Ford and his team at Central Coast Aqua Park operates an Aquaglide inflatable waterpark at Masons Parade in Gosford.

Ford is a very experienced and longterm operator that has been involved in the Inflatable Waterpark industry for many years and his Central Coast Aqua Park offers endless routes filled with obstacles including giant slides, climbing pyramids and monkey bars.

Outdoor waterfront precincts also added to their entertainment offerings with the inclusion of Wibit aquatic inflatables. Wibit is installed at the Darwin Waterfront Precinct and Hillarys Island Aqua Park north of Perth.

A Wibit SpeedTrack installation

Central Coast Aqua Park.

34 Australasian Leisure Management Issue 160

The Island Aqua Park at Hillarys in Western Australia (above) and a Aflex Mighty Medley installation (below).

Owned and operated by Aqua Park Pty Ltd, the Darwin Waterfront Aqua Park has been challenging crowds at the city’s Waterfront Precinct since it opened in December 2022 with Australia’s biggest-ever Wibit Sports Park.

Exciting pieces from Wibit include The Rock - which has three integrated slides and five jumping platforms of various heights, The Swing - the world’s first and only modular inflatable swing on the water and The Tramp - engineered for bouncing, providing for an ideal jumping contest with friends to see who can make the highest, longest or coolest move.

Also included is the Wibit Kids Circuit park which is separate from the main installation, providing opportunity for four to nine year olds to have their own safe fun with parents and carers able to swim and supervise alongside.

Wibit inflatables are also installed at Hillarys Island Aqua Park - a floating water park within the sheltered marina of Hillarys Boat Harbour in the northern suburbs of Perth, open to ages from six years and above. The team behind Island Aqua Park have over 25 years experience in water sports and water play and, after running one of the largest aqua parks in the UK, returned to Australia to bring this exciting activity to Perth. A session on the aqua park lasts more than an hour.

Another leader in the delivery of aquatic inflatables in the Australian and New Zealand market is Aflex.

The 100% family owned and operated business - with more than 30 years experience in supplying the commercial pool market - designs and manufactures its products in New Zealand, supplying not only the local and Australian markets but also with many repeat customers worldwide from North America to Japan.

Aflex Inflatables include obstacle courses, pool toys, beach inflatables and waterparks along with land-based waterslides and fitness runs.

Adhering to strict safety standards, Aflex works alongside “Gym memberships are often a significant component of the revenue plan ... centres”.

36 Australasian Leisure Management Issue 160

industry organisations such as Royal Life Saving Society Australia, Life Saving Victoria and LIWA Aquatics to ensure their product range of pool, lake and beach inflatables minimise risk while maximising fun for participants.

Aflex Inflatables Managing Director, Martin Stratford explains “it’s all about supplying a quality, durable, safe product that will be entertaining for the customers.

“We understand for busy pool managers reliability, ease of operation and keeping things with minimal maintenance required is so important. The ‘T’ section on our sealed obstacle courses is an example of one Aflex innovation - a simple quick and easy method for joining modules and limiting failure points with no straps, buckles and velcro to deal with.

“Safety is absolutely top priority when innovating and designing and ensuring we comply with the Australian standards (AS 3533.4.5) so applying the standards as a minimum when thinking about opportunities in other countries requirements is key. The standards when introduced created a much greater awareness of the design, looking at the product from a manufacturing, setup, lifeguarding and safety perspective as well as entertainment value!

“Our tubular designs are one of the innovations of Aflex, generally more challenging than platform inflatables with reduced water coverage which is a bonus for safety and lifeguarding!

“There is a lot to think about when looking at design and manufacturing of commercial inflatables.

“We need to consider water depth, size, height, challenge aspect, target age group, budgets, and also how the design can be manufactured by our team at Aflex using our specific manufacturing methods and machinery, whether the inflatable is sewn, glued or hot air fabricated! Consideration for where the stress points are, is this particular design and shape feasible and importantly something the market will want to purchase?

Aflex’s Pool Fun range (above) and Tuff Nutterz (below).

“What we think are great design ideas unfortunately we can’t bring to fruition and some of the simplest products are the most popular.”

Customisation is also a large part of Aflex’s business - with changing slide heights, custom colours, changing modules and adding logos all available services with Aflex manufacturing on site.

Stafford states “as part of our innovation and to cater for the pools too shallow at entry Aflex designed a ‘side curved entry’ and a ‘water entry’ into the design to anchor the pool inflatable away from the pool edge so the unit can be setup in deeper water.”

Stafford notes that Aflex caters for pools large or small - and all budgets - with a range of smaller designed sealed inflatables pool toys and games that are easier to handle and suitable for use by the sole pool operators.

He notes that the company’s ‘Pool Fun’ sealed modular range is particularly popular, with the ability “to mix and match different modules to create new challenge and variance each time the unit is used. Additional modules can be added as required.”

Giant mobile waterslides are also proving to be popular summer attractions in parklands and normally ‘dry’ precincts.

Tuff Nutterz returned to Sydney’s Northern Beaches this summer with its family-friendly giant inflatable obstacle course at parklands in Mona Vale.

In addition to their 300 metre obstacle course, Tuff Nutterz offered a giant six metre tall water slide called ‘Tuff Slide’.

The Tuff Nutterz experience welcomes all ages to participate and enjoy the fun. Parents with children under five years old were offered a complimentary accompanying parent ticket.

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Australasian Leisure Management Issue 160 37

The Big Wedgie.

Waterworld Central at Sydney’s Entertainment Quarter.

Family-friendly, The Big Wedgie inflatable waterpark returned has been operating at Adelaide’s West Beach Parks since December 2023 while the Gold Coast’s Southern Lawn in the Broadwater Parklands was in situ through December and January.

The Big Wedgie Inflatable Waterpark offers four inflatable waterslides delivering fun and excitement for the whole family.

The park’s star attraction, The Big Wedgie, is a recordholding waterslide, standing an impressive 18.2 metres high and stretching 82 metres long.

Open to children seven years and older; the waterslide features three lanes at an exhilarating 55-degree slope, where participants can race against friends as they slide to the bottom.

For thrill-seekers over 10 years old, The Big Chucka is the daredevil’s dream, with an almost vertical 80-degree drop, catapulting sliders up to nine metres in the air before landing safely on an inflatable pad.

For those who prefer a calmer waterslide experience, the Just Right Wedgie is ideal for children aged five and above and offers the right mix of thrill and safety, making it a hit among younger adventurers.

The Little Wedgie is also on offer and has been designed especially for toddlers aged three to five years old, providing a gentle, fun-filled experience, perfect for their first sliding adventure.

Waterworld Central returned to Sydney’s Entertainment Quarter over January for the 2024 summer school holidays inviting “families, mates, and water enthusiasts of all ages to dive into a world of aquatic adventure and beat the heat in the most thrilling way possible.”

The Waterworld mobile waterpark offers an array of inflatable pools and slides including a massive drop on the Dino Slide, taking on the water on the big Wave Slide, and walking on water in a Zorb Cylinder.

Not every slide and inflatable is open to everyone as there are weight and age restrictions. Adults (<110kg) are allowed on the large Thrill Slides and to wade in the pools.

Slides on the large pools are not permitted for adults. The slides on the pools are only intended for children 16 years and under.

Children four years and under are allowed on all pool slides, but are not allowed on any of the large thrill slides.

Wibits Kids Course.

Aflex Target Wall.

38 Australasian Leisure Management Issue 160

Quality Amid all the fun, one serious issue to be addressed with aquatic inflatables is the issue of quality of products.

While Aflex, Aquaglide and Wibit are reputable manufacturers, there are others in the market offering lower quality and, in some cases, counterfeit products.

For operators ‘buying cheap’ sees them soon experience the old adage of “you get what you pay for” with safety issues, product failures and rapid deterioration being regular occurrences. In a few instances, buyers of counterfeit products have even approached the real manufacturers with complaints and claims.

It is also worth noting that the reputable brands will generally carry the manufacturers brand and logo.

Karen Sweaney is Editor of Australasian Leisure Management.

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Simon Weatherill poolside at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre.

Remembering former Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre Chief Executive

Simon Weatherill Respected sport facility manager Simon Weatherill, the longtime Chief Executive of Victoria’s State Sport Centres Trust, has died after suffering a heart attack while competing in the 2024 Portsea Swim Classic on Saturday 20th January.

He was found unresponsive just during the event and taken to shore. Races were paused while paramedics attended to him but he could not be saved.

His family confirmed the 67-year-old’s death in a statement, paying tribute to his many achievements.

The statement advised “it is with deep sadness we confirm the passing of our loved and adored husband, father, stepfather and much-loved friend Simon Weatherill.

“Simon was a passionate swimmer and former CEO of Melbourne Sports Participating in Melbourne’s Fathers Day bike ride (below) and on motorised two wheels (right).

and Aquatic Centre (MSAC) and State Sport Centres Trust.

“He continued to mentor and coach within sports industry and broader sectors. Swimming was very much a passion throughout his professional and personal life. He lived at Safety Beach and was a regular bayside swimmer, competing in local and international swimming competitions.”

The family said Simon was competing with “several of his close friends” at the time of his death.

Qualified with a Bachelor’s degree in Physical Education, Science and Teaching at Keele University in the late 1970s and then with a Post Graduate Diploma in sports and recreation management from the London Metropolitan University, Simon later moved to Australia where he worked in aquatic and recreation facility management in local government, including as Centre Manager of the Ashburton Pool and Recreation Centre.

Appointed Chief Executive of the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre in 1995, while the facility was being built, he saw the Centre through to its opening in 1997. While at MSAC he undertook an advanced management program at the Harvard Business School.

In the 18 years from the opening of MSAC, Simon was responsible for developing the facility as one of the largest and most successful aquatic, recreation and sport venues in the world, expanding the operation from a single facility

to a world-class multipurpose, multidimensional sporting hub incorporating four venues - Lakeside Stadium, the State Netball & Hockey Stadium and Sports House as well as MSAC. During his time there, MSAC and the Melbourne Sports Hub welcomed more than 35 million people and hosted over 3,600 sporting events at its venues.

Looking back on his achievements on leaving the State Sport Centres Trust (SSCT), Simon commented “I’ve seen champions born and nurtured, and the joy of sport, activity and community ignited in so many people’s lives.

“It’s been an exhilarating ride, and the future for Melbourne Sports Hub looks bright.”

After leaving SSCT, Simon undertook a range of sport management consultancy roles for his World Wide Sports Management business as well as acting as Chief Executive of the LT Foundation, Company Secretary and interim Chief Executive of AUSTSWIM and as Board Member for the Les Twentyman Foundation and Squash Australia.

He was also actively involved in a number of charities.

On the Friday prior to his death, he advised that he had taken on the role of Executive Director at Melbourne-based pool repair company Mattioli Aquatics.

Among tribute’s paid to Simon, former Victorian Premier and Hawthorn President Jeff Kennett advised “so sorry to hear of Simon Weatherill’s death today.

“An excellent administrator, and better still a wonderful human being.

“My condolences to his family. And thank you Simon for your services to Victoria.”

Numerous other tributes were paid on social media.

Simon was also a personal friend and will be much missed.

We pass on our condolences to Jacqui and his family.

His memorial service at Bunerong Memorial Park in south east Melbourne was attended by more than 300 people.

Nigel Benton

Australasian Leisure Management Issue 160 47

Christchurch's Pioneer Recreation and Sport Centre.

Innovations in water filtration Andy Gale takes a deep dive into LiqTech and Waterco’s Silicon Carbide Technology

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n the ever-evolving landscape of water treatment technology, the quest to find more efficient, sustainable, and cost-effective solutions to complex filtration challenges is taking product innovation to the next level.

LiqTech and Waterco recently stepped into the specialised spotlight with their cutting-edge silicon carbide (SiC) filtration technology, a complete turnkey system that is setting new benchmarks in water filtration. While relatively new to Australasia, more than 300 of these sophisticated water treatment systems have been installed worldwide.

When Waterco, which is well-known for manufacturing fibreglass media filters, looked at where the future of ultrafine filtration was, it investigated regenerative and silicon carbide membrane, or SiC, filters. With regard to commercial facilities and aquatic centres, the SiC technology offered a real alternative to traditional pre-coat filters and complimented the existing media filter market.

Let’s look at the intricacies of this ground-breaking technology, exploring its advantages, applications, and providing a balanced comparison with traditional methods such as media filtration and precoat filters.

Understanding Silicon Carbide Filtration Silicon carbide, a compound of silicon and carbon, has gained prominence in various industries for its exceptional hardness, thermal conductivity, and chemical resistance. LiqTech and Waterco have harnessed the power of silicon carbide to develop a filtration technology that addresses multiple challenges faced by conventional systems.

1. Absolute versus nominal filtration One of the standout features of silicon carbide filtration is its ability to achieve absolute filtration, ensuring the removal of particles of a specified size. This precision sets it apart from

48 Australasian Leisure Management Issue 160

traditional filters that may offer only nominal filtration, leaving room for smaller particles to pass through. The implications for water quality in industrial, commercial, and residential settings are significant, promising cleaner and safer water.

Absolute filtration means that due to the physical structure of the media, particles of a certain size cannot pass through and are captured. The rating is normally stated as 1um or 3um. To give you reference, a human hair is 100um. SiC membranes are an absolute filtration media to 3um.

Nominal filtration means that particles down to a certain size ‘can’ be trapped, but they could also pass through due to the size and nature of the filter media. Sand or glass media and pre-coat filters fall into this category.

Sand can reach levels of 10-20um or even lower with flocculants, glass to 3-5um and precoat filters 1-2um. Note though ‘can reach’, is not ‘absolutely captures all particles to’.

There is a big difference.

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Christchurch's Pioneer Recreation and Sport Centre (above) and system for a 25 metre lap/leisure pool, one third the size of a media system (below).

This is where SiC membranes have a distinct advantage.

They capture everything to that level and the water quality reflects that.

SiC manufacturers have experimented with 1um membranes, however their experience shows that attempting to filter every particle down to that level in an aquatic environment is not practical. 3um filtration maintains a good balance between pathogen capture and a manageable system with good water quality outcomes.

2. Space saving Silicon carbide filters, being inherently robust and efficient, allow for compact system designs. This space-saving aspect is a boon for aquatic centres and recreational facilities where real estate is a premium. Whether retrofitting existing facilities or designing new ones, the reduced footprint of silicon carbide filtration systems translate to more versatile installation options. This is one of the key benefits of the LiqTech system, particularly in retrofitting where bunkers, or small spaces and access ways require a more compact, modular solution.

Savings can also be made in construction, where smaller plant rooms and balance tanks can be used. These capital expenditure (CapEX) costs can be considerable given the ever increasing of construction.

3. Water and energy savings The efficiency of silicon carbide filtration technology extends beyond particle removal. These filters often operate at lower pressure differentials compared to traditional systems, resulting in significant energy savings. Additionally, the extended lifespan of silicon carbide filters reduces the frequency of replacements, minimising both downtime and resource consumption. Unlike some other systems, Waterco doesn’t make specific claims about the volume of water saved due to myriad factors, such as pool size and total dissolved solids (TDS) build-up, affecting the final outcome.

4. Ease of operation The user-friendly nature of silicon carbide filtration systems is a key feature. From installation to routine maintenance, these systems are designed for ease of operation. The robustness of silicon carbide also contributes to longevity and durability, reducing the need for frequent interventions. For councils and aquatic centres experiencing high staff turnover, a system that effectively runs itself and can be remotely monitored is highly appealing. This eliminates the need for staff training and operator risk caused by improper procedures.

50 Australasian Leisure Management Issue 160

Comparison with traditional methods To provide a comprehensive understanding of the silicon carbide technology, it is essential to juxtapose it with conventional filtration methods.

Media filtration Media filtration, a widely used method, relies on the use of porous materials to capture particles. While effective, media filters often struggle with absolute filtration, leaving room for smaller particles to pass through. Silicon carbide filtration, with its precise particle removal capabilities, offers a marked improvement in water quality.

Sites using SiC filtration technology Pioneer Recreation and Sport Centre, Christchurch, New Zealand (pictured right).

Australia 108 residential supertall skyscraper in Melbourne Windy Hill Fitness Centre , Essendon Football Club, Melbourne Surf Coast Aquatic and Health Centre, Torquay, Victoria Precoat filters Precoat filters utilise a layer of precoat material to capture impurities. While also effective, these systems require regular replenishment of the precoat material, leading to ongoing operational costs. Silicon carbide filters, with their durable and long-lasting nature, provide a cost-effective alternative with reduced maintenance needs.

Code Browns The real benefit of the LiqTech system is that the silicone carbide membranes are more robust, more temperatureresistant, and recover faster than conventional ceramic or polymeric membranes. This means they tolerate high levels of chlorine and wide pH ranges without degrading. Because of the number of times Code Browns can happen each week, and the super chlorination required, owners are seeking a more robust solution. The SiC system can provide this with long lasting, chemically resistant membranes.

Applications and economics Generally speaking, smaller systems are going to work out more expensive than larger installations, which is predominantly due to the control systems required to operate. That doesn’t mean there’s not a value in installing a small system, but you will find greater economies of scale the bigger you go. So, larger centres will actually benefit from it.

LiqTech is positioned at the top end of the market and it’s probably going to be between 30 and 45% more in terms of the system capital cost. However, this is offset by savings in construction, installation and lower operational costs.

Running costs are substantially lower. For example, on a 25-membrane aquatic site, CIP chemicals for a system that’s sized and operating correctly, should cost approximately $300 a month.

What we’re seeing with the Code Brown issues and longevity of these filters, is that over time the economics pays off really well in a CapEX and operational expenditure (OpEX) sense.

LiqTech and Waterco’s silicon carbide filtration technology emerges as a game-changer in the realm of water treatment.

With its absolute filtration capabilities, space-saving design,

water and energy savings, and ease of operation, this technology is poised to redefine industry standards.

Electrical, valve, pipe and flange components are commonly available locally, while Waterco maintain local stock of other system specific items.

As we navigate a future where sustainable and efficient water management is paramount, silicon carbide filtration stands as a beacon of innovation, promising a cleaner, safer, and more environmentally responsible approach to water treatment.

It’s also important to be cautious of ‘expert’ opinions on these filtration systems, unless coming from sources who have had firsthand experience with the technology.

Andy Gale is Commercial and Water Treatment Sales Manager at Waterco.

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Transforming a town with aquatics and culture Tate Spiteri charts how, exceeding all expectations, Bay Pavilions - Batemans Bay’s aquatic, arts and recreation centre - has reinvigorated a community

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ith an outdoor 50-metre pool no longer suitable as the sole community aquatic hub in the Eurobodalla Shire, located on the far south coast of NSW, a passionate group of people got to work.

The result has spoiled them, with the Aligned Leisuremanaged Bay Pavilions making waves since its 2022 opening.

Structural brilliance aside, the state-of-the-art swimming, leisure, and cultural hub Bay Pavilions has injected the Shire with a true gathering precinct that has transformed the town.

But to best understand the impact on the town, it is important to discuss how and why the concept of what is believed to be Australia’s first combined aquatic, leisure, and theatre combined construction came to fruition.

In 2003, a motivated group of locals formed the Batemans Bay Indoor Aquatic Centre Committee (BBIACC) to raise funds to cover the existing outdoor pool, constructed in 1965.

Locals had been stuck with a depreciating aquatic asset until the very end of its life, now barely meeting compliance standards, energy efficiencies, and community needs.

The BBIACC group passionately lobbied the government to cover their pool and create a year-round swimming space which was seen as vital, particularly given the importance of warm water therapy for the high proportion of older adults that made up the local population.

52 Australasian Leisure Management Issue 160

As momentum gathered for Eurobodalla Council to fund significant upgrade work on the pool, the arts community also rallied for funding for much-needed artistic and performance space in Batemans Bay. Battlelines were drawn as each sector grew more aggressive in funding demands for its projects.

Could both sides win? Was the question Eurobodalla Council were beginning to ask themselves, before consulting the community and ultimately developing a concept that included the needs of the all -in one precinct.

It was decided such a bold idea could also create efficiencies in management and staffing options by utilising common areas within the facility.

The community was excited, albeit somewhat sceptical, at the initial proposal.

As the project proceeded, architectural firm NBRS was engaged to design an iconic building that incorporated aquatic facilities for all age groups and abilities.

The end design also needed to be a centre for fitness and rehabilitation, an area for art display and wet art activities, and a theatre fully capable of hosting professional performances.

Importantly Bay Pavilions also required a destination café and customer experience area to be included while recognising the Indigenous heritage and sensitivities of the area.

Bay Pavilions functions as an aquatic centre and a performing arts venue for Batemans Bay and the surrounding region.

It was fair to say a design with this combination had never been developed before in or around the area.

Bay Pavilions Arts and Leisure Manager Chris Tague advises “as Eurobodalla Council was about to commence construction, in late 2019 and early 2020, the local area was hit by devastating bushfires which left the landscape and the local community empty and raw.

“Soon after that, the town was hit by floods, and by mid-2020, whatever social wellbeing outlets the community had left were closed due to Covid.”

Given the circumstances, it now made sense more than ever for a place of gathering and social interaction for locals and visitors alike to commence construction and help community spirit regather.

The building process commenced in September 2020, as Eurobodalla Council looked at options to manage what was set to be a very large and manically complex facility.

The plan for Bay Pavilions was for it to be a multi-faceted business at a level in which no Council would have had experience in managing.

A rigorous tender process followed, which strongly emphasised community wellbeing and financial management.

Richmond Football Club’s wholly owned subsidiary business, Aligned Leisure, stood out among the field and was awarded the management of Bay Pavilions.

Aligned Leisure immediately started working collaboratively with Eurobodalla Council and Australian Building Construction Company ADCO to incorporate key features into the build process, which would improve community use and management efficiencies.

The challenges of recruiting over 80 staff during Covid, training in specialist areas, and developing a disciplined culture were also immense.

Bay Pavilions opened to the public on 4th June 2022. While the building plans and concepts had been widely advertised and consulted, the local community was astounded at the quality of the facilities and the available programs.

Tague explained “while there was initial scepticism of the project, now that individuals could see, touch, feel and experience Bay Pavilions, there was an apparent shift in social conversation.

“The community took pride and ownership in ‘their’ Bay Pavilions.

“The building had morphed from a significant piece of infrastructure into ‘our’ gym, ‘our’ pool, and ‘our’ theatre, for locals to the area.”

Since opening its doors in June of 2022, the community has supported the performances, programs, and facilities within the Bay Pavilions to improve their fitness, education, cultural awareness, and social wellbeing.

Some key statistics collated by Aligned Leisure include over 250,000 general attendances, over 10,000 attending theatrical performances, and over 18,000 swim school visits.

However, the most important statistics relate to the social impact on the local community.

Aligned Leisure consulted with members and visitors about their experiences within the Bay Pavilions. A resounding 89.6% of aqua class patrons stated that they felt ‘more socially connected due to the classes.’

Pleasingly, 100% of people surveyed feel the centre supports their physical and mental health.

The development of the Bay Pavilions has also realised some unexpected impacts in the local area.

Historically Batemans Bay has been the summer playground for visitors from Canberra and beyond, but very little tourism exists in the colder months. Much feedback from visitors has shown that they now have options for indoor activities with the new Bay Pavilions.

These visitors said they are now more likely to return and holiday in the winter season, thereby increasing the broader economic impacts in the local areas.

Aligned Leisure Chief Executive Shane Dunne said that Bay Pavilions showed the power a world-class facility coupled with strong management could make for a community, commenting “with key performance indicators of social wellbeing, healthy activity, and cultural awareness now well established at the Bay Pavilions, we look forward to working with Eurobodalla Shire in the next phase of growing the business through collaboration and partnerships and diversifying program offerings.

“Bay Pavilions is a unique and complex facility, but it is precisely what its community needs. We understand its importance to its people and want to create an environment that locals can cherish and thrive.

“With 123 people currently working for Aligned Leisure at Bay Pavilions, it has also become a significant employer and developer of local people.

“We look forward to our local staff members continuing to grow and assisting them with their pathways and aspirations across the many industries incorporated at Bay Pavilions.”

Where art meetings swim, where workshops meet workouts, where drama meets play, and where morning meets night. Bay Pavilions has given the community something to talk about.

Tate Spiteri is Media Manager for Aligned Leisure owner of the Richmond Football Club.

Australasian Leisure Management Issue 160 53

Waverley Council’s world famous team of professional lifeguards.

The Business of Beaches Ken Holloway considers the future management of beaches at Huntington Beach south of Los Angeles in 1957, adopted oing to the beach has a long tradition in Australia. a philosophy that beaches were natural assets and very In 1859 Waverley Municipal Council was formed and G important to the culture and wellbeing of residents and tourists. established Bondi Beach as a reserve. After this, the first tramway to the beach was built in 1884 with the Council responsible for building the first surf bathing sheds on the beach in 1903 and establishing a beach safety service in 1913.

By 1929 an estimated 60,000 people were visiting the beach on summer weekend days.

After the Second World War, Sydneysiders returned to Bondi in ever increasing numbers. Many of the locals joined the volunteer surf life saving clubs and participated in competitions and rode canoes, surf skies and surfboards built from plywood.

Such was the popularity of surfing and swimming at beaches, Ordinance 52 of the Local Government Act was introduced to give power to Council Beach Inspectors to control costumes, dogs, surf craft and anti-social behaviour.

The introduction of the malibu surfboard by a Californian lifeguard team in 1956, saw a watershed in Australia’s beach culture. No longer did you have to be a member of a surf club to enjoy riding a surfboard. Young men and women used their newfound freedom of the automobile to travel the coastline discovering new surf spots.

Controlling and segregating surf craft from swimmers presented real problems for Councils. A licensing policy was introduced at many Sydney beaches where you had to pay to register your board and display a sticker so you could surf. Some Councils started to regard beaches as liabilities due to the increased costs of providing these services.

In Southern California activity grew 10 times that of Australian beaches during these years. Here, Vincent G. Moorhouse (pictured left), who became Chief Lifeguard 54 Australasian Leisure Management Issue 160

Moorhouse argued that beaches had to be planned and managed in their totality. Lifeguard services, beach cleaning, parking, licenses and leases all had to be part of an overall management plan.

Arguing that beaches were big business and revenue streams could be developed to offset operational costs while not charging people to enter the beach, Moorehouse explained “by creating revenue streams, Councils are more likely to regard beaches as assets not liabilities. It means lifeguard services and amenities are improved thereby attracting more people adding to Council’s bottom line.”

Encouraging people to use beaches through advertising and providing car parks, showers, barbecues and other facilities to generate income for councils comes with a level of exposure to costly litigation from individuals or families who suffer injury or death at these locations. To offset this risk a trained lifeguard service adhering to a well thought out beach supervision plan is paramount to the safe operations of the beach.

A former US Navy Seal, Moorehouse termed this as a ‘Perimeter Defence System’, working out that the most efficient way to supervise a beach was to place lifeguards in elevated viewing platforms 300 metres apart so that the response time to an incident can be minimised thereby delivering a better outcome for victims and the land manager.

This still remains an efficient and cost effective system to patrol beaches.

Gold Coast City Council started to introduce this system of surveillance in the 1980s with its 52 kilometres of oceanfront now linked with 41 towers across 42 beaches. While beach activity has greatly increased on the Gold Coast since the 1980s, guarded drownings have reduced using this system of supervision.

Aftermath of a rescue at Sydney’s Coogee Beach (above, credit: Shutterstock) and a lifeguard tower at Cronulla’s Wanda/Greenhills beach (below left).

Waverley Council has also introduced a similar beach supervision plan at Bondi with a central dispatch tower flanked by smaller towers at the north and southern ends of the beach.

Using this system, six to eight lifeguards are able to supervise crowds of up to 40,000 people along the entire one kilometre length of beach.

In the case of the Greenhills development at Bate Bay, Sutherland Shire Council was concerned with the increase in beach activity they created at this unpatrolled area. There were some suggestions that a surf lifesaving club be established at Greenhills at a cost of around $40 million so that volunteers could patrol that area of beach for 50 days per year.

Council made the decision to extend their beach supervision plan by placing a paid lifeguard in a portable tower at the location at a fraction of the cost to building a surf club. The seasonal cost for a manned lifeguard station is around $80,000 a year. If Council introduced paid parking at Greenhills for non-residents there would be no cost to Council.

This was a simple solution to what some people thought was a complex problem.

With the value of the global surf market value estimated at $US4 billion as of 2020, local governments in coastal areas have seen rapid growth due to people wanting to relocate and holiday at coastal locations. Many coastal towns rely heavily on the tourist dollar during summer. It seems all roads lead to the beach during the Australian summer break.

Seaside councils have always been the beneficiaries of beaches. The most valuable real estate in Australia is located around beaches and bays. High land prices represent high rates for Councils. Large injections of cash to beach areas on hot days means landlords can maximise rents for commercial and residential buildings. At beaches like Manly and Bondi, millions of dollars a year are generated through parking fees and fines.

The private sector is now realising the value of the surf economy with the introduction of surf park attractions using artificial wave technology. After the successful launch of URBNSURF Melbourne, URBNSURF Sydney is expected to open in the middle of this year.

With serious money invested into these two ventures - based on a business plan people will pay to go surfing, if Sydney proves to be as popular as Melbourne it will be bookings only at around $100 per hour to surf at the Sydney Olympic Park venue.

Local Councils are well placed to capitalise on their beaches as long as they value them as assets and not liabilities. Both Federal and State Governments also have a role to play as they allocate tens of millions of dollars to beach safety and building of assets along beach fronts.

Australia’s lifeguards, through the worldwide popularity of television’s Bondi Rescue are responsible for creating billions of dollars in free product placement advertising for Australian

Professional lifeguards on the NSW Central Coast. Credit: Lake Macquarie City Council.

tourism. If you consider the show is screened on national TV for up to 10 hours a week during summer and shown in over 100 countries it adds up to an impressive sum when calculated over 18 years.

As our population grows more and more people of different cultures and backgrounds will want to enjoy the coastal lifestyle and unfortunately some will drown.

I think it’s reasonable that the Federal and State governments start supporting seaside councils by reinvesting some of those tourist dollars into expanding local councils professional lifeguard services so to minimise the risk of drowning. A review of beach safety services would be welcomed by many industry experts to evaluate how funding for beach safety is being spent.

Basic business principles apply to beaches also. If you provide a good product which people enjoy, they will come back. We just don’t want to see unnecessary drownings due to poor supervision at these valued assets.

Beaches are big business!

Ken Holloway is a founder and Life Member of the Australian Pool and Ocean Lifeguards Association (APOLA) and a 50 year member of the Surf life Saving Association.

He declares an interest as the importer of Surveyor Lifeguard Towers.

URBNSURF Melbourne.

Australasian Leisure Management Issue 160 55

An Interlude of Redemption Melbourne’s historic former Pentridge Prison has unveiled a billion-dollar lifestyle precinct.

Gwen Luscombe takes a look at the extraordinary installation of The Interlude’s subterranean swimming pool

A

s the world’s first urban wellness retreat set in a converted prison, Melbourne’s one-time Pentridge Prison was once home to some of Australia’s most infamous criminals including, Ned Kelly, Ronald Joseph Ryan and Mark ‘Chopper’ Read.

Today, B Division has been transformed from a derelict state following the prison’s closure in 1997, by owner and developer Shayher Group, into a historically significant place of relaxation and tranquillity.

Guests can enjoy poolside private daybeds, a range of spa treatments, culinary delights and relaxing, modern overnight accommodation.

Formerly known as Pentridge, The Interlude is located in Melbourne’s trendy Coburg and operated by TFE Hotels 56 Australasian Leisure Management Issue 160

alongside the new-build Adina Apartment Hotel, Olivine wine bar and North & Common bistro.

The 19-suite hotel includes an extraordinary swimming pool that was nothing short of an engineering miracle to construct.

Taking three months to dig through solid bluestone and basalt, stacked boulders were also individually marked and removed by conveyer belt to minimise the impact on the historic structure.

The Interlude is a remarkable feat of engineering, unlike any project previously seen in Australia. The restoration crew had no blueprints to work off (in the modern sense) and needed to reverse engineer many aspects of the project, such as the air conditioning being under the beds instead of the ceilings because of rocks in the roof to prevent inmate escapes.

The Interlude is made up of 19 suites, each created by knocking through the thick bluestone walls to link four or five cells together into a single suite. Given the thickness of the walls, it took some nine months to create just one suite. Each has vaulted ceilings and stone walls but with contemporary finishes and fittings that you would expect to see in a modern hotel.

The 68,000 litre, 15-metre long subterranean Aloha Pool measures three metres wide and 1.5 deep and saw the construction team remove 100 cubic metres/250 tonnes of rock and material.

The digging proved particularly challenging, says Shayher Group’s Construction Project Manager, Scott Tseng, as the bluestone and basalt weren’t solid rock, but more intertwined with boulders (similar to an AERO Bar).

Tseng advises “we had to be very careful with where we would dig and what rock to remove,” adding that a conveyor belt was used to remove the rock and that much of the project was hand-dug.

He points out that the pool is half above ground as “the bluestone walls in B Division didn’t have foundations, so we couldn’t dig beyond them.”

Another challenge the team faced was the limitation in using hydraulic machinery due to the inaccessibility of the location and a narrow entry.

Tseng notes “effectively, it’s a hand-dug pool. All the formwork and concreting were done manually via wheelbarrow.”

The same manual process was required for the tiling and waterproofing as limited access to the former basement level of the three-tier prison cell block proved tricky. The building’s heritage listing meant that the only machinery allowed was what could be brought through the door.

End-to-end, the two-year process consisted of design, Geotech and engineering, the excavation and construction and finally testing and commissioning before it was unveiled into the remarkable final product open today.

Tseng stressed the importance throughout the process of both acknowledging the historic past of the site and showcasing original surfaces and fittings throughout The Interlude. This included the brick ceiling, original cell doors, bluestone walls and accommodation ‘cells’ that are thoughtfully designed to create a warm, welcoming atmosphere for guests.

He adds “everything is the opposite of what it used to be.”

The Interlude’s subterranean swimming pool and spa.

The former B Division precinct also includes a restaurant, appropriately located in the former mess hall. The construction of which also proved incredibly challenging with the thickness of the bluestone (5 bricks thick where typical houses are a single row) and the requirement of using only lime-based mortar over concrete, cutting down on the number of bricks that could be laid down in a day.

Without drawings, instructions or blueprints, the project was labelled a ‘Pandora’s Box’ of a challenge, and much of the work, Tseng says, had to be reverse-engineered and done ‘on the go’.

Now complete, Her Majesty’s Prison Pentridge has been completely transformed from a run-down site to one of Melbourne’s remarkable cultural and recreational assets complete with an open public plaza featuring a full schedule of community and special events, a cinema, an art gallery, a variety of food and beverage outlets including a brewery, hireable

function space and of course, accommodation.

TFE Hotels’ Regional General Manager for Victoria, Stephen Moore calls the 170-year-old Interlude “an integral part of Melbourne’s newest billion-dollar district for both food and wine … reimagined for modern-day use.”

Now retired, Dennis Bear, once a Senior Prison Officer at HM Prison Pentridge, was the first official guest at The Interlude and agreed, calling the transformation impressive.

Gwen Luscombe is an award-winning journalist and a former recipient of the Write It Fellowship with Penguin Random House Australia. She is also a Publisher’s Australia Bell Award-winning editor.

The grim interiors at Melbourne’s historic former Pentridge Prison before their redevelopment.

Australasian Leisure Management Issue 160 57

Image courtesy of People Business.

Reshaping Fitness Club Management Grant Gamble explains the potential AI can deliver in enhancing team member and member experiences

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n the ever-evolving landscape of the fitness industry, staying ahead of the curve is not just about offering the latest equipment or trendy classes, it’s about understanding and enhancing the experiences of both club members and team members. This is where artificial intelligence (AI) can be fully leveraged to enhance the way you operate and engage with your members and team members.

Simultaneously, we are in a constant state of hiring, because it almost seems easier to hire new people than to keep existing team members engaged and inspired. Sadly, fitness industry team member attrition rates rank alongside hospitality, retail and call centres at the bottom end of industry sectors globally.

And it may well be that this is where the battle for supremacy will be won or lost.

Business as Usual is Not Always Good I think we would all agree that the COVID pandemic has dramatically changed the fitness industry. Most, if not all, fitness businesses took a major hit during COVID. There was a big consolidation and while many clubs and chains are slowly finding their way back, an equal number of clubs continue to struggle. The fitness space is more fragmented and hotly contested than ever and the ability for consumers to differentiate between club offerings, facilities and equipment becomes harder and harder.

So how can we get ahead in one of the most challenging eras we have ever faced? What does AI have to offer? Where do people factor into the equation? And how do you create the “secret sauce” that elevates your offering over your competitors?

Many operators talk about enhancing the member experience but frankly I see little emphasis on this beyond the bricks and mortar, programming and equipment investments. And as much as I believe the fitness landscape has dramatically changed, most of us continue to do business the way we’ve always done it.

We focus on sales, and yet accept an incredible amount of member attrition. We all know keeping a member is much cheaper than gaining a new member and yet we stand at the front door waving our latest offer at every passerby, while our back door stands wide open.

The Solution: ‘People First, Always’ = Community There is a phenomenon referred to as the ‘service-profit chain’, a concept that highlights the interconnectedness of team member engagement, customer satisfaction, and ultimately, a company’s profitability. If your team is engaged, they tend to stick around. And engaged team members invariably deliver something more than the bare minimum to your members, and you can rest assured member retention follows. As much as technology has to offer, this industry, in its most resilient forms, is still a people business.

With our focus firmly fixed on sales as the solution we join the feeding frenzy that constitutes a Red Ocean. The uncontested Blue Ocean exists within your own four walls. Many members sit with one foot in and one foot out the door because your club community is not sticky. Stickiness comes from positive experiences, connections, relationships, and moments of magic that are inspired by your team. If we truly engage with our team, and they in turn deliver an enhanced member experience, most members won’t be looking elsewhere, and in turn we become less desperate to fill the hole they leave.

If we recognise that a key element to long-term, sustainable success isn’t the endless sales cycle, discounts, fancy equipment and the latest fads, but rather the very people who create the community within our clubs, member retention and referrals will follow. What if we spent a greater proportion of our time and focus on nurturing and training our team members

58 Australasian Leisure Management Issue 160

Requirements • Min 500 members • Min 400m2 premises • Profitable over the previous 24-36 months • Opportunity to grow • Multi-club operations (desirable but not essential) • Will consider franchised locations if the franchise can be terminated

Boosting team member engagement and performance.

and listening to and curating our members’ experiences? What if a strong, vibrant community within our clubs was a KPI? If we simply compete on price and equipment someone can always come in cheaper, bigger, or better. With an engaged team and true in-club community, most of your members will think twice about leaving for the new swanky club down the street, or a cheap option that comes to your market. I’ve lived through those competitive threats, many times, and where we’ve had a vibrant club community, attrition has been minimised. I believe this phenomenon is more true in the postCOVID world than ever.

So how do you create that team engagement and enhanced member experience? By putting people first. “People First, Always” has been my leadership approach in every company I’ve ever run, and nowhere is that more true than in the fitness industry. It really works!

I translated this concept of ‘People First, Always’ into the AFFINITY Formula. This formula holds that mindful leadership leads to a great team member experience, which leads to a great member experience, which equals long-term, sustainable financial results.

The Affinity Formula (below) and the Affinity Index (right).

The AFFINITY Formula The AFFINITY Formula aligns with the principles of mindful leadership and aims to create sustainable growth and a positive company culture. It emphasises the importance of listening, understanding and valuing people, whether they are members or team members. By applying the AFFINITY Formula, fitness and wellness businesses can foster a more 60 Australasian Leisure Management Issue 160

engaged workforce, as well as a satisfied and loyal member base. This in turn yields higher retention and referral rates for both members and team members.

Having managed large club groups across the USA and Australia, my biggest challenge in creating this ‘People First’ culture had been scaling it across larger organisations. This led me to write a book, ‘The Affinity Principle’, to help team members and others in our industry leverage the tools I’ve found to work over time.

To my surprise, the book achieved best-seller status in the U.S., and my former CIO suggested leveraging AI to effectively measure the AFFINITY Formula and empower fitness and wellness business owners and operators with real-time data to help them easily achieve a ‘People First, Always’ leadership approach. And thus, AFFINITY OS™ was born.

AFFINITY OS: Use AI to Measure Member and Team Member Experiences The AFFINITY Operating System (AFFINITY OS) is an innovative, AI-driven platform that rhythmically samples your members’ and team members’ experiences. Patterns and insights emerge when you make open minded inquiries and observations over time. AFFINITY OS distills these signals and feedback into a single, powerful lead indicator called the AFFINITY INDEX™.

Behind your AFFINITY INDEX, the powerful AFFINITY OS artificial intelligence engine provides valuable insights and actionable intelligence to build team engagement and member satisfaction. This also optimises retention, referrals and subsequent growth.

In addition, we have found the AFFINITY INDEX to be the longest real-time lead indicator available to keep your finger on the

The AI advantage in understanding member needs (above and below).

pulse and project your company’s growth trajectory, regardless of your company size or the number of sites you manage.

Real-time Feedback: A Game-Changer One of the most significant impacts AI offers is the ability to gather and analyse feedback in real-time. Platforms like AFFINITY OS utilise AI to process feedback from your members and team members, offering immediate insights into their experiences.

This real-time data allows you to quickly adapt to the needs and preferences of both your team members and members, ensuring an enhanced experience.

Boosting Team Member Engagement and Performance Team member engagement is often overlooked, yet crucial in the fitness industry. As I noted, we are notorious for our high team turnover rates. AI tools like AFFINITY OS track team member experiences, provide feedback, and offer development opportunities. By understanding the needs and aspirations of your team members in real time, you can create a more supportive and productive work environment, sowing the seeds for a consistently spectacular member experience. And it is no secret that happy and motivated team members translate into better member experiences.

The AI Advantage in Understanding Member Needs AFFINITY OS not only helps you retain your team members, it also transforms your member experience management. By leveraging data analytics and AI, fitness businesses can gain deep insights into member preferences, behaviour patterns, and feedback. This information is pivotal for personalising member experiences, which leads to increased retention and referrals.

Predictive Analytics for Strategic Decision Making AI’s predictive capabilities are a boon for strategic planning in the fitness industry. By forecasting trends and tracking member behaviours, you can make informed decisions about new services, classes, and equipment investments. You also know exactly where to focus your marketing efforts. This foresight ensures that your fitness business remains ahead of the curve, constantly evolving to meet the changing demands of your team members and members.

Challenges and Ethical Considerations While AI offers numerous advantages, it also brings challenges, particularly in terms of data privacy and ethical use of AI. Fitness businesses must ensure that they are transparent about how they use member data and comply with privacy laws.

Additionally, the human element should not be overshadowed by technology. Personal interactions and relationships remain at the heart of the fitness industry and remain a strong component of AFFINITY OS. Wrapping Up The integration of AI in the fitness industry is not just a trend, but a strategic imperative for businesses aiming to offer exceptional experiences to their members and team members. By harnessing the power of AI, your fitness business can unlock a new realm of possibilities, from personalised member experiences to enhanced team member engagement. As we move forward, the synergy between technology and human touch will continue to shape the future of fitness, making it more adaptive, responsive, and attuned to the needs of all stakeholders.

The fitness industry stands at the brink of a new era, where AI not only complements but significantly enhances the member and team member experience. As leaders and innovators in this field, we must embrace this change, ensuring that we use AI responsibly and effectively to create a more inclusive, personalised, and engaging fitness journey for everyone.

Grant Gamble has over 30 years of experience in leading teams to create innovative customer experiences, building engaged workforces, and developing leaders who prioritise mindfulness in their approach.

His book, The Affinity Principle™ presents a formula for business success through a people-centric, mindful leadership approach.

Most recently, he has served as the Chief Executive of TotalFusion Australia, the largest health and wellness campus in the Asia-Pacific.

Australasian Leisure Management Issue 160 61

Image credit Shutterstock (above), and ECOactive Pilot Program participants KX Pilates (below right) and One Playground (below left).

Sustainability:

Fitness Clubs’ Key to Future Success Barrie Elvish explains how AUSactive’s ECOactive Pilot Program can help fitness operators of all sizes stand out from the crowd

I

n 2022, AUSactive embarked on a journey to make a positive impact on the environmental sustainability for the exercise and active health sector and support our AUSactive registered businesses.

Our mission was inspired by a simple realisation: our environmental sustainability awards category was underrepresented. This prompted us to investigate global sustainability trends within our sector and discover a wealth of innovative initiatives.

As a result, we conceptualised the ECOactive Pilot Program, a groundbreaking initiative designed to help businesses reduce energy consumption, minimise waste, conserve water and optimise chemical use.

We understand that rising utility costs were adding pressure

to our members bottom line, and we were determined to address this issue head-on. We started researching for grants and funding to be able to develop and launch the program.

Our dedication paid off when we secured an innovation grant from the City of Sydney to bring the ECOactive Pilot Program to life.

At the start of the program, we set out to audit 15 diverse business sites, ranging from large facilities with pools to small Pilates and yoga studios, all within the City of Sydney local government area.

62 Australasian Leisure Management Issue 160

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common strength training mistakes to get up to 30% more results from your workout.

ECOactive in action So far, we have conducted nine audits and provided tailored ECOactive Top 10 Recommendations specifically for each business and facility.

AUSactive’s sustainability expert meticulously auditing four critical areas: waste, water, chemical use and energy consumption. We document these reviews and audits through videos and photos to start creating a benchmarking system for our business members to be able to self-audit and review, using the resources we are creating, laying the foundation for a nationwide program rollout once the pilot concludes.

However, that’s not all. We have partnered with Spendwatt to develop a cutting-edge dashboard that will track the environmental efficiencies and savings achieved by our industry as a whole.

The initiatives we’ve identified vary from large structural changes, like installing solar panels and electric vehicle charging stations, to smaller, yet impactful, do-it-yourself measures, such as LED lighting upgrades, fans and power timers.

Sustainability can help you stand out from the crowd Did you know that consumers across various demographics are increasingly prioritising sustainability when making purchasing decisions?

According to a recent Nielsen study, 73% of global consumers say they would definitely or probably change their consumption habits to reduce their impact on the environment.

Furthermore, a report by Accenture found that 62% of consumers in Australia are willing to pay more for products and services from companies that are committed to environmental sustainability. These statistics clearly demonstrate the growing demand for eco-friendly practices in the market.

Barrie Elvish is Chief Executive of AUSactive.

For more information about ECOactive and the pilot program, go to ausactive.org.au/members/eco-active/ 64 Australasian Leisure Management Issue 160

ECOactive Program experts Ian Krawitz, founder, 10 THOUSAND FEET research partners 10 THOUSAND FEET was founded with the vision to ‘generate positive change’ for local and global communities at large and to place giving at the heart of everything they do. As an independent research agency, 10 THOUSAND FEET has always had a desire to help others shine.

10 THOUSAND FEET genuinely care about our client’s outcomes and we hero our clients centred around this very idea, in every project. They will be creating and delivering our pre-and-post-audit member surveys and will also assist us in benchmarking performance in the industry.

Jason Bank, co-founder and Chief Executive, SpendWatt SpendWatt is an electrification sales platform that enables enterprises to reach their decarbonisation targets faster and smarter.

With a passion for creating exceptional value, rooted in customer-centricity, cofounder and Chief Executive Jason Bank has driven nationally recognised awardwinning projects, rapid company growth, hands-on experience with a diverse range of market technologies delivering significant financial and consumption savings for customers. What keeps him excited every day is a mission where the success of SpendWatt is directly correlated to the betterment of the economy, energy consumers, and the environment, all at once. SpendWatt is developing an online interactive dashboard to help our members visualise their energy use, options for change and CO2 savings.

Promoting the ECOactive Pilot Program at One Playground (left) and KX Pilates (right).

How can sustainability help my business?

Sustainability can deliver a huge range of benefits for a business in the fitness industry.

Here are nine ways it could benefit you and your business.

1.Cost Savings By participating programs such as ECOactive, businesses can identify and implement cost-effective measures to reduce their energy, water, waste, and chemical expenses. These savings can significantly improve the bottom line and enhance financial sustainability.

2.Environmental Responsibility Demonstrating a commitment to environmental sustainability is increasingly important to consumers and stakeholders.

Participating in sustainability initiatives showcases your business as environmentally responsible and socially conscious, enhancing your brand image.

3.Eco-Conscious Consumers By focusing on reducing energy consumption, minimising chemical and waste usage, and becoming more energyefficient, businesses can not only meet the changing preferences of their customers but also contribute to a greener and more sustainable future.

4.Government Support Many council or local government programs across Australia offer businesses incentives for being sustainable, which means businesses can leverage these opportunities to access valuable resources and expertise at no cost.

7.Employee Engagement Engaging in sustainability initiatives can boost employee morale and job satisfaction. Employees often feel proud to work for socially responsible companies and are more likely to be engaged and motivated.

5.Improved Efficiency Being conscious about your sustainability can help you optimise and save energy, water, waste, and chemical usage. This can lead to improved operational efficiency, reduced resource wastage, and streamlined processes.

8.Measurable Results A sustainability program such as ECOactive offer clear and measurable ways to track your environmental improvements and cost savings. This data can be used to showcase your achievements and set targets for continuous improvement.

6.Long-Term Sustainability Sustainable practices not only benefit the environment but also contribute to the long-term sustainability of your business.

Reducing resource consumption and waste can future-proof your operations against rising costs and regulatory changes.

9.Support and Resources AUSactive businesses involved in the program receive expert guidance, resources, and access to best practices in sustainability. This support makes it easier to implement changes and see positive results.

Australasian Leisure Management Issue 160 65

“A happy crowd is a cooperative crowd”. Credit: Live Nation.

The Right Crowd Roderick van Gelder believes crowd management should be seen as a business development tool A properly developed crowd management plan always sually considered as a safety and security matter, crowd starts with the same question: ‘What is the demographic of the management is actually a very powerful business development U expected audience?’ tool.

Left in the wrong hands, as recently seen at Summernats in Canberra, crowd management can have a devastating impact on a festival, event or venue management plan.

In addition, with crowds returning after COVID, the mood has changed and people’s expectations have changed which makes considering crowd science as a business development tool all the more important.

Crowd trouble marred this year’s SummerNats in Canberra. Credit: SummerNats.

66 Australasian Leisure Management Issue 160

This also explains why you can’t develop a venue crowd management plan and apply across all your events. Even if the events are very similar, the expectations of an AC/DC crowd are different from an André Rieu crowd in the same venue.

This brings us to the first keyword in crowd management: expectation. Expectation must be front and centre of the crowd management plan. Meeting or exceeding the crowd expectations will keep the crowd happy, and a happy crowd is a cooperative crowd. A happy crowd will also talk about their experiences at your venue, festival, event or gathering.

That will contribute to the ever more important ‘word of mouth’ that now can spread so rapidly across all forms of social media (maybe it is time to change the description to ‘word of keyboard’?).

These positive messages will build your audiences which in turn will make your venue or event more attractive for commercial interests. At the same time negative posts about poor experiences will spread equally fast and the damage is much harder to control once the word is out. Depending on the demographics of your audience, social media monitoring will become more and more important.

How do you determine the demographics and expectations of your target crowd? Through hard work. Over time when you start building up a database of information and experiences it will get easier but expect a long and tough road in the beginning.

Eddie Idik JP, Director, VSX Safety & Security Tel: +61 2 8000 9198 Mobile: 0414 246 011 Email: eidik@vsxss.com.au Web: www.vsxss.com.au

Security, First Aid & Emergency Management

Start with a search through general and social media. If it is music look for fan clubs, look for reviews, look at related interests. Similarly for sporting codes or social gatherings.

Understand what motivates people to travel to your event or venue. Talk to other venues where the band may have performed or who have held a similar event.

Open clear communications with the promotor who will have details about their audience’s expectations and priorities. Get a clear picture of how things will unfold on the day and how that fits within your venue, site and management plan. Compare the normal offerings with the expectations and see where there is room for improvement. Happy people are more likely to spend extra on the right product at the right time, investigate those trends and capitalise on them.

Once we understand the expectations of the crowd, the next part is travel. Never mind how amazing your event is, if people have difficulties getting to the venue you’re off to a bad start. So based on your initial research you now need to work out how people will travel to your event. If it is mostly public transport, look at all the nearby public transport hubs and understand the arrival schedules. Arrival schedules will help determine when you can expect peak pressure on your gates and ticket check points. Knowing that will also help you calculate queue lengths, wait times and processing times. Look at wayfinding signage certainly if you are a temporary site.

Be certain that all signage can be seen from a distance. And sometimes you may need council approval so don’t leave it to the last moment. Also make sure people can find their way back at the end of the event.

If people are more likely to arrive by car, understand where they will park and how they get there. If it is an established parking station or area it will probably have good directional signage but it is still worth checking. And use the name of the parking area in your ticket information.

These are all little things that should be part of a properly prepared crowd management plan and yet are often overlooked.

Always consider the route and mode of travel as part of the event. For your punters the event starts at their front door, not yours. Making sure that their arrival is pleasant will set the tone for the rest of the event.

Understanding your demographics is also key in adjusting the internal lay-out of the venue. Obviously, you would have a lot more control over a ‘greenfield’ site but even established venues have flexibility to cater for a specific crowd. That could be talking to the F&B provider and adjust the menu and drinks options to what your audience expects.

If you are expecting lots of young children, make sure you have a well set-up pram cloakroom. Consider ‘parent toilets’ where a father can take his daughter, or a mother can take her 68 Australasian Leisure Management Issue 160

son without being embarrassed. Clearly sign post which toilets have baby change tables installed.

Look at where to set up merchandise and program sale points. Again, signage and an easy flow are crucial, impulse buying only has a narrow time frame and once missed, not many people are likely to give it a second chance.

And don’t overlook the end of the event either. Last year there was a festival where the traffic management plan hadn’t considered that everyone would be leaving at the same time.

Very bad publicity followed after people were put at risk in soaring heat. Once the event is over, people will leave. Ensure sure your staff is ready for that, double the cloakroom staff from the number of people that accepted the cloaked items.

For events that attract a teenage audience, have clearly signposted and managed car queueing areas for parents to wait and collect their offspring. Or for an older audience, same for people to collect their parents.

And again, check public transport timetables. There may be a train leaving close to the end of the event and the next one 30 minutes later. Depending on demographics, some people may decide to leave before the end of the event, be ready for that. Other people may want to leave early to avoid the traffic jam at the parking station or surrounding roads. Be certain people can validate their parking tickets if needed. If there is merchandise for sale, make it a priority that stalls are open for early departures. Have front of house staff clearly visible if there are any questions.

These are just some of the examples where crowd management can combine safety and business development, we just need to start taking crowd science much more serious for the benefit of all.

Poorly managed ticket information about which gate to enter through because the messages were on the wrong media, social vs SMS, website vs email, can create crowd problems with people going against or across the flow. Poorly understood travel and traffic management will frustrate people arriving at the venue and lower their mood.

Poorly managed F&B will result in lower sales because people can’t purchase what they want when they want.

All these factors contribute to how the person experiences the event and how it will influence their future purchasing decisions.

Crowd management done well is a very powerful tool, let’s use it!

Event safety expert Roderick van Gelder is Risk Manager for Sydney-based Stage Safety Pty Ltd and a Crowd Safety Trainer with Event Safety Institute International.

He can be contacted on 0414 406 052, E: Roderick@stagesafety.com

Image credit: LOO5ENATS/Facebook

Death at Western Victorian burnout event highlights disputes in governance of Australian motorsport

T

he death of a spectator at the LOO5ENATS burnout event in Stawell in Western Victoria last November has highlighted divisions in the governance of Australian motorsport.

Trent Dezoete was hit when a car on the burnout pad lost control and careened into the spectator-only F&B area at the event on Saturday 4th November.

Witnesses to the death speculated that the vehicle had experienced a brake failure and lost control after the burnout performance had concluded.

The 28-year-old driver of the vehicle was arrested and then released without charge by Victoria Police - who are understood to be continuing to investigate the incident.

Organised by the Stawell Motor Sports Club, the event’s safety regulation and insurance provider, the Australian Auto Sport Alliance (AASA) is less well known than Motorsport Australia - the Australian Sports Commission (ASC) recognised national sporting organisation for Australian racing.

Motorsport Australia is backed by the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), the world governing body of motorsport, and is acknowledged by the ASC as “the pre-eminent body for motorsports in Australia ... responsible for the management and development decisions as relevant to their sport”.

Formed in 2003 by the Benalla Auto Club amid dissatisfaction with Motorsport Australia, AASA is not recognised by FIA but operates legally as a competing motorsport safety regulator, giving events a different set of rules they can choose instead of Motorsport Australia’s regulations as well as a different insurance policy.

Facing increased safety regulation and rising insurance costs, AASA was

founded with a goal “to reduce the cost of participation in circuit motorsport, to substantially reduce the bureaucratic red tape associated with running such events, and to provide an efficient and fair deal for all motorsport stakeholders”.

While as of 2021, AASA Business Manager Stephen Whyte claimed their sanctioned events had operated “without death or serious injuries” since the Alliance’s foundation, late 2023 saw two deaths at its events.

In addition to Dezoete, Shane Savage died while competing at an AASA-sanctioned Powercruise event in Queensland in September.

With Motorsport Australia and AASA having different rules regarding protections for spectators and competitors at burnout events, the deaths are expected to test the Alliance’s insurance coverage.

Motoring writer James Ward advised “grassroots motorsport, club-level motorsport, even the privately run events like Targa have become almost prohibitively expensive to run (with Motorsport Australia).

Commenting on the two deaths last year, Ward noted “I don’t think AASA has been tested with a really serious issue. Their overheads and their risk profile is slightly different to how Motorsport Australia approach these things - maybe they’re taking a bit of that risk on themselves.”

Coronial inquest into Finke death In 2023, a Northern Territory Coronial inquest heard Motorsport Australia had not done enough to protect spectators before a death at the 2021 Finke Desert Race.

Speaking to the ABC, Motorsport Australia’s Director of Motorsport, Michael Smith, said that outside the framework of the FIA “there’s a financial interest (regarding) permits and sanction fees”.

In a submission to the Queensland Transport and Public Works Committee, the Australian Institute of Motor Sport Safety, which is affiliated with Motorsport Australia, said the competition between sanctioning bodies was “like having a competing organisation to the Civil Aviation Safety Authority which could offer ‘cut price’ aircraft licensing with lower standards required.

“Or a competitor to ASIC (the Australian Securities and Investments Commission) which could have lower standards for corporate governance.”

AASA responded to these concerns in a 2017 statement in which it noted “we get it. The AASA isn’t the biggest, the oldest or endorsed by the FIA … but that doesn’t mean we compromise on the quality, knowledge and safety standards of any of our officials, staff or competitors.”

Motorsport organisers pick sides Autofest and Sprint Car Nationals Manager Les Adams is one of the motorsport organisers who has moved his events to AASA. Adams recalls “we were actually the first burnout event 30 years ago”, noting that since switching to AASA about seven years ago, their rules for his events “are very similar, if not a bit stricter”, adding “(AASA) actually attend most of our events. If they see any wrongdoing, they’ll shut us down.”

Many more events, mostly at the club and state level, are also understood to have switched from Motorsport Australia to AASA. Differing Rules While smaller events have moved to AASA, Motorsport Australia has retained many of Australia’s largest events, including the Formula One Grand Prix in Melbourne, the Bathurst 1000, and the Finke Desert Race.

However, in 2023, two of Australia’s biggest on road rally events, Targa Tasmania and Targa West, publicly split from Motorsport Australia over its review into safety and regulation changes.

Those changes included limits on average maximum speed, power-toweight ratios, road selection, grading, in-car safety measures, course signage, the proximity of spectators to the track and protocols following an incident.

Targa West specifically cited these rule changes when it announced it would be signing with AASA. However, Motorsport Australia disputes that safety regulation and insurance should be open to competition at all, with then Chief Executive Eugene Arocca noting in 2021 “the AASA is not a true sanctioning body and should not be entrusted with the responsibility of having any involvement in providing safety in motorsport.”

Nigel Benton

Australasian Leisure Management Issue 160 69

The concept for the Cedar Mill Group’s Morisset amphitheatre (above) and the venue under construction (below).

More Music More Venues James Croll looks at the under construction Morisset amphitheatre and the Cedar Mill Group’s plans for regional entertainment venues Lambess explains “when a region lacks a permanent home f you have recently driven through the NSW town of Morisset, for cultural, entertainment and community-based outdoor you would have seen an extraordinary amphitheatre structure Ibeing events, it discourages performances from coming there which, erected on what was formerly the Morisset Golf Course.

The stage structure is the centrepiece of an ambitious project which aims to not only change the face of Morisset, but also have a substantial impact on the growth of the entire Lake Macquarie and Hunter regions.

The $235 million redevelopment will result in a vast entertainment precinct promising to significantly enhance the region’s tourism potential, create over 2,300 permanent jobs and inject an estimated $450 million into the economy every year.

The precinct has been designed to host events for 30,000 concert patrons and aims to bring both Australian and international acts to the area. It will be known as Cedar Mill Lake Macquarie and will include cafes and restaurants.

And this venue is just the first of a number of similar precincts planned across the country to improve accessibility to live music throughout Australia.

A network of entertainment precincts Cedar Mill Lake Macquarie is the vision of Cedar Mill Group, an entertainment company established in 2020 by Newcastlebased property development firm Winarch Capital.

Winarch Group’s Director and founder, Paul Lambess, established Cedar Mill Group to lead the company’s ambitious growth plans into the Australian tourism and events industry.

Ultimately, the company aims to build a network of entertainment precincts in Australia and New Zealand, enhancing each operating region’s tourism potential.

70 Australasian Leisure Management Issue 160

in turn, reduces tourist activity and ultimately disadvantages its economy and residents.

“Permanent performance spaces are the missing piece in an area’s cultural infrastructure. They can be destinations in themselves. They minimise expensive set-up costs, disruption to public spaces and the environmental impact from installation of temporary infrastructure.

“Even Sydney cannot reach its growth potential while its cultural and entertainment offerings fall massively short of cities such as Melbourne, the de facto cultural capital of Australia.”

The company’s ambitions are justified by the results of the first Australian Live Music Census, which Cedar Mill Group commissioned in 2023 in order to understand the pulse and perceptions of Australia’s live music fans. Over 1,000 people were surveyed, and results revealed that almost half of Australians believe they are under-serviced when it comes to live music venues in their local area.

It also revealed that over 40% of people either ‘disagreed’ or ‘strongly disagreed’ that there were sufficient live music venues in their area with the sentiment proving even stronger in regional areas, where 75% of residents felt there were not enough live music venues, compared to 55% in metro areas.

Perhaps most surprising, however, was the data that compared the attitudes and aspirations of live music fans to sporting fans. 85% of Census respondents said they attended more than four live music events a year, and 93% said they

The Crescent in Parramatta Park. Credit: City of Parramatta.

would likely attend a live music event in the next six months.

By comparison, only 27% said they were likely to attend a live sporting event in the same time period.

Lambess notes “the research confirmed that Australians love the outdoors, with 74% of people saying they ‘strongly agreed’ or ‘agreed’ that they enjoy the atmosphere at outdoor concerts.

“In fact, 93% said memories they make at live music events will last a lifetime.”

Addressing the need for services and facilities The Census also revealed that festival and concert goers had strong views on the services and facilities that needed addressing. Issues including affordability, accessibility and safety were particularly front-of-mind for live music fans.

Lack of transport to and from a venue was their biggest annoyance, so much so that 63% of Australians outside of major cities said they would attend more live music if it took place closer to them.

Feeling safe at live music events was also a significant concern for all, but particularly for female and gender-diverse Australians, with 40% of female respondents saying that they’ve felt unsafe at a live music event.

Not surprisingly, toilet queues were another concern that disproportionately impacted females at live music events, with 47% of female respondents listing it as their biggest annoyance, compared to just 27% of males.

The Census confirmed that there is both a want and a need for purpose-built live music venues across Australia, with the appropriate infrastructure, facilities and amenities. Cedar Mill Group feels that it has the perfect mix of expertise in live music, event management, security and risk management and venue operations to satisfy this demand.

Open Air Amphitheatres The 30,000 capacity purpose-built open air amphitheatre is the main drawcard of Cedar Mill Lake Macquarie. It can host a wide range of performing arts, festivals, major concerts, movie screenings and community events. These impressive cultural pavilions, with their minimalist and contemporary design, are common in the USA. and have become parts of the cultural infrastructure of many overseas cities, but there are few examples in Australia. Much-loved examples include the Rady Shell in San Diego, Red Rocks in Colorado, and the award-winning Orion in Alabama. Closer to home, Melbourne’s Sidney Myer Music Bowl and Brisbane’s Riverstage are popular among local and international artists.

The entire Cedar Mill Lake Macquarie precinct will provide benefits to patrons, promoters and artists. Promoters will benefit from unrestricted ticketing, merchandising, sponsorship and concession options offered by the privately-owned operation. Permanent front of house (FOH), back of house (BOH) and field infrastructure will also reduce costs and time on-site, while the Cedar Mill Event Management team will deliver on every aspect of events.

Artists, meanwhile, will benefit from backstage facilities built with them first and foremost in mind including dressing rooms with flexible layout, a catering area with a commercial kitchen and commercial laundry facilities.

Production will be focused on uncompromised staging and rigging solutions which will cater for the largest of international tours, and will be scalable for smaller events. All facets of the artist production including front of house, the area where audio experts mix the show, the field audio delay towers and follow spot positions, together with the back of house stage area including a 16-truck loading dock, have been designed with industry expert input.

It is the patrons, however, who will potentially benefit the most. All patrons face forwards in a sculptured field designed for optimal sightlines, while benefiting from maximised audio coverage.

World-class CCTV and communications systems, meanwhile, will ensure patron safety, while there will be multiple transport options with north and southbound trains 500 metre from site as well as freeway access for cars, coaches and ride share.

Advising that the Group has been on an amazing journey over the last four years, Ewen Craig, Head of Cedar Mill Group, adds “we try to see what others don’t and the Morisset Golf Course is a prime example as we turn it into a 30,000-capacity amphitheatre and tourism precinct bringing with it a huge growth corridor to the region.

“We continue to challenge the status quo and achieve things that have never been done before by a private company in Australia and into Asia.

“We look at new opportunities in this space and others as we explore various options. Our teams are all masters of their craft, making things happen be it New Years Eve celebrations in Sydney or regional Victoria or 80,000 patrons at a concert venue.

“Thankfully they all love what they do, especially when the path gets hard.”

Venue locations currently in concept and in development stages for Cedar Mill Hunter Valley and Cedar Mill Yarra Valley.

Cedar Mill Group has acquired a 105-acre lot of land at Pokolbin in the heart of Hunter Valley wine country, as part of a $100 million plus project to transform the site into a similar precinct to Cedar Mill Lake Macquarie. Cedar Mill Hunter Valley will have a retail precinct to create a village centre and re-energise the wine region. The aim is to bring the world’s greatest acts to what will be the Hunters first world-class purpose-built venue while serviced apartments, hotels and event spaces will set a new benchmark in the region.

A 100-acre lot of land meanwhile has been acquired in Victoria’s Yarra Valley where a $200 million project will transform the site into a prime tourism destination. The area will feature a 15,000-patron concert amphitheatre in addition to a 300 bed hotel, conference and function facilities, three restaurants, 20 boutique villa units, tennis courts, a lake and garden precincts as well as an arts and craft village.

As Lambress recently commented “there’s nothing better than hearing amazing live music while in the great outdoors.

“We have long believed that although so many Australians love these experiences, there simply aren’t sufficient purpose-built facilities to make this pastime an accessible reality for so many.”

James Croll manages partnerships for Australasian Leisure Management.

Concert venue concept for the new city of Bradfield near Western Sydney Airport.

Australasian Leisure Management Issue 160 71

Suncorp Super Netball at Melbourne’s John Cain Arena (above, credit: Shutterstock) and the Diamonds win again at the Netball Nations Cup (below, credit: Netball Australia).

Poisoned Chalice?

Nigel Benton looks at what lies behind the many issues the next Chief Executive of Netball Australia will have to face espite the Australian Diamonds being the dominant national team in world netball and the sport having one million D participants with deep roots in every community across the country, Netball Australia has been in a state of near constant crisis over the past 18 months.

While most of Australia’s major sports have recovered since the pandemic, Netball Australia, despite its participation and elite success, has been lurching from crisis to crisis.

With global executive search firm SRI currently undertaking a recruitment process to find a replacement for Chief Executive Kelly Ryan who resigned in December, the next incumbent in the role will face a suite of integrity, financial and reputational issues.

On the plus side, the most recent AusPlay survey showed netball maintaining its status as the number one female team sport in Australia with 1,017,000 people playing netball between July 2022 and June 2023.

This represented an increase of 5.5% with the July 2021 to June 2022 report recording 964,100 participants.

The rise in participation numbers coincide with one of the most successful years of Australian netball on the international stage with the Diamonds winning every competition including the 2023 Netball World Cup, and the Kelpies men’s team retaining the Trans-Tasman Cup. In addition, the Netball World Cup will be held in 2027 while there are high hopes to have the sport added to the program for the 2032 Brisbane Olympics.

However, the challenges the sport faces are considerable, with the organisation having incurred significant losses during COVID-19 shutdowns and the poor financial performance of Suncorp Super Netball.

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Yet many of the financial issues Netball Australia faces go back to its 2016 decision to withdraw from the trans-Tasman ANZ Championship, with the new eight team National Netball League (now Suncorp Super Netball) commencing in 2017.

As of July 2022, the governing body had lost $7.2 million in the past two years, leading to loans being extended and speculation around the future of Netball Australia and its Super Netball competition.

At the time, its balance sheet showed a decline in net assets of 96% to just $158,000 mainly as a result of increased longterm debt.

Hancock Prospecting Sponsorship As of September 2022, it appeared that funding lifeline was at hand with the announcement that mining conglomerate Hancock Prospecting - also a significant sponsor of Swimming Australia and the Australian Olympic Committee - would be the principal partner of the Australian Diamonds’ high-performance program in a three-year sponsorship, reportedly worth $15 million.

However, within a month the sponsorship deal fell apart.

First, reports emerged of a dispute between a number of Diamonds stars - including Indigenous player Donnell Wallam - and Netball Australia over the Hancock Prospecting sponsorship, apparently as a result of Indigenous Diamonds players refusing to wear the mining company’s logo because of comments about Aboriginal people made by Lang Hancock,

The launch of Super Netball in 2017. Credit: Ben Symons Photography.

father of current company Executive Chairman Gina Rinehart, in the 1950s.

Then, on 17th October 2022, Netball Australia announced that Marina Go had stepped down as its Chair.

The departure of Go was described by Netball Australia as “a planned transition”, although subsequent revelations would show that it was far from being that.

Go had also been Chair of the short-lived Suncorp Super Netball Commission (the body given the mandate to self-govern and lead the competition in 2019) but which was abolished as of May 2021 -with management brought in house. Go then became Chair of Netball Australia in May 2021.

At a time when issues of sponsorships in the arts and sport by energy and mining companies were at the forefront of public debate, with a growing number of such sponsorships under scrutiny for ‘sportswashing’ (the term used to describe the practice of individuals, groups, corporations, or governments using sponsorships and other means to improve reputations), the dispute was played out in the media and was at the forefront of public debate.

On 18th October 2022, Netball Australia issued a statement affirming its support for the Hancock Prospecting sponsorship while also emphasising a “commitment to continuing to consult with members of the Diamonds playing group on matters relating to its commercial partnership” with the mining conglomerate.

Attempting to reconcile incompatible positions while emphasising the financial importance of the sponsorship, the then newly appointed Netball Australia Chair Wendy Archer said it was an absolute priority for the organisation to address and resolve individual player concerns about the partnership as soon as possible, commenting “Netball Australia has continually attempted to understand, support and work on a long-term solution to this matter which at this time remains unresolved.

“Hancock Prospecting met with the Origin Australian Diamonds leadership group the day after the concerns were raised to extend its support and commitment to Netball Australia and to share experiences, understand perspectives and support these cultural sensitivities through the partnership.”

Immediately after this statement, the Australian Netball Players Association (ANPA) claimed a lack of consultation with players over the commercial partnership.

Despite this, by 22nd October 2022, Hancock Prospecting withdrew its sponsorship, releasing a statement making reference to Netball Australia’s “disunity problems”, noting that “(we) were not made aware prior to the proposed partnerships, of the complexity of existing issues between Netball Australia and the Players Association.

“This includes the Players Association’s endeavours to gain a very substantial increase in wages during a time the sport is reeling financially, and unable to provide such an increase.”

A later statement from the Hancock Prospecting criticised sports people for speaking up about their own concerns regarding sustainability of sponsors.

The statement addressed “sports organisations and recent media”, advising “Hancock and its Executive Chairman Mrs Rinehart, consider that it is unnecessary for sports organisations to be used as the vehicle for social or political causes.”

The statement went on to outline reasons why the company collectively felt that such causes had arisen in this case, declaring “sport is at its best when it is focused on good and fair competition, with dedicated athletes striving for excellence to achieve their sporting dreams and to represent our country at their very best.”

While the Victorian Government’s Visit Victoria tourism brand subsequently stepped in to fill some of the sponsorship vacated by Hancock Prospecting, by August 2023 a report authored by former NRL and Football Australia Chief Executive David Gallop (and now Chair of Venues NSW), revealed that the Super Netball competition was losing millions of dollars and was being supported by money from the grassroots level of the game.

Super Netball Challenges Commissioned by Netball Australia to establish the value of its elite national competition, but not shared publicly, Gallop’s study warned Netball Australia that the competition, once envisaged as the “commercial jewel” of the sport, was ‘highly unlikely” to “return a dividend to the game.”

The findings, coming just a week after the Diamonds won the Netball World Cup for the 12th time, showed that the Super Netball competition - which feeds the national team - is on track to lose $7.5 million in the next three years.

It stated that the Super Netball competition and its clubs would be reliant on other aspects of the sport to “sustain them”, Australasian Leisure Management Issue 160 73

Netball Victoria’s ‘Change our Game’ program.

The Sapphire series at Brisbane’s Nissan Arena.

The Collingwood Magpies exited Super Netball at the end of the 2023 season.

Netball at the Maroochydore Multi Sports Complex.

such as “money flowing” from the grassroots level - which would consist of fees from clubs, players and parents.

It also suggested that, should the competition remain unchanged in its structure, Super Netball and its teams would struggle to break even during its current broadcast deal with Foxtel, which is in place until 2026.

With the sport going through troubled pay negotiations with ANPA and elite players since February 2023, Gallop’s report cast doubt on the ability to keep paying its players at even its current levels.

Collingwood withdraws from Super Netball The report had been presented to Netball Australia before another crisis then emerged - the withdrawal of the Collingwood team from the Suncorp Super Netball competition.

Confirmed in May after considerable speculation, the withdrawal of the Magpies from the competition, followed a club review that Collingwood Chief Executive, Craig Kelly explained had found that the netball team was “not sustainable”.

Kelly was critical of Netball Australia, saying that the organisation’s financial challenges and inability to negotiate team and player agreements in a timely manner had been a factor in their decision.

Fortunately, by July last year, the eighth team slot in the competition was filled when prominent media group Sports Entertainment Network (SEN), the owner of NBL franchise the Perth Wildcats, was awarded a licence for a team to be based in Melbourne’s south-east.

SEN was granted the licence after a competitive tender process run by Netball Australia, overseen by a sub-committee including consultants Colin Smith and Gallop, with the governing body to operate the team throughout 2023, before fully transitioning to SEN in 2024.

Loss of Federal Funds Netball Australia suffered a further financial blow in November 2023 when it was stripped of almost $18 million in Federal Government funding after failing to provide a satisfactory business case to the Australian Sports Commission for the continuation of a package committed at the 2019 Federal election by then-Minister for Sport Bridget McKenzie.

Of the $30 million committed by the former government, $12.175 million has already been distributed to Netball Australia and has been spent on digital initiatives, the bid for the 2027 World Cup and other programs.

When allocated Netball Australia said it would “fund numerous initiatives - from grassroots through to high performance - which aim to secure a strong and long-term future for the sport”.

However, reports indicated that the Sports Commission had been seeking a formal submission from Netball Australia for the funding for 18 months and that when it was received in October, it was seen by the office of Federal Minister for Sport, Anika Wells as not being “sufficiently robust”.

A statement released by Minister Wells’ office commented “on the matter of remaining uncontracted funds that had been set aside for Netball Australia … a satisfactory proposal has not been received that would enable appropriate use of these taxpayer funds.”

Damaging Pay Dispute And throughout most of these challenges, there was an ongoing pay dispute with elite players which dragged on through much of last year.

With players calling for a revenue-share proposal, Netball Australia and the ANPA were at loggerheads from February 2023 over the pay deal.

When the previous collective player agreement (CPA) ended at the end of September, many players went unpaid for two months.

Netball Australia claimed prematurely, on at least two occasions, that the dispute had been resolved, leading ANPA Chief Executive and former Diamonds captain Kathryn HarbyWilliams to at one point describe the governing body’s offer as a “part-deal” and a “publicity stunt”.

The dispute also saw Super Netball players boycott Netball Australia’s annual awards dinner in November, but Diamonds players attended under the threat of legal action.

During the negotiations, the ANPA expressed its frustrations about how players had been blamed for the loss of Hancock Prospecting’s sponsorship the previous year - with details emerging that it was a senior Netball Australia official who told the players to not wear the company’s logo on their uniforms.

74 Australasian Leisure Management Issue 160

Revealing the role of the official, ANPA President Jo Weston advised “the players, absolutely, did not turn their back on this sponsorship, as is the popular misconception.”

This saw the ANPA take aim at Netball Australia for “reneging on an agreement between NA and ANPA Chairs for the Diamonds to wear the Hancock Prospecting logo versus NZ and not versus England and a commitment by both parties to work with Hancock to ensure the sport did not lose a partner in the game”.

It also led to the ANPA raising a number of other grievances including: •Netball Australia pretending to consult about the location of the 2022 Grand Final and associated commercial arrangements when in truth a deal had already been done •Threatening players and their representatives with legal action •Pushing the players into unemployment and placing players under financial duress during an Australian cost of living crisis •Making announcement of the national team contingent on players signing the Collective Player Agreement Departures and Resolution On 12th December last year, Kelly Ryan announced her resignation as Netball Australia’s Chief Executive.

This was followed, the next day by the announcement of an “historic’ three-year pay deal between the governing body and its elite players.

The new CPA, that includes revenue sharing between Netball Australia and the players increases minimum pay for athletes from $40,000 to $46,000 over its term with the average potential salary to reach $89,000.

Overall players will be paid 11% more over the three years, and will receive backpay for the period since 1st October when the previous deal ended.

They will also share up to 20% of sponsorship revenue above what Netball Australia forecasts.

Starting 2024, in January it emerged that Marina Go had stepped down from the Netball Australia board of the governing body just three days after Ryan resigned.

Documents filed to the corporate regulator on Thursday 18th January revealed that Go stood down from her position as director on 15th December - although this was not announced

by Netball Australia until 19th January after it was reported by mainstream and other media outlets.

The National Indigenous Times, then revealed that it believed it was Go who had advised the Diamonds team not to wear the Hancock Prospecting logo.

Go apparently told the players they had to “stand as one” together on the issue with the National Indigenous Times revealing that Go never came forward to accept responsibility.

On LinkedIn, Ryan thanked Go for showing “faith in me to lead the sport” while Go also responded with, “congratulations on all that you achieved Kelly”.

Go no longer lists having been Chair of Netball Australia on her LinkedIn page.

Nigel Benton is Publisher of Australasian Leisure Management.

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To subscribe go to subscribe.ausleisure.com.au

People In Brief Sarah Addis has joined Basketball Victoria as General Manager – Marketing, Communications and Digital.

Mark Berriman is the new Senior Manager Sport and Recreation at Wollongong City Council.

Jenna Bleakley has started as Brand Partnerships Coordinator at Sydney-based training company Clean Health.

The United Arab Emirates-based Landmark Group has named Mark Buchanan as Chief Executive of Fitness First Middle East.

Alex Clifford has been appointed Coordinator Leisure and Wellness Programs at City of Canterbury Bankstown.

Johnson Health Tech Australia has appointed Gerard Healy as Managing Director, replacing Michael Conlan, who is retiring after six years in the role.

Nigel Dennis has been appointed Regional Manager for Bluefit.

Community sport safety and integrity body, Play by the Rules, has announced the appointment of Tom Dixon as its new National Manager.

Calum Docherty has taken up the role of Education and Training Manager at Surf Life Saving NSW. Expanding its support for the Asia Pacific and the Arabian Gulf regions, ASM Global (APAC) has appointed Tina Eggers to the role of Deputy Director of Business Development.

Keren Faulkner has been announced as the new Director of the South Australian Sports Institute (SASI) - promoted from her former position of Performance Services Manager.

Sporting supplier PLAE has appointed brand marketing and strategy leader Mike Ferris as Chief Brand Officer.

Greg Jennings has started a new position as Chief Operations Officer at YMCA Victoria.

Tropical North Queensland resort Lizard Island has appointed Mark Leslie as onsite General Manager.

The Board of Theatre Network Australia has announced its new Executive Leadership team, Co-Chief Executives Joshua Lowe and Erica McCalman.

ALK Football 24, the new Auckland-based A-Leagues expansion club, has announced the appointment of Terry McFlynn, the former Sydney FC club captain, as its Director of Football.

SPASA Australia Chief Executive Lindsay McGrath has become Managing Director of Leisure Media Limited, the new publishing entity for Australasian Leisure Management.

The Royal Sydney Golf Club has announced the appointment of Des Mulcahy as its new Chief Executive.

Playscape Creations has welcomed Aaron Nicholls as National Specification Manager and David Walker - who has established the company’s North Queensland office – to its team.

Ross Thursby has been appointed Chief Operating Officer at Body Smart Health.

SportWest, the peak body for sport in Western Australia has announced the appointment of Liam Twigger as its new Chair.

Table Tennis Victoria has advised Andrew Weiss has taken on the role of interim Chief Executive to cover Gen Dohrmann’s parental leave.

Phil Wishart has joined Paralympics Australia as General Manager, Government Relations and Stakeholder Engagement.

Lift Brands has appointed Kevin Yates as Chief Executive for its business in the EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa) region.

The International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions has established a local office in Dubai with Ahmed Zakaria appointed to the new role of Director of Operations for the MENA region.

Australasian Leisure Management Issue 160 75

People

Michelle Zangari promoted to role of Senior Manager, Live Events at ICC Sydney

Creative Australia reappoints Chief Executive Adrian Collette

International Convention Centre Sydney (ICC Sydney) has announced the promotion of Michelle Zangari to the role of Senior Manager, Live Events.

Building on her experience as ICC Sydney’s Manager, Ticketing and Bookings in the Live Events team, Zangari has stepped up to lead the Live Events segment, looking after the calendar of dynamic entertainment events held at the 8,000 seat ICC Sydney Theatre and 2,500 seat Darling Harbour Theatre.

Having steered the organisation through a significant period of transformation following his appointment in January 2019, Creative Australia has announced the reappointment of Adrian Collette as its Chief Executive for a further five-year term.

Collette is acknowledged for contributing a wealth of in-depth strategic knowledge and experience as Chief Executive, having served as a Board member for the former Australia Council and Chair of the Major Performing Arts Panel.

Creative Australia has also announced the appointment of Kate Schaffner as Director of Creative Workplaces - the initiative of the Australian Government’s National Cultural Policy: Revive.

Swimming Australia announces former Olympian as new Chief Executive The board of Swimming Australia has announced the appointment of Rob Woodhouse as Chief Executive.

An Olympian who represented Australia at both the 1984 and 1988 Olympics, as well as the 1982, 1986 and 1990 Commonwealth Games, Woodhouse went on to found Elite Sports Properties - a talent management business across the UK and Australia - in 1996 and continued to work in the business after selling it to TLA Worldwide (TGI Sport).

Swimming Australia has also named Shaun Creighton as one of two appointed Directors’ positions added to the Board under the organisation’s new constitution that was approved in October 2023.

Changes announced for NovoGroup’s leadership team Aiming to set the stage for the group’s next phase of growth, innovation and diversification across burgeoning markets, NovoGroup’s executive team structure has been changed.

Tim Horskins has ascended to the position of Chief Executive of NovoGroup, while Barry McDonald assumes the role of Chief Executive of NovoFit, steering the brand’s trajectory towards pioneering solutions in fitness and recovery markets, complemented by expanded offerings in wellness, virtual and digital realms.

In addition, Mark Mills, Chief Executive of NovoActive will continue to drive the strong growth of NovoActive as it expands its gymnastics, dance, cheerleading and stadium solutions.

VALE Longtime IAAPA President and Chief Executive John Graff

Changes at AVMC The Adelaide Venue Management Corporation (AVMC) has announced Martin Radcliffe as its new Chief Executive, confirming the role he has been acting in since August.

Radcliffe, the Adelaide Convention Centre’s General Manager since May 2022, was placed in the role on an interim basis after longstanding AVMC Chief Executive Anthony Kirchner was first stood down and, as of September last year, sacked over his introduction of a ban on Melbourne Victory fans attending the next A-League fixture against Adelaide United at Coopers Stadium.

Sarah Goldfinch has been named as Radcliffe’s successor as General Manager of the Adelaide Convention Centre.

Cedar Mill Group promotes executives Major event consultants and venue developer Cedar Mill Group (see page 70) has announced the promotion of three of its executives.

Ewen Craig, Director of Commercial Operations, takes on the role of Head of Cedar Mill Group, while Steve Knuth, who joined the company as Venue Operations Manager, is appointed General Manager of Cedar Mill Consultancy.

76 Australasian Leisure Management Issue 160

John Graff, a former President and Chief Executive of the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA), died at the age of 87 at the end of December, following a courageous battle with Parkinson’s disease.

Acknowledged for having a significant and long-lasting impact on IAAPA and the industry around the world, he was inducted into the IAAPA Hall of Fame in 2001 for his contributions to the association and the industry.

He helped Marriott Corporation build its first theme parks and his leadership helped transform IAAPA from a United States-based organisation into a respected global association.

John attended the University of South Dakota, Indiana University, and Catholic University.

Sport surfacing expert Malcolm Parkes Malcolm Parkes, Queensland Manager for sport surfacing company Court Craft and Vice President of the Sport and Play Industry Association (SAPIA), has died at the age of 65.

Known for his comprehensive skill set and extensive experience in sporting facilities, his education included qualifications from the NZ Business School in Advanced Sales Management, as well as a Trade Certificate in Electrical Fitter Mechanics and an Advanced Trade Certificate in Basic Electronics.

People

Products

After 10½ years as Chief Executive, Shane Harmon has farewelled Wellington’s Sky Stadium Exiting his role, Harmon wrote “as a team we can look back with pride at the range of events we’ve hosted. Concerts included Guns ‘N Roses, SIX60, Keith Urban and Carrie Underwood, AC/DC, Elton John, Queen and Adam Lambert, Eminem, Ed Sheeran and the upcoming Foo Fighters show.

“We built a life-sized replica of Edinburgh Castle, and hosted the Royal Edinburgh Military over four nights.

“We’ve hosted many rugby test matches including the British and Irish Lions in 2017 as well as all the men’s FIFA World Cup Intercontinental play-offs in recent times, those football magical nights when we felt like we were at the centre of the sporting universe.

“We’ve held two Super Rugby finals, including that wonderful night in 2016 when the Hurricanes won the title. And so many Wellington Phoenix memories; the Save the Nix Game, the Welcome Home Game, the women’s record breaking first home game.

“And then all the world cups; Cricket World Cup 2015, FIFA U20 World Cup 2015, Rugby League World Cup 2017 and our crowning moment; FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 when we delivered an almost flawless experience for fans and teams.”

Moving On

Popularity of Life Floor’s lagoon themed Leanyer Recreation Park exceeds expectations Since reopening following a $3.1 million upgrade, Darwin’s Leanyer Recreation Park has become an even more popular destination for families trying to beat the heat.

The previous splash pad had reached the end of its useful life and needed to be replaced.

Established local contractor, NT Surfacing, was awarded the Tender to design and build a large, new splash pad featuring new water features and Life Floor surface.

Life Floor’s Lagoon Theme was chosen which uses shades of blue and turquoise to create a refreshing ocean-inspired palette which was then paired with some Marine Inlays to add play value and fun for children as they interact with the features.

The popularity of the new features at the water playground has exceeded expectations with visitor numbers surpassing initial predictions.

The new features introduced in the upgrade include a bird nest seat swing, spray tunnel, water weaver and a team blaster.

Contact Life Floor on 1300 721 135, E: info@lifefloor.com.au, www.lifefloor.com.au

Alexandra Ash has resigned from her role as Chief Executive at Gymnastics Australia.

Y National Chief Executive Tal Karp is leaving the body after five years of service, including three years as a National Board member and two years as National and Group Chief Executive.

Australian Sports Commission Chair Josephine Sukkar will not be seeking reappointment following her current three-year term which commenced in February 2021.

After nearly 10 years in the role, Australian Sports Foundation Chief Executive Patrick Walker has announced that he will retire in April.

TEG names Cameron Hoy as Chief Operating Officer and Head of Global Ticketing TEG has announced that Ticketek Managing Director Cameron Hoy has been appointed TEG’s Chief Operating Officer & Head of Global Ticketing.

In this role, Hoy will be responsible for oversight of numerous divisions across the business including TEG’s Data Science, Analytics and Digital divisions, Product and Technology in addition to leading TEG’s Global Ticketing operations.

PerfectGym powers new Revo Fitness member App Revo Fitness has used technology from Perfect Gym Solutions to power a member App that offers members of the fastgrowing group the ability to work out on their own terms, no matter where they are located.

Offering thousands of guided, expert-led workouts that range from cycle to dance, boxing to yoga and everything in between, the App also allows new members to access the full library of workouts, plus Revo gyms around the country within minutes of signing up.

Revo Fitness founder and Managing Director, Andrew Holder advised “we want to empower Australians to lead healthier, more active lifestyles and the next step in the way we do that is with an accessible, flexible and affordable offering which the Revo App provides.”

In addition to using PerfectGym technology, content on the App has been delivered by Wexer.

Contact PerfectGym on 1300 088 922, E: info@perfectgym.com.au, www.perfectgym.com.au Australasian Leisure Management Issue 160 77

Products

KOMPAN uses up to 95% recycled materials in playground equipment

Les Mills new BODYCOMBAT XR offers mixed reality experience

Leading playground equipment manufacture KOMPAN has revealed that its entire range of playground materials uses up to 95% recycled materials – meaning customers can create stunning playgrounds of all colours and styles while reducing their carbon footprint.

KOMPAN has been leading the way in sustainable playground equipment since the announcement of its innovative and award-winning GreenLine range in 2022.

Using reclaimed ocean waste like trawl nets and ropes to create play panels and discarded textile waste and single-use plastics to create playground posts, this range allowed local government parks teams, landscape architects and schools to drastically reduce their carbon footprint when building playgrounds.

Studies found that 80% of carbon emissions for a playground company like KOMPAN come from raw material production.

KOMPAN therefore took the most efficient step to pass on carbon savings to customers and drastically improve their Scope 3 emissions by rethinking their materials and moving to recycled sources.

Contact 07 3865 2800, E: sales@kompan.com.au, www.kompan.com.au

Global fitness leader Les Mills has launched its latest instalment of breakout VR fitness app - LES MILLS BODYCOMBAT XR taking workouts into a new dimension by offering Mixed Reality experiences on the META Quest 3 headset.

Developed with XR gaming specialist Odders Lab, the new app builds on the success of BODYCOMBAT VR, which is the world’s best-selling VR fitness app, winning celebrity fans such as professional boxer Tommy Fury and being crowned META Quest’s Best App of 2022.

The BODYCOMBAT XR app offers all the immersive workout thrills from the previous instalment, as well as Mixed Reality (MR) mode – a game-changing feature that fuses the user’s real environment with the virtual training space, providing a previously unimaginable MR workout experience.

META founder Mark Zuckerberg spotlighted the BODYCOMBAT XR app as an example of next-level innovation during his launch of the META Quest 3 headset in California.

Zuckerberg showed how the headset’s new functionality enables users to choose between fully-immersive VR and innovative MR that brings high-octane gameplay into your realworld setting as targets and walls fly towards them.

Contact 02 6282 8192, E: myclub@lesmills.com.au, www.lesmills.com.au

ProSlide Technology opens new Dubai office

Ticketmaster Australia announces multi-year ticketing partnership with Cbus Super Stadium Ticketmaster Australia has announced a multi-year ticketing partnership with Cbus Super Stadium, strengthening the established relationship between Ticketmaster and Stadiums Queensland.

Stadiums Queensland’s selection of Ticketmaster ensures an enhanced fan experience for all attendees at the Gold Coast venue, granting them access to Ticketmaster’s cuttingedge ticketing infrastructure. From a seamless ticket purchase process to ensuring frictionless entry into Cbus Super Stadium and leveraging innovative marketing tools, both teams will benefit from Ticketmaster’s market-leading technology that will support bringing crowds to the venue.

Home to the Gold Coast Titans NRL team, Cbus Super Stadium, has the capacity to accommodate around 27,000 attendees for major events and over 30,000 for concerts.

Contact E:info@ticketmaster.com.au, www.ticketmaster.com.au/ 78 Australasian Leisure Management Issue 160

Leading international water ride designer and manufacturer ProSlide Technology Inc. has announced the expansion of its global presence with the opening of its new office in Dubai.

Having contributed to innovative waterparks and attractions across the Middle East for more than a decade, the Canadianfounded company advise that “this strategic expansion is well-timed to meet the surging demand for innovative water rides in the rapidly growing Middle East, where world-class tourism and leisure projects are flourishing.”

ProSlide projects such as Atlantis Aquaventure, Cyan Waterpark, Wild Wadi, Yas Waterworld, Loopagoon and others have earned prestigious global accolades, including the IAAPA Impact Award winning Dawwama at Yas Waterworld and multiple IAAPA Best New Water Ride, WWA Leading Edge, and MENALAC awards for the Trident Tower expansion at Atlantis Aquaventure.

Contact +1 613 526 5522, E:info@proslide.com, www.proslide.com

Send your product news to leisure@ausleisure.com.au

Products Polytan New Zealand to upgrade Maidstone Hockey turf Upper Hutt City Council advises that the replacement of the Maidstone Hockey turf carpet has been entrusted to Polytan New Zealand Ltd. The current turf, installed in 2012 had an anticipated lifespan of 10 to 12 years and is now in line for renewal.

Following discussions with the supplier, a decision was made to enhance the base infrastructure. This strategic move aims to facilitate easier and more cost-efficient future carpet replacements by incorporating a layer of asphalt onto the existing gravel sub-base.

The chosen Poligras surface marks a significant milestone as the first of its kind in New Zealand to be installed without the necessity of irrigation. Noteworthy is its incorporation of Turf Glide technology, the same technology used in the surfaces for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Contact 1800 663 812, E: enquiry@polytan.com.au, www.polytan.com.au

MyVenue grows its exports to $7.3 million in the United States Specialising in stadium and arena (POS) software, South Australian-based MyVenue has significantly expanded its footprint in the United States - now growing its exports to an impressive $7.3 million in the US market.

Founded in 2020, MyVenue has rapidly made its mark and is now found in 78 major venues across Canada, UK, Australia and the USA including the home of two of this seasons NFL Playoff teams, the Miami Dolphins and ‘America’s Team’ the Dallas Cowboys.

The company’s growth in the US in 2023 followed targeted support from the South Australian Department of Trade and Investment, including customer introductions, industry advocacy and being presented at key trade events.

MyVenue, which launched in 2020 and secured its first customer in the US in 2021 has experienced phenomenal growth.

The POS solution also includes a mobile ordering app, online portal for corporate box orders, self-service kiosk, real-time dashboards and full inventory control.

Contact 0415 504 056, E: hello@myvenue.com, www.myvenue.com/

Moduplay Group water tower playground completed in Narrandera Shire Narrandera Shire Council in south western NSW recently completed a new Water Tower Playground, developed in collaboration with Moduplay Group.

The Water Tower Playground offers an immersive play experience for children and families. The new playground features a wide range of play structures, designed to encourage physical activity, imagination, and social interaction among children. Some highlights include: -Climbing Towers: Children can test their agility and bravery as they ascend the towering structures, offering a view of the township at the top.

-Slides and Swings: A variety of slides and swings provide endless hours of fun Mayor for Narrandera Shire Council, Neville Kschenka in front of Moduplay equipment. for children.

-Sensory Play Areas: Sensory music play has been incorporated to stimulate and engage children’s senses.

Contact Moduplay on 02 4272 1644, E: email@moduplay.com.au, www.moduplay.com.au

Wibit adds new product line to enhance safety at its modular water parks Leading provider of floating modular water parks, Wibit, has added Wibit WatchLine to its product range - offering a comprehensive, unobstructed view of the entire water park, ensuring uncompromised safety supervision.

In addition, not only does WatchLine shield from the sun’s rays, but it also creates a comfortable haven for lifeguards.

The new line offers four different and adaptable products to complement existing parks in the best way possible. The modularity allows each product to be individually adapted to location.

Among the four products are the WatchRaft and the WatchAround.

Contact Wibit’s Australian distributor, Tammy Kelly of Mizu Sports on 0412 140 760, E: tammy@mizusports.com, www.mizusports.com/

Quayclean secures MCG cleaning contract Quayclean Australia, the largest provider of cleaning, hygiene and waste management services to major public venues across Australia, has secured a massive coup after being awarded a five-year contract by the Melbourne Cricket Club for work at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground.

The MCG contract follows Quayclean’s workforce of more than 1200 dedicated cleaners having been employed day and night over 15 days to help deliver Australian Open tennis tournament, attended by 1,020,763 spectators, across the Melbourne and Olympic Park precinct.

In addition to the MCG and Melbourne and Olympic Parks, Quayclean is responsible for Marvel Stadium, Southern Cross Station, Melbourne Markets Authority, Melbourne Racing Club, Parliament of Victoria, State Library Victoria plus GMHBA Stadium in Geelong in addition to numerous aquatic and recreation centres and private schools.

Quayclean also provides cleaning and waste management services to the Sydney Cricket Ground, Allianz Stadium, Sydney Opera House, Australian Turf Club racecourses, Sydney Olympic Park, Sydney Showground, Adelaide Oval, Optus Stadium, the Gabba and McDonald Jones Stadium.

Contact 1300 897 117, E: info@quayclean.com.au, www.quayclean.com.au Australasian Leisure Management Issue 160 79

INTIX real-time marketing enhances event revenue

PlayCo brings together Australian playground suppliers Combining Forpark, RhinoPlay, PlayWorks and PlayOn!, the creation of ‘The Play Collective’ (PlayCo) now has the ability to deliver an unsurpassed range of Australian-made commercial play equipment to the market.

The combined entity now gives customers access to thousands of quality products and design expertise through their network of professional play designers, creating both custom and bespoke designs. With dedicated teams specialising in local government, education, commercial venues and landscape design, PlayCo has the industry experts who understand the needs, know - how, products and process to bring the professionals to play.

The industry is set to benefit from local manufacturing hubs on both east and west coasts, giving customers access to a national network of factories, installation and maintenance teams. While an increasing number of companies are opting for imported products, PlayCo stands by their commitment to producing highquality Australian-made equipment, delivering faster turnaround times and supporting a more sustainable future.

Contact 02 9517 3587, E: hello@theplaycollective.com.au. www.theplaycollective.com.au/

FitFlo launches technology solution to boost gym retention rates Melbourne-based sports technology startup FitFlo has launched a new program that will address gym churn and transform the gym experience for operators and members.

Having successfully completed a beta program in Melbourne and Singapore, the program is now live across five leading gyms in Melbourne and Singapore, seeing FitFlo advance in its mission to “reimagine gym retention and member engagement”.

FitFlo’s innovative platform offers operators a dynamic way to connect with members from the first visit ensuring every member’s journey is engaging and fulfilling by personalising workouts, tracking progress and facilitating ongoing support, with its app for members and web app for operators making fitness management seamless and intuitive.

At the heart of FitFlo’s technology is integrating NFC tags in gym equipment, unlocking a new dimension of personalised fitness. This unique approach provides instant access to video tutorials, automated workout tracking, and tailored workout plans, fostering a deeply engaging gym environment.

Contact: E:admin@fitfloapp.com, www.fitfloapp.com 80 Australasian Leisure Management Issue 160

Event ticketing technology business INTIX has introduced realtime marketing to help boost revenue at events.

Previously managed through social media, real-time marketing has been used as a way to keep customers engaged during an event, and used as an opportunity to up-sell products and services.

Using the latest event ticketing technology, available through INTIX, event managers can now market directly to all present event attendees, on their phone, via push notifications and SMS. Explaining that event managers are always trying to think of how they can reduce administration, improve the event experience, and generate the best possible return, INTIX Chief Executive, Alex Grant stated “real-time marketing gives events an edge as it is easy to manage, can help generate considerably more revenue and is very attractive to sponsors.

“So long as everyone purchases tickets online, or at the gate via our smartphone tap-to-pay app, or has a digital membership - for sporting events, you can communicate to everyone who scanned in via push notifications and/or SMS.” INTIX, integrates multiple features into its platform, so event organisers can centralise all their audience data and maximize revenue and sales growth opportunities.

Contact E:help@intix.com, www.intix.com.au

Hapana collaborates with Stripe to meet customer needs Leading fitness business solutions provider, Hapana, has announced its collaboration with Stripe, a financial infrastructure platform for businesses, to power payments globally for Hapana’s customers. With the majority of Hapana’s fitness brand customers being multi-site operations, the integration increases in significance for Hapana as the company continues to expand globally.

With Stripe, Hapana will be able to offer global financial infrastructure solutions to gyms and fitness brands such as cross-border payouts, enabling Hapana’s customers to quickly and easily accept a wide range of payment methods, from credit cards to digital wallets to direct debits across the USA, Asia and Australia.

Hapana has also announced a new investment from Riverside Acceleration Capital (RAC), a multi-stage growth fund based out of New York to back its plans to expand across North America.

Contact 02 8520 3901, E: sales@hapana.com, www.hapana.com

Xplor Technologies announces acquisition of fitness software platform Membr Fitness management software platform Membr has been acquired by software-as-a-service company Xplor Technologies for an undisclosed sum.

With teams in the UK, USA, Australia and Japan, Membr’s software platform is designed to support both global gym franchises and single location operators of all sizes by better connecting the fitness industry to its consumers.

The acquisition of the UK-based Membr - which provides more than 2,000 gyms and fitness clubs in more than 25 countries across four continents with clients including Anytime Fitness and JD Gyms - will see Xplor expand its software solutions for gyms and health clubs with an enhancement of its Xplor Gym platform.

Contact sales@xplortechnologies.com, www.xplorgym.au

pHlozone software delivers new levels of technology for management of aquatic facilities International Quadratics has highlighted the benefits of its pHlozone management software and its role in contributing to aquatic facilities’ efficiency, safety, compliance and accountability.

Designed specifically for commercial aquatic facilities, pHlozone caters for multiple bodies of water while also managing multiple tasks - including reporting, ordering, water tests and repair jobs.

Simple for staff to use, pHlozone works on any modern internet-connected device, pHlozone offers the unique ‘daysweeper’ scheduling system, meaning all jobs are noted and incomplete tasks always move to the overdue section at the top of the list for visibility and keeping staff accountable for their work.

Explaining the benefits of the technology, Pam Robinson, Commercial Business Development Manager for pHlozone distributor International Quadratics, stated “the platform is an extremely powerful management and operations tool for aquatic centres, learn to swim centres, hotels, and any commercial facility with a swimming pool or spa.

Australian owned, built and supported, pHlozone is available from International Quadratics.

Contact 02 9774 5550, E: sales@interquad.com.au, https://phlozone.info and www.interquad.com.au

Products

Technogym’s new Skillup range offers cardio and power for upper body training Technogym has announced the introduction of new functional equipment designed to provide comprehensive, effective and intense upper body training.

Named Skillup, the range is the result of Technogym’s experience in performance training, developed also as Official Supplier to the last nine Olympics.

Designed to target the entire body, focusing on all upper muscle groups by simulating the athletic gesture of crosscountry skiing, Technogym Skillup makes use of the brand’s multidrive technology - a unique dual resistance technology.

As a result, Skillup can integrate a cardio workout with a more powerful one, for a complete and effective workout through quick and convenient adjustments via the selector located in the upper position.

In addition, thanks to its functional, barrier-free design, Skillup is designed to fit into any space and layout, while ensuring easy accessibility for the end user.

It has also been announced that Saudi Arabia’s NEOM Investment Fund (NIF) - the strategic investment arm of the NEOM giga project will acquire 6% of Technogym’s share capital in a 111.1 million euro investment.

Contact 1800 615 440, E: info.au@technogym.com, www.technogym.com

Sportradar launches new marketing solution for fan engagement Leading global sports technology company, Sportradar, has launched Sportradar FanID - a marketing solution offering rightsholders and brands personalised fan engagement in a post-third-party cookie world.

Sportradar FanID offers “a unique, end-to-end first-party marketing solution combining the first data clean room for the sports industry with the company’s proprietary marketing activation technology.”

Rainer Geier, Vice President - Fan Engagement at Sportradar, advised “the crumbling of the third-party cookie represents a significant opportunity for rightsholders and brands to gain a greater understanding of fans, while also enabling more efficient and seamless delivery of digital advertising content.

“We are the industry leader and partner to many clients around the world, which has allowed us to gather the most comprehensive understanding of fan behaviour and insights.

Sportradar FanID is an example of how we are extending our innovative capabilities, and it will serve as a catalyst for further product innovation and increased monetisation potential.”

The anticipated removal of third-party cookies in 2024 is compelling marketers to find alternative methods for collecting and leveraging data to connect with consumers. Sportradar’s data clean room addresses this challenge for the sports industry, allowing multiple parties to collaborate on first-party datasets.

Contact +41 71 517 7200, E: info@sportradar.com, www.sportradar.com

Big Screen Video unveils new ‘funnel’ 360-degree screen Leading digital screen technology company Big Screen Video has installed a first-of-its kind 360-degree wrap-around LED screen in Australia - delivering an unprecedented audiovisual experience at Adelaide’s Arkaba Hotel.

With a circumference of 12.8 metres and capable of showing up to six events at once, the ground-breaking curved design is the first in Australia to feature high-definition screens tapering at an angle creating a funnel effect ensuring viewers never miss a beat of the action wherever they are in the venue.

Custom designed by BSV’s research team for the Hurley Hotel Group, the screen ‘floats’ above the main bar of the recently renovated Sportys bar at the Arkaba, creating an eyecatching focal point for patrons.

Contact 1300 244 727, E: info@bigscreenvideo.com.au, www.bigscreenvideo.com.au Australasian Leisure Management Issue 160 81

Advertisers Index Advertiser

Page No.

AALARA Conference

17

Aflex Inflatables

35

APT Laykold Chill Courts

27

AUSTSWIM

13

Axess

19

Fluidra

9

HIB Insurance

19

International Quadratics

11

Life Floor

31

Metrasens

67

MIZU Sports and Leisure

37

Myrtha Pools

37

National Sports Convention

83

Otium Planning Group

51

ParkEquip

33

Perfect Gym

2&3

Quayclean

21

Splash Trade Expo

5

Swimplex Aquatics

7

Technogym

63

Tim Batt Water Solutions

84

Venue Industry Congress

23

Viva Leisure

59

Waterco

49

Wavegarden delivers robust Liner System for waterproofing surfing lagoons Wavegarden has spotlighted its ‘Liner System’ which delivers a proven, robust, and efficient solution for the construction and waterproofing of surfing lagoons.

The Liner System has been tested extensively since 2011 at Wavegarden’s R&D facility and successfully implemented at commercial Wavegarden facilities like Praia da Grama and Surfland Brasil.

Josema Odriozola, founder and Chief Executive of Wavegarden explains “the civil works and waterproofing of surfing lagoons have historically posed significant challenges in our sector. After many years of meticulous research and development, we are excited to confirm that we have an efficient, robust and proven solution.”

Advantages of Wavegarden’s liner include easy maintenance, minimal operational costs, algae and biofilm resistance, impact absorption and an anticipated 20-year lifespan.

The company has more than 70 projects currently in development across the globe and along with its seven surf parks operating, has 12 projects currently under construction.

Contact +34 943 041 018, E: sales@wavgarden.com, www.wavgarden.com

ActiveXchange adds customer acquisition dashboard to the operator platform ActiveXchange has developed a new customercentric dashboard to its ActiveXchange for Operators data intelligence platform.

Helping aquatic, fitness and recreation facility operators drive revenue generation, reduce costs operationally and across programming and identify gaps and gains in local markets, the dashboard offers interactive elements for customer-market segmentation, demographic profile, geographic profile, psychographic profile and behavioural profile.

The dashboard is also able to be segmented and broken down by site or facility, customer segment, gender, age bracket, geographical classification, customer recency, deprivation index and catchment percentile.

Contact E:info@ActiveXchange.org, www.ActiveXchange.org

Bond University helps develop protective body armour for female athletes Recognising the rise in participation in women’s contact sports like rugby union and AFL, Bond University has partnered with Queensland company - Fempro Armour - to develop cutting edge protective body armour designed specifically for the female body.

Fempro Armour founder Stephanie Bofinger is a former professional athlete who is passionate about reducing short and long-term injuries and improving safety for women in contact sports.

Bofinger advised “the risk of injury for female athletes, especially in contact sports, is unacceptably high due to ill-fitting protective gear and under-researched safety standards that do not account for the anatomical differences in the female body.”

In the realm of sports, traumatic breast injuries are not uncommon. These can cause significant discomfort, visible bruising, and sometimes, swelling of breast tissue. A serious concern in such cases is the risk of haemorrhaging, where damage to major blood vessels can lead to severe, life-threatening bleeding.

Contact 1300 134 387, E: info@femproarmour.com, www.femproarmour.com

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