Australasian Leisure Management Issue 146 2021

www.ausleisure.com.au

ISSUE 146

SPORT

Football’s Code Wars Sport Climbing after Tokyo

Print Post Approved PP100022562

AQUATICS

Regional Facility Design Swimplex Projects

PLANNING

Councils and Climate Change Legacies for Brisbane 2032

ATTRACTIONS New Central Coast Precinct Hong Kong’s Water World

PLUS

Bathing and Wellness Locker Innovations DIgital Ticketing Staff Shortages

contents

Issue 146

24

18

20

34

42

46

features 18

A new type of Tourism Precinct Plans to deliver a landmark tourism precinct

20

No Dip in Sight Victoria is leading the way in wellness and bathing tourism

24

Creating the ideal Regional Aquatic Facility Designing aquatic centres to meet current and future needs

28

Sport Climbing set for Rapid Ascent The post Olympics potential of sport climbing

34

Football’s Survivors and Thrivers Australia’s code wars

40

Ocean Park Hong Kong opens new waterpark Ocean Park’s new Water World

42

A Time like no Other Swimplex Aquatics’ innovative projects

COVER: ClimbFit. See feature on the rise of sport climbing on page 28.

46

Unlocking the Pandemic Innovations in locker provision

regulars 6 From the Publisher 8 Two Months in Leisure 53 People in brief 68 People

52

The rise of Advanced Locker

54

Enough Staff to go round?

The industry facing staff shortages and job losses

56

Technology - the Key to Unlocking Events Digital ticketing can drive the revival of events

58

Making the most of Insight Insights to shape a more informed and active industry

69 Products 62 www.ausleisure.com.au for all the latest industry news, products and events

Australian Designed, Developed and Built

Time to combat Climate Change Leisure planners driving action on climate change

66

4 Australasian Leisure Management Issue 146

Ensuring the Right Legacy Planning post Games usage for Brisbane 2032 venues

From the Publisher Looking Forward

Published by Australian Leisure Media Pty Ltd, 102 Taiyul Road, North Narrabeen, NSW 2101 (PO Box 478, Collaroy, NSW 2097) AUSTRALIA ABN 32 092 549 721

Tel: 02 9970 8322 E-mail: leisure@ausleisure.com.au www.ausleisure.com.au Twitter: @AusLeisure Facebook: www.facebook.com/AusLeisure Editor Karen Sweaney Publisher Nigel Benton Design Australian Leisure Media Pty Ltd Contributors James Croll and Gwen Luscombe

Advertising Inquiries Nigel Benton Tel: 02 9970 8322 Email: nigel@ausleisure.com.au Printed in Australia by Pegasus Print Group Building B, 1A Bessemer Street, Blacktown NSW 2148 Tel: 02 8822 0600, www.pegasusprintgroup.com.au The annual subscription cost is AUS $90 (inclusive of GST) in Australia, New Zealand and throughout the Rest of the World.

Members of AALARA, ARNA, ASPA, ASSA, EVANZ, 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 Australian Leisure Media Pty Ltd or the Editor. While every care is taken with advice given, Australian Leisure Media Pty Ltd 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 associations.

© Australasian Leisure Management, 2021.

ISSN 1446-1374

Official Publication

At the time of writing, much of this industry and economies across Australia and New Zealand have emerged or are in the process of emerging from what, with rising vaccination levels, may well be the last of many Coronavirus lockdowns.

Yet with consumer trends and spending patterns in the reopened economy having shifted, operators in this industry who have adapted through the COVID-19 pandemic - will have to continue to rethink business strategies.

One example of this has seen global group fitness provider Les Mills acknowledging that, as members head back (or get set to head back) to fitness clubs and gyms for the added motivation and social connection of the live exercise experiences, the majority of exercisers now favour a 60:40 split between gym and home workouts.

As a result, it has introduced digital and live workouts to engage exercisers.

But looking for a return of familiar experiences, a recent study commissioned by The Live Entertainment Industry Forum (LEIF) reveals that fans are longing for the return of international acts to Australia and blockbuster live entertainment events.

More than 80% of the 35,000 consumers surveyed by consultants EY indicated that they consider international artists to be a ‘significant’ or ‘very significant’ factor in their decision to attend live events.

The survey also found that fans want live events with larger crowd numbers to return this year.

Vale: Brendan Edwards, part 1.

As we go to press, Australasian Leisure Management is saddened to have belatedly learnt of the death of former Hawthorn Football Club premiership player and fitness industry pioneer Brendan Edwards.

Edwards, who played for Hawthorn in the Victorian Football League from 1956 to 1963 and was named in the club’s Team of the Century, passed away peacefully in May this year at the age of 85.

Significantly, Edwards viewed his post-sporting career in fitness as being more important than his time in the VFL and, to the end, his Facebook page read “my life has primarily been involved in health and fitness centres”.

Brendan was also a great supporter of this publication and a personal friend.

He will be much missed.

A fuller obituary about Brendan will follow in the next issue of this magazine.

Extra eight pages In Association with

Readers may notice this issue is a little larger than usual.

With much to report and great advertiser support, we’ve added eight pages to include more essential industry content underlining the power of Australasian Leisure Management to inform and connect this industry like no other.

Nigel Benton, Publisher

Online Subscriptions

Australasian Leisure Management is an Australian product, Australian owned and printed in Australia.

Australasian Leisure Management magazine 12 month/six issue subscriptions cost AUS $90 To subscribe go to www.ausleisure.com.au

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

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

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

Submissions invited for Dunedin’s 2022 hosting of the World Leisure Congress Set to be held in the New Zealand city of Dunedin from 12th to 16th December next year, the 17th World Leisure Congress 2022 is inviting special session and abstract presentation submissions.

Hosted by the University of Otago, with theme is ‘Learn well, live well’, the World Leisure Organisation advise “as the world continues to deal with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and its impacts on well- being, leisure in our lives is of crucial importance to help us learn and live well.”

Contact amie@conference.nz

Australian Professional Leagues announce future women’s football strategy

Australia’s ski industry under threat after second winter of COVID-19 lockdowns After two consecutive winters with limited domestic trade and no international tourists, reports suggest that Australia’s snow industry is on the brink of collapse.

Snowsports Industries Australia (SIA) Chairman Edward Fortey believes the entire industry is under threat - from small city retailers to accommodation providers and large resorts - advising “there has been a closure of nearly two years … our members have gone through their second winter as essentially a non-event.

“We are pretty resilient … but it is an impossible task to ask them to survive … there are going to be some casualties, unfortunately.”

The SIA and the National Retailers Association are calling on the Federal Government to view the snow industry with a package similar to the Tourism Aviation Network Support Program.

As of late August, all ski resorts in Australia or New Zealand were closed, the first time that all fields had been closed during the Coronavirus crisis.

Ardent Leisure Chairman says group is well positioned for future growth Having cut its losses to $86.9 million in the year to 30th June, compared to $136.1 million in 2019/20, Ardent Leisure Chairman, Dr Gary Weiss has advised that the outlook for the owner of Dreamworld and WhiteWater World remains positive, underpinned by the rollout of vaccines, the expected opening of the Steel Taipan at Dreamworld and pent up demand in the domestic market.

Ardent Leisure’s financial results for the 2020/21 financial year showed “significant improvement”, according to the group, against a drop in revenue from $398 million in 2019/20 to $390 million, which it advised was “impacted by international and interstate border restrictions, particularly during peak trading periods.”

Dreamworld’s new Steel Taipan rollercoaster is currently being commissioned.

8 Australasian Leisure Management Issue 146

Australian Professional Leagues (APL) has announced a raft of new initiatives to drive the women’s game forward including three expansion teams planned to be introduced in time for FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 and a new club championship competition announced combining results in men’s and women’s football.

With the APL controlling the A-League and W-League, and as part of a strategic expansion plan, APL have announced the planned addition of three teams - Wellington Phoenix, Central Coast Mariners and Western United FC - to the competition ahead of the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2023.

Viva Leisure experiencing share price rebound as it looks forward to facility reopenings Impacted by state lockdowns that, at worst, have seen up to 65% of its gyms closed, ASXlisted fitness operator Viva Leisure is looking forward to the reopening of facilities.

Looking forward in a recent market update, Viva Leisure Limited Managing Director and Chief Executive, Harry Konstantinou advised “with all states and territories in which Viva Leisure operates now having provided a clear re-opening path, we look forward again to be able to fully trade over the next few months.”

Halting trading in late August as it sought to raise equity, on the market the company’s share price went on to rise above $2 as of the second week of September, its highest level since the NSW lockdown began in late June, with the share value rallying more than 50% over recent months.

Despite the challenges of COVID-19 lockdowns, the Canberra-based company increased memberships by nearly 34%, expanded locations and doubled its revenue in the 2020/21 financial year.

City of Port Phillip proposes new 3,000 capacity music venue for St Kilda Melbourne’s City of Port Phillip has submitted a proposal to construct a 3,000 capacity live music venue near the St Kilda foreshore.

As part of the Council’s St Kilda Triangle redevelopment project, the proposal will see the City of Port Phillip lobby for financial assistance to develop the land adjacent to the landmark Palais Theatre, which was recently used as the site of the city’s April Sun pop-up concert series.

The proposed venue will also be accompanied by an underground car park, pavilion and children’s park as part of the Council’s plans to reshape the cultural perception of the St Kilda area following several recent venue closures.

IN BRIEF Talaroo Hot Springs (pictured left), a new tourist attraction, has been opened in the heart of the Gulf Region of Queensland on the Savannah Way. The redevelopment of the city end of Geelong’s Kardinia Park/GMHBA Stadium - taking the venue’s capacity from 36,000 to more than 40,000 - is set to begin with leading construction firms BESIX Watpac as the project builder.

Work has commenced on the long-awaited upgrades to the famous Western Australian Cricket Association Ground in East Perth.

Adding to its existing portfolio of facilities across Australia and New Zealand, Next Gen Health and Lifestyle Clubs have completed its newest members-only club in the Melbourne suburb of Doncaster (pictured left).

Works have commenced on Western Australia’s $32.5 million State Football Centre being built in Queens Park in the City of Canning and set for completion in 2023, in time for it to be used as a training facility for the FIFA 2023 Women’s World Cup hosted by Australia and New Zealand.

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Construction of Queensland Performing Arts Centre’s new $175 million 1500-capacity stateof-the-art theatre at Brisbane’s Playhouse Green site has begun (pictured left).

Works have commenced on Western Australia’s $32.5 million State Football Centre being built in Queens Park in the City of Canning and set for completion in 2023, in time for it to be used as a training facility for the FIFA 2023 Women’s World Cup hosted by Australia and New Zealand.

The University of Newcastle and Newcastle University Sport (NUsport) has completed the redevelopment of The Forum Sports & Aquatic Centre at Callaghan, which has included upgrades to its 50-metre heated indoor Olympic pool (pictured left).

The heritage restoration to Sydney’s harbourside and historic Dawn Fraser Baths has been completed with the Baths reopened as NSW lockdown restrictions are eased (pictured left).

New courts and pitches at the Melbourne Sports Centres - Parkville (formerly the State Netball and Hockey Centre), have been formally opened following a $64.6 million investment by the Victorian Government to deliver six new indoor netball courts, a new indoor hockey pitch, hot and cold recovery pools, a creche for parents playing at the centre, and a highperformance strength and conditioning gym.

After incurring years of operational losses, the Central Coast Council has opened a tender for the management rights for the Central Coast Stadium in Gosford (pictured left).

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Australasian Leisure Management Issue 146 9

Lockdowns contribute to rise in Australian drowning deaths during past year

FITREC gives fitness professionals option to show that they are fully vaccinated for COVID-19 FITREC, the registration service for fitness professionals and businesses, has advised that it is giving registered fitness professionals the option to show that they are fully vaccinated for COVID-19 in their profiles.

Aiming to aid fitness professionals and businesses in reassuring members and clients over their vaccination status, adding the status is a voluntary option, FITREC advises “for any registered professionals that have not yet been vaccinated, or do not wish to show they have been vaccinated, or choose not to be vaccinated, their profiles remain unchanged.”

There is no reference to vaccination status on FITREC profiles unless the professional wishes it to be there.

Western Australian Parliament passes tough new laws to stamp out scalping The Government of Western Australia’s new anti-ticket scalping legislation - making the activity illegal in the state with heavy penalties for those who break the law - has been passed in the state’s Parliament.

The tough new measures were out in place before general admission tickets went on sale for the 2021 AFL Grand Final at Optus Stadium to protect fans from price gouging and level the playing field by banning mass purchases by ‘bots’.

The Coronavirus pandemic is reported to have been a factor in 20% rise in drowning deaths around Australia in the past year.

Newly released research by leading water safety authorities Royal Life Saving Society - Australia (RLSSA) and Surf Life Saving Australia (SLSA) has revealed a spike in drowning deaths in the past 12 months, with unfamiliar locations, exhaustion, and interruptions to regular swimming during the COVID-19 pandemic considered key factors.

The report advised that there were 294 drowning deaths in 2020/21 months across Australia’s coastline, inland waterways and pools (including 136 drowning deaths at Australian beaches) while also advising on a 150% increase in beach rescues.

NRL clubs to receive up to $7 million in funding in COVID-19 Relief Package The NRL will distribute a total of $7 million in COVID-19 relief finance to clubs to make up for lost revenue through game relocations and the resultant lack of home ground income.

With the NRL’s season impacted by lockdowns, loss of ground income and relocations, each club will be paid around $100,000 for every home game lost either to relocation or to matches being played without crowds.

In Sydney, the NRL last played in front of fans in late June, while Queensland clubs were impacted by the loss of almost two weekends without spectators.

As a result, the end of the 2021 season has seen the NRL incur an additional $30 million in expenses as well as another $30 million in lost revenue due to relocations.

90% of aquatic facility owners, operators and staff heading towards becoming fully vaccinated Royal Life Saving Society - Australia (RLSSA) has revealed the result of a poll that it has undertaken on COVID-19 vaccination within the national aquatic industry, which shows: •90% of aquatic facility owners, operators and staff are either fully vaccinated or in the process of becoming fully vaccinated.

•74% of aquatic facility owners, operators and staff expect their colleagues to be vaccinated.

•62% of aquatic facility owners, operators and staff believe governments, not businesses, should mandate vaccines for staff.

The survey follows how the aquatic industry and swim schools should manage COVID-19 vaccinations having been a hot topic during a recent RLSSA webinar.

Design concept for the Busselton Performing Arts and Convention Centre.

City of Busselton to move forward with performing arts and convention centre plan Busselton City Council has voted to proceed with its plans to develop a $38 million performing arts and convention centre venue.

Despite a recent community survey that showed a majority of responding residents would prefer not to go ahead with the project, Councillors voted seven to two to accept a tender for the development.

Attracting a $10.35 million Federal Government grant, costs estimates for the project have added $10 million more than what was budgeted for in the City of Busselton’s long term financial plan, and could see the council borrow $17 million if it is unable to secure additional funding.

10 Australasian Leisure Management Issue 146

Family launches multi-million-dollar lawsuit following 2019 Daintree zip line fatality The family of the man who died after falling from an allegedly faulty zip line attraction in Far North Queensland in October 2019 has launched a multi-milliondollar lawsuit against parties responsible for Promotional image for the Jungle Surfing Canopy Tour the attraction.

Adelaide man Dean Sanderson, aged 50, died after suffering massive head trauma after falling from the Jungle Surfing Canopy Tours zip line apparatus in the Daintree rainforest.

Tasmania’s MONA mandates staff vaccinations, reveals expansion plans Hobart’s Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) has announced that COVID-19 vaccination will be mandatory for all staff.

Founder and owner David Walsh advised staff in early September that some of them “might think we are trampling on their rights, but the one right they think we are restricting doesn’t exist”.

His communication added “our staff don’t have the right to trample on the rights of their colleagues.”

MONA reopened on Boxing Day last year after shutting its doors for nine months due to the pandemic.

Western Australian Government announces Aventuur as preferred developer of Perth surf park Global surf park developer and investor Aventuur, Inc. has been announced by the Western Australian Government as the preferred proponent to deliver an integrated surf park development in Perth.

Aventuur’s $80 million proposal was selected via a competitive bidding process undertaken by the Western Australian Government, with the involvement of departments and agencies across tourism, sport, lands, planning and transport.

Report shows challenges facing nature-based tourism

Ongoing lockdowns lead to permanent closure of Melbourne Star The operators of the Melbourne Star observation wheel have announced that it will close permanently as a result of the numerous lockdowns in Victoria and travel restrictions which made the business untenable.

Owners MB Star Properties have announced “unfortunately, the global COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent travel restrictions and sustained shutdowns, adding to pre-existing challenges of operating amid increased high-rise development and changes in the Docklands area, has made it impossible to sustain the business.”

The Melbourne Star launched in 2008 but closed a month later to rectify structural defects and did not reopen again until 2013.

Liquidators Grant Thornton will now decide whether to sell the observation wheel or dismantle it.

With COVID-19 having led to an abrupt halt in naturebased tourism activities around the world, marked by travel restrictions, lockdowns and closures of protected areas, a recently published report by the Luc Hoffmann Institute outlines the challenges facing the sector, making recommendations for future resilience and sustainability.

The Future of Nature-Based Tourism: A new report on the impacts of COVID-19 and paths to sustainability offers examples of pathways to sustainable recovery including virtual tours and creating new tourism products with lower rates for domestic visitors.

The research also emphasises the urgency of diversifying community livelihoods and conservation funding beyond the reliance on tourism including technical and financial assistance available in the form of grants, crowdsourcing and investment platforms.

Swimming Australia Board pledges to work towards National Integrity Framework The Swimming Australia Board has agreed to work towards adopting the National Integrity Framework (NIF), including the operation of an independent complaints handling process to be managed by Sport Integrity Australia.

Swimming Australia will now work collaboratively with Sport Integrity Australia on the finalisation of the NIF policies and procedures for swimming, the implementation and embedding of which will take some time.

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Australasian Leisure Management Issue 146 11

Arts Centre Melbourne campaign showcases the value of the performing arts to the community EXPANDED PROGRAM

A BOLD & SUSTAINABLE AGENDA Innovation, Growth and Future Investment Virtual, On-demand and In person

National Sports Convention moves to an online event The National Sports Convention has announced that their 2021 event scheduled for 9th-11th November will transition to a fivestream virtual conference and networking event.

The online event will offer a weekly conference program mix and aim to have an in-person industry networking and awards event as part of the National Sports Convention (NSC) Oration in early December.

Australian Swimming League launch event delayed due to COVID-19 The Australian Swimming League (ASL) have made the decision to delay its planned launch event scheduled for October due to the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, with the event now set to take place in early 2022.

The decision to push back the timing of this launch event was made with an abundance of caution to prioritise the health and safety of all involved plus provide clarity to officials and participants, considering the challenges associated with movement within Australia.

Victoria’s Warby-Ovens National Park earns IUCN recognition Warby-Ovens National Park near Wangaratta in Victoria’s north east, has become the first site in Victoria to be admitted to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Green List of Protected and Conserved Areas.

Located between the Victorian Alps and Murray Valley on Yorta Yorta Country, Warby-Ovens National Park protects three distinct landscapes - the granite hills and woodlands of the Warby Range, the Box-Ironbark Forest of Killawarra, and the River Red Gum forests and wetlands of the heritage-listed lower Ovens River.

Fitness Australia survey reveals NSW members against vaccine passports and staff vaccination A Fitness Australia survey of its members in NSW, has revealed that a majority of respondents are against mandatory vaccinations for gym staff and personal trainers while also not supporting members being vaccinated for access to facilities.

The results - contrary to moves by other industry sectors including aquatic facilities and swim schools, sport, tourism and venues - showed more than half of respondents against vaccinations and vaccine passports.

In response to two questions posed to its NSW members: Q1. Do you support mandated vaccination for all health club staff and personal trainers? Result: Yes: 44%, No: 56% Q2. Do you support mandated vaccination for all health club staff, personal trainers AND members (e.g. clients and ‘gymgoers’)? Result: Yes: 42%, No: 58% 12 Australasian Leisure Management Issue 146

Looking forward to its reopening as Victoria’s lockdown measures ease, the Arts Centre Melbourne has launched a new storytelling campaign showcasing the importance of the performing arts.

Together Experiences, an emotive series of short films created pre-COVID by Melbourne-based agency, Brands to life® shines a light on the unique and positive impact of the performing arts on the state’s diverse community.

The first three films focus on three individuals whose lives have been significantly impacted by the performing arts and Arts Centre Melbourne.

Queensland tourism industry to benefit from $70 million in joint Federal and State grants package The Federal and Queensland Governments have reached agreement to further target $70 million from the State and Federal Governments’ $600 million support package to boost support for tourism and hospitality businesses who continue to face significant hardship.

Under the agreed package, $30 million from the State and Federal Governments $600 million support package will be targeted at supporting Queensland’s major tourism attractions and $40 million will be used to provide a second round of grants to small, medium and large employing tourism and hospitality businesses across the state that received an initial grant from the Tourism and Hospitality Sector Hardship Program.

AALARA works through solution to insurance market challenges The Board of the Australian Amusement, Leisure and Recreation Association (AALARA) has advised that it is continuing “to work through the challenges presented by the hard insurance market” and its efforts to establish a Discretionary Mutual Fund.

In a new communication with stakeholders, the AALARA Board advises “we met early July with Aon, Bruce Billson (Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman) and his team.

“The purpose of the meeting was to introduce the Aon team, review the scope of work and establish the requirements for ASBFEO review.”

Australian live entertainment groups call for federal insurance guarantee Live Performance Australia, the Live Entertainment Industry Forum, the Australia Festival Association (AFA) and Phonographic Performance Company of Australia (PPCA) have joined together to renew calls for the Australian Government to provide a federal insurance guarantee to the live performance sector.

Renewing demands first made last year, the live entertainment groups’ new call follow the introduction by the UK Government of Live Events Reinsurance Scheme - a partnership between the UK Government and Lloyd’s of London insurers, which puts in place policies issued by commercial insurers to live events which include festival and business events as they are open to the public.

New Zealand Court rules Ticket Rocket founder Matt Davey must pay $3.85 million to bankers Matthew Davey, owner of liquidated New Zealand ticketing company Fortress Information Systems, has been ordered to pay more than $3.85 million to the Bank of New Zealand following a judgement by the High Court in Christchurch.

Fortress Information Systems - which traded as Ticket Rocket and which provided ticketing services used by Super Rugby franchises, performing arts companies and theatres - was placed in liquidation in October last year. Companies linked to Ticket Rocket, formerly known as TicketDirect, were put into receivership in August 2020.

At the time, Fortress Information Systems owed the Hurricanes and Crusaders Super Rugby franchises $186,000 and $155,000 respectively.

Revised Australian Standard provides detail on safety requirements for artificial climbing structures Standards Australia has advised that its standard for artificial climbing structures has been revised, with the new AS 2316.1 series providing greater detail for the safety requirements and test methods for artificial climbing walls and challenge courses.

The revision separates the original standard into three parts, covering belayed climbing and abseiling structures, bouldering structures, and climbing holds.

Once a niche activity, sport climbing in Australia is growing fast in popularity, spanning from professional indoor and outdoor climbers to corporate team building days.

1000 Play Streets launched to increase children’s outdoor activity and play National advocacy organisation Play Australia has launched its ‘1000 Play Streets’ movement - aimed at creating one thousand play-friendly streets for children across Australia by 2025.

Funded through Sport Australia’s Move It AUSParticipation grant, the project aims to reconnect communities and encourage outdoor play as COVID-19 restrictions ease across the country.

It follows research that just one in three children engage in daily free play outdoors. Furthermore, the Australian Psychological Society revealed a third of people don’t see or speak to their neighbours on a regular basis.

Jetts Fitness and Fitness Playground named among best places to work in Australia Fitness operators, the Fitness Playground and Jetts Fitness, have been named among the best places to work in Australia by business management consultancy WRK+.

The Fitness and Lifestyle Group owned Jetts Fitness was named 13th among businesses with over 100 employees while Fitness Playground was listed at 14th in the businesses with under 100 employees category by the WRK+ survey.

The award citation for Fitness Playground, which operates six sites in Sydney advised “Fitness Playground continually looks for ways to improve their employee experience.

“Senior managers spend at least one day per week in each club, with the Managing Director sitting down with approximately 20 frontline employees per week.”

Fernwood Fitness launches new Fusion studio brand Leading women’s fitness group Fernwood Fitness has launched a new wellness concept, Fernwood Fusion.

Occupying a much smaller footprint than traditional Fernwood Fitness gyms, with each studio operating in a 200 to 300 metre² space, the Fusion concept is focused on a womenonly boutique offering classes in reformer Pilates, mat Pilates, specialised yoga, barre and meditation, as well as Fernwood’s Empower programs and backed by expert instructors.

Cedar Mill Group acquires Hunter Valley site and plans for 22,000-person outdoor concert venue Winarch Capital’s newly-formed Cedar Mill Group - a strategic and property development firm based in Newcastle - has acquired one of the Hunter Valley wine region’s most premium development sites with plans for a tourist and vineyard hub, 100-bed hotel, wine museum and 22,000 person concert venue, expected to open in 2023 at a cost of $107 million.

It follows the previously Artist impression of proposed Cedar Mill Hunter Valley announced $235 million development redevelopment of Morisset Golf Course, to be known as Cedar Mill Lake Macquarie, with plans for a 30,000 person concert venue, cafes and restaurants, accommodation and Australia’s largest aquatic play park.

ASF report says community sports clubs facing uncertain future and financial strife A newly released survey of Australia’s 70,000 community sport clubs has found almost all have lost money with thousands facing the risk of going under as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic.

Released by the Australian Sports Foundation (ASF), the ‘Impact of COVID-19 on Community Sport’ study, charts how the ongoing COVID-19 crisis is taking a serious toll on community sports clubs and organisations across the country.

The survey, which collected 833 responses from clubs, organisations and associations covering 94 different sports, found 83% of respondents reported their earnings were down by an average of $18,500 per annum with 13% fearing they would have to cease operating.

Australasian Leisure Management Issue 146 13

Calls for AFL fans to be banned from matches if they don’t have a COVID-19 vaccine

ASM Global appointed as managing operator for Middle East venues

Tony Shepherd, Chairman of AFL team GWS Giants and Venues NSW, has called for unvaccinated fans to be banned from AFL games.

Repeating comments he made last month about unvaccinated fans not being allowed into stadiums, Shepherd said he has been encouraging Giants players and officials to get inoculated.

Shepherd (pictured) stated “I’m a firm believer in vaccinations being required for people to attend events.

“Whether that be at restaurants, bars, sporting events, hospitality or getting on planes or going overseas.”

ASM Global, has been appointed as the managing operator for two venues in Saudi Arabia - the 20,000-seat Jeddah Arena and the International Convention Centre Jeddah (ICC Jeddah) - set to open in December 2025 as part of the Jeddah Airport City megacity district project.

The international entertainment company has also been appointed as managing operator of the Bahrain International Exhibition and Convention Centre.

The project is set to complete construction in 2022 and will mark the launch of the region’s largest exhibition and convention centre on a total site area of 309,000 metre².

Australian Regional Tourism critical of government piecemeal response to COVID Australian Regional Tourism has criticised the piecemeal response to COVID restrictions - pleading with Federal and State Governments to provide effective leadership.

Regional areas across the country are at risk of not only huge economic losses, but Australian Regional Tourism warns recovery for many is no more than a pipe dream.

The industry previously worth $138 billion and attributing to one in 12 jobs nationally, and closer to one in six jobs in some regions, has been hardest hit by the COVID downturn.

Wollongong trials artificial intelligence to survey how recreational spaces are shared A smart video trial conducted by Telstra in collaboration with Wollongong City Council will use artificial intelligence to understand how the community use the area along Wollongong’s ‘Blue Mile’ – a popular exercising and recreational strip.

The trial will use cameras as smart sensors, artificial intelligence and ‘edge computing’ devices to survey how pedestrians and cyclists share the space at the tramway cutting on the Blue Mile.

Boutique Boxing Concept to launch in Australia Boutique Fitness Studios has announced that Rumble, a boutique boxing concept founded in New York City in 2017, will launch in Australia with the first 10 studio locations signed across Sydney, Melbourne and Queensland.

The concept offers a 45 minute, 10-round, fullbody cardio and strength workout crafted around specially designed waterfilled, teardrop-style boxing bags. Central to the Rumble’s core values and brand experience, first-timers ‘glove up’ next to amateur fighters and classes are beginner-friendly so members can Rumble at their own pace.

Rumble is the third brand to join Boutique Fitness Studios’ existing portfolio of premium fitness brands which includes CycleBar and StretchLab. 14 Australasian Leisure Management Issue 146

Bankwest Stadium gains new naming rights as part of CommBank investment in Western Sydney The Western Sydney Stadium, for which Bankwest has held the naming rights since its opening in 2019, has been rebranded as CommBank Stadium.

The new naming rights deal comes as part of a package of support for Western Sydney announced by CommBank to help small business recovery in a region hardest hit by COVID-19 lockdowns.

With Bankwest operated as a division of the CommBank, the new multiyear partnership with Venues NSW for the Western Sydney Stadium - home of the Parramatta Eels and Western Sydney Wanderers - extends the original seven-year naming-rights by a further two years.

Merlin Entertainments ‘confident’ about future despite US$878 million loss in 2020 Global attractions operator Merlin Entertainments has said it is “confident” about the future despite a pre-tax loss of US$878 million in the year the pandemic struck.

Releasing its 2020 accounts, the UK-based business said it welcomed 22 million visitors to its attractions last year despite the lengthy closure of many sites but advised that like-for-like revenue fell 64.2% from the previous year, to US$851 million.

Merlin is the world’s second biggest operator of visitor attractions, with brands including Legoland parks, Madame Tussauds and SEA LIFE centres.

Victoria’s Zoos to be powered by 100% renewable energy Funding from the Victorian Government has seen Victoria’s zoos become the first in mainland Australia to be powered by 100% renewable energy.

Victorian Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change, Lily D’Ambrosio advised that the milestone was made possible by the State Government having secured a power purchasing agreement for renewable energy.

Netball Australia aspires for the sport to be included in 2032 Brisbane Olympics Netball Australia, with the support of World Netball, has declared its aspirations for Netball to be played at the 2032 Olympic Games in Brisbane.

Netball has been a Commonwealth Games sport since 1998 - with the Diamonds currently ranked number 1 in the world among the nation’s most successful sporting teams.

Y NSW calls on NSW Government to support the survival of community sport, aquatics and recreation The YMCA NSW (the Y NSW) is urging the NSW Government to play fair and support the community sport, aquatics and recreation sector, and has advised NSW Treasury of the adverse economic impact of the extended lockdown to the sector and the devastating long-term cost to public health.

The not-for-profit organisation, which manages 22 leisure centres and pools across NSW, said the sector has slipped through the cracks of the NSW Government’s most recent $5.1 billion industry support package and is frustrated to continually be forgotten.

Victorian Government to establish new sports innovation centre In support of Victoria’s growing sports technology sector, the State Government is investing $4 million towards the establishment of an Australian Sports Innovation Centre for Excellence in Cremorne.

More than 7,500 people are currently employed in Victoria’s sports technology sector in companies developing products in areas like media, artificial intelligence, entertainment, stadiums, major events, wearables and e-sports.

The new centre will support the creation of up to 2,000 tech jobs in four years by fast-tracking commercialisation of new products, and attracting national and international partnership opportunities for Victoria’s growing sports technology sector.

The centre will be led by the Australian Sports Technologies Network (ASTN), the nation’s lead industry body for sports tech and innovation.

Stepz Fitness urges Australians to prioritise activity and health Stepz Fitness has launched a post-lockdown spring campaign that helps Australians get back to the gym, develop a routine, and be affordable.

Taking account the toll that lockdowns have had and are having on exercise routine and that people have stopped using the gym, the campaign hopes to help all Australians get back their health and fitness routine.

The campaign, for a limited time, sees Stepz Fitness offer a range of benefits on all memberships, including: No Joining Fee; one free personal training session, ‘first two weeks free’; complimentary body scan and no minimum term contract.

Guidelines released to enhance gymnastics facility development across Australia Guidelines have been released by Gymnastics Australia aimed at supporting gymnastics clubs and other stakeholders with the delivery, improvement, and enhancement of gymnastics facilities across Australia.

The National Facilities Guidelines detail Gymnastics Australia’s recommendations and preferred standards for facilities and provide gymnastics clubs with the tools to allow them to scope, design and deliver sustainable, inclusive, and successful gymnastics facilities.

Carlile Swimming mandates vaccination for staff

Lockdowns force VMA to cancel 2021 Venue Management School The Board of the Venue Management Association (Asia and Pacific) [VMA] have made the “difficult decision” to cancel the 2021 Venue Management School and Leadership Institute scheduled for November.

In coming to the decision to cancel the program for a second year, VMA Chair Leighton Wood noted “unfortunately, given the current COVID - related restrictions affecting many parts of Australia and New Zealand, we have reached the conclusion that delivering this year’s School is no longer viable.”

The VMA will soon announce an alternative short form program offered during the traditional School week in November, to keep current and potential students engaged.

Carlile Swimming has introduced a mandatory vaccination policy for all teaching and customer facing staff, becoming the first learn to swim provider in Australia to do so.

Carlile has more than 450 staff across nine pools, normally providing more than 20,000 swimming lessons a week.

Carlile Swimming General Manager, Jon Harker advises “we’ve done it because it’s the right thing to do. It’s what our families would expect from us. We have a duty of care to everyone who comes into our swim centres. Vaccines reduce the impact of the virus and its rate of transmission.”

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Australasian Leisure Management Issue 146 15

Your Opportunity To Be Part Of The Next Big Tourism Destination World Village presents Australia’s most unique tourism destination. Old Sydney Town Tourism Precinct is seeking investment and operator interest.

Contact us for more information.

Expected forecast of over 1.5 million people per year

One hour drive from Sydney on NSW’s sought after Central Coast

Overall project size of 120 hectares

The overall project consists of various tourism sub-projects, offering diversity in experience, ensuring repeat visitation and continued relevance.

Combining a wide range of tourism uses and experiences from theme parks to shopping outlets and botanical gardens to theme hotels, the redevelopment of the Old Sydney Town precinct will create Australia’s first and largest comprehensive multicultural tourism destination. With an opportunity for investors and operators of entertainment, cultural and creative attractions, the project serves to leverage the established location and visitor base whilst creating a new outlet for revenue, employment and tourism growth.

The area, which is located at the Gosford exit of the Pacific Highway, boasts easy access to the Sydney CBD and features 120 hectares of stunning, high priority land.

The development of the tourism destination will be an integral part of the Central Coast Regional Plan 2036 and feature a broad range of tourism elements, bringing an abundance of people to the area both domestically and internationally.

Home to Sydney’s famous Australian Reptile Park, which will continue to operate as it currently attracts upwards of 300,000 visitors annually, the proposal of fourteen tourist sites forecasts visitation soaring in excess of one and a half million people per year. Further to this, the scale of the development will create significant employment opportunities and economic benefits to the region.

From operators of local attractions to equipment manufacturers and designers, World Village is currently seeking expressions of interest from people of all entertainment backgrounds to take part in an unprecedented opportunity for investment within the Australian tourism industry. Enquire now with World Village.

Combining 14 unique tourism elements, creating a new destination for Australia’s Cultural Tourism Industry: 1 Theme Park Super Lot

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The 120 hectare World Culture Tourism Village site and its planned usage: 1. Theme Park Super Lot, 2. The Australian Reptile Park, 3. Community Outdoor Spaces, 4. Destination Shopping Outlets, 5. Theme Hotel and Function Centres, 6. Cultural Industry Quarter and Museums, 7. Eco Adventure Zones, 8. Botanical Gardens and Cafes, 9. Global Immersive Short Stay District, 10. Water Shows and Recreation Area, 11. Wave Park, 12. Potential Residential Development, 13. Eco Leisure Tourism Area and 14. Eco Conservation Area.

A new type of Tourism Precinct A reimagining of land including the Australian Reptile Park site is proposing to deliver a landmark tourism precinct

T

he owners of a 120 hectare parcel of land on the NSW Central Coast that encompasses the former Old Sydney Town attraction have lodged plans to transform the site into Australia’s first comprehensive tourism industry precinct, combining a wide

range of cultural tourism, recreation and entertainment experiences.

World Culture Tourism Village (WCTV), which purchased the site in 2018, is furthering their vision for the site which would combine 14 tourism elements and could reuse parts of the Old Sydney

The Australian Reptile Park (and below right) is the Central Coast’s premier tourist destination.

18 Australasian Leisure Management Issue 146

Town while also potentially expanding the Australian Reptile Park, the region’s premier tourist destination attracting some 300,000 visitors annually.

Just over an hour’s drive from central Sydney, and located at the Gosford exit of the Pacific Highway, Somersby and with the Brisbane Water National Park on its western boundary, the area is a high priority for re-development as identified in the Central Coast Regional Plan 2036.

The Sydney-based consortium is currently seeking a rezoning for parts of the site - currently zoned as E4: environmental living - as well as Expressions of Interest from operators and investors who want to be part of stage one of the precinct’s redevelopment as well as its later phases.

Covering around 20% of the site, proposals for the first stage include an artificial surf wave attraction, local agricultural-based food and beverage outlets, artist workshops and studios, short-stay accommodation, an Aboriginal Cultural Centre recognising the Indigenous caretakers of the Central Coast and extended car parking facilities for the Australian Reptile Park.

The WCTV executive team have advised that the consortium’s plans for

the site aim to provide employment, recreation and tourism opportunities for the region into the future.

A WCTV spokesperson stated “when we purchased the site, to our knowledge we were the only prospective buyer who considered redevelopment from a tourism perspective, as we had a strong vision for its tourism potential.

“Our vision is not to deliver a single large attraction like a theme park but to create a unique tourism hub bringing together a range of leisure-time experiences.”

WCTV advise “given the relatively limited size and spread out nature of Australia’s population we see the site operating as a hub - with multiple different attractions. Whilst we plan to cater to the local community and Central Coast population, we envisage the majority of visitation will travel from the Sydney catchment.”

With the concept having grown to 14 potential elements, including the reuse of parts of Old Sydney Town, WCTV will provide the framework and infrastructure for operators and investors to develop specific parts of the site, and advise there may be flexibility to adjust the plan according to investor needs.

WCTV believe the location and business model will drive success, saying “we will benefit from the location, with the site’s proximity to Sydney and the Australian Reptile Park being an established attraction, our precinctbased business model and the diversified elements will attract visitors year-round.”

Beyond its development, WCTV will also create a domestic tourism operating vehicle, and is potentially looking for another partner for this venture.

Plans for later stages of this cultural, entertainment and tourism precinct unique in Australia, will see the reuse of the former Old Sydney Town site as a cultural theme park, reusing some of the former heritage attraction’s original buildings as the hub of a key attraction, along with a performing arts area, entertainment and attractions, retail and exhibition facilities, further food and beverage outlets, waterbased activities, a hotel and shortstay accommodation and residential development.

The total site includes the former Old Sydney Town (approximately 11 hectares) - which operated on the site between 1975 and 2003, before closing after many years of financial losses; the Australian Reptile Park (5.4 hectares), which operates on a long lease, as well as over 100 hectares of land that wraps around both sites and is currently vacant.

WCTV undertook a community

A wave park is envisaged as one of the site’s first new attractions. Indicative image only.

The long closed Old Sydney Town.

engagement program in early 2019 and is continuing to work through plans with a wide range of stakeholders for the project.

Engaging with local communities and businesses will see stage one include a creative corner with artist workshops and studios, the sale of local agricultural products and ‘paddock to plate’ outlets and other showcases for local products.

Envisaging both global and domestic investment interest, the WCTV consortium has “a proud and extensive history in delivering worldclass projects around the globe, including; resorts, hotels, office buildings, industrial parks and boutique residential developments.”

As for the consortium’s vision, they say “the reimagining and redevelopment of this site represents a compelling and unique opportunity for the Central Coast, with significant investment, major new employment opportunities and delivering a major boost to the social and economic infrastructure for the region.

“Importantly, the current proposal seeks to not only maintain but also improve the Australian Reptile Park to create a unique Australian learning and recreational centre with improved

amenities, conservation and tourism experiences.”

WCTV is hopeful that it will receive planning approval in the coming months with initial projects to get underway in 2022.

For more information 1800 954 226, E: business@wctv.com.au

Australasian Leisure Management Issue 146 19

Concept for the Alba Thermal Springs and Spa.

No Dip in Sight for emerging Bathing Industry With self-care and reconnecting with nature becoming the focus for many, Victoria is leading the surge in Australia’s geothermal spa tourism.

Gwen Luscombe looks at the growing trend and support for wellness and bathing tourism and why Victoria is leading the way his year, on World Bathing Day (22nd June), Alba Thermal Springs & Spa announced their winter 2022 public opening T on the Victorian Mornington Peninsula to offer contemporary bathing experiences and spa treatments. The expansive 15-hectare space is set to offer a wide selection of indoor, open-air, and outdoor treatment rooms and bathing pools.

Alba General Manager Craig Dodd explains “we’re excited to be creating a luxury spa and thermal bathing destination on the Mornington Peninsula.

Peninsula Hot Springs.

20 Australasian Leisure Management Issue 146

“The Peninsula is the ideal location - close to Melbourne for people wanting to take time out of their schedule, leave their phone at home and recalibrate. The Peninsula also has plenty to offer people wanting to stay a little longer and immerse themselves in its natural beauty.”

Partnering with architects Hayball and landscape architects Mala Studio, Alba Thermal Springs & Spa has committed to respecting the natural environment with low-impact development offering luxurious spa and bathing experiences, some of which can be booked privately. In addition to thermal springs, exclusive spa, health and wellness treatments will also be part of the offering.

Alba Thermal Springs & Spa is just one of a cluster of new bathing facilities slated for Victoria over the next few years. After a year when so many have experienced lengthy lockdown periods, increased awareness of mental health and wellbeing and a rise in regional tourism, Victoria has become the epicentre of investment in new offerings in the wellness tourism and bathing niche.

Also on the Mornington Peninsula, Peninsula Hot Springs recently underwent a $13 million expansion inclusive of additional pools, a ‘fire and ice experience’, a new cafe, private igloo-style retreats and a luxury glamping experience for the half-million plus bathers it hosts annually.

It’s all part of a growing trend of wellness tourism says Matt Sykes, author of a blueprint for the emerging hot springs and bathing tourism strategy in Victoria, The Victorian Bathing Trail.

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Sense of Self (and below right).

Deep Blue Hot Springs Warrnambool.

Sykes says Australia is well-placed to champion a world-class wellness and bathing industry, particularly with its availability of quality bathing experiences diverse migrant cultures with traditional bathing customs.

Sykes is also spearheading the development of a Hot Springs and Bathing Tourism Strategy as part of a broader nature-based, wellness tourism plan.

He says that Victoria, in particular, is leading the way in Australian hot springs tourism illustrated by several new establishments slated to open over the next few years in Victoria alone, from Metung Hot Springs in the east to 12 Apostles Hot Springs in the west. Add in upcoming facilities such as Geelong’s Mineral Springs, Eden Anglesea, East Gippsland’s Nunduk Spa Retreat and Phillip Island’s Saltwater Springs and the trend is clear.

Sykes comments “through the support of the Victorian Tourism Industry Council’s Lynette Bergin Fellowship I had the privilege to study remarkable bathing cultures; from the onsen of Japan to the saunas of Finland.”

In 2019, he visited Japan to research the avid hot springs culture before moving on to Iceland, Finland, Norway, Sweden and Denmark to discover a huge variety of hot spring tour packages inclusive of whale watching and bathing to hiking and hot springs packages.

Sykes adds “it became clear that back in Victoria, investing in the hot springs industry could create extensive flow-on benefits to the broader nature-based tourism industry.”

And the growth isn’t solely dedicated to the regional areas.

Late last year, an inner-city bathhouse and wellness space, Sense of Self opened in Melbourne’s inner north suburb of Collingwood centering around a large mineral bath set at 39 degrees and a Finnish sauna. Guests can also relax and retreat to the courtyard for a cool down.

Unlike existing bathhouses in Hepburn Springs and Mornington Peninsula, Sense of Self doesn’t require a day (or overnight) trip outside the city. Remaining open until 9 pm on weeknights and offering multi-passes similar to a fitness

centre, it makes visits after work on an average Tuesday as easy as going to the gym, changing the concept of bathing as an indulgence.

Sykes notes “importantly, all of the aforementioned Victorian geothermal projects demonstrate a strong commitment to environmentally sustainable design. This shared philosophy is core to the branding and marketing of the bathing trail.

“It has potential to inspire the restoration of vast terrestrial, aquatic and marine environments between and around the trail.”

It’s a concept that’s already proven successful in destinations such as the United States with the celebrated Colorado Historic Hot Springs Loop.

Sykes says Victoria benefits from the strong leadership in the industry, committed to pioneering the concept such as Charles Davidson of Peninsula Hot Springs and Gene Seabrook of Deep Blue Hotel & Hot Springs. With the additional support of the tourism industry including Visit Victoria and Tourism Australia, it could all be effectively and most importantly, successfully coordinated.

Gwen Luscombe is Director of the Ideas Library and a frequent contributor to Australasian Leisure Management on tourism, business events, technology and hospitality.

Peninsula Hot Springs (below) and concept for the Alba Thermal Springs and Spa (right).

22 Australasian Leisure Management Issue 146

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Increasingly regional centres are investing in indoor facilities to ensure the community can engage in aquatic activity year-round. Concept commissioned by Dubbo Regional Council.

Creating the ideal regional aquatic facility Warren and Mahoney’s Daryl Maguire shares the guiding principles his practice has defined to create the ideal aquatic centre to meet current and future needs of regional areas

A

s sports are at the heart of any regional community, the immersion in water is one of life’s truly lovely leisure activities.

Having worked on more than 30 large aquatic and sporting projects around the Pacific Rim over the last few decades, Warren and Mahoney has spent some time coming up with a sound approach for how to meet the aquatic needs of inland communities where, for many, an aquatic centre is their only water-based leisure experience.

As Warren and Mahoney Senior Associate, Tom Vandenberg explains “what we’ve found with regional aquatic facilities is that they were often built with that idea of replicating the natural water source - a lake or an ocean.

“The existing facilities are often all outdoors, uncovered and while they provide a slice of summer where there is no beach or foreshore, they are typically only used for six to eight months of the year. It gets pretty cold inland in winter.

“Compare this to the builds of centres in metropolitan cities, where there are often multiple options for indoor training or leisure 12 months of the year.

“So, we’ve spent quite a bit of time coming up with a strategy that can extend the usage of these regional facilities and, thereby, enhancing the role an aquatic centre can play as a social hub for those communities all year round.

“We’re often tasked with upgrading or building new structures 24 Australasian Leisure Management Issue 146

that will support comfortable temperatures for people wanting to swim outside daylight hours - such as Learn to Swim before school or competitive swimmer training.

“On top of the Learn to Swim and competitive swimming opportunities these facilities provide, we believe regional centres need and deserve an enhancement in the usage and range of play activities available to them and we’ve used six guiding principles of design to achieve this.”

Our six guiding principles to create the ideal aquatic facility for inland regions: 1. Sustainability and Energy Efficiency It is essential that any new facility is designed with strong sustainability outcomes embedded.

Adding any new indoor component to an existing sporting or aquatic facility will naturally require more energy resources and must also work in conjunction with the existing outdoor facilities.

Planning needs to centre around the latest in environmentally sustainable design (ESD) principles including ‘open balance’ mechanical design, heat pumps for both water and air and 300kW of photovoltaic cells on the roof to provide solar energy resource.

This should be complemented by the adoption of a low carbon timber structure – using principles like Mass Timber and CLT – and the careful consideration of how to maximise daylighting through the orientation of external windows and overhead glazing.

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The ideal regional aquatic centre has a welcoming entrance and streetscape that is consistent with the identity of the community. Concept commissioned by Dubbo Regional Council.

2. Streetscape Any new leisure centre should work in a complementary fashion to the existing local streetscape and environment.

A facility of this scale requires a strong, clear entrance and generous public forecourt that can contribute to a strong civic environment and can represent the people of a region.

It should bear an impressive façade with a welcoming and dynamic form that provides an inviting and active arrival experience for the community.

3. Community Connections Ultimately, the ideal regional aquatic centre should provide an opportunity to create a strong sense of pride while delivering on the environmental and operational imperatives for simple planning and functional efficiency.

The design should adopt forms and materials that are familiar to the residents and create a strong sense of identity and connection to people and place.

A new facility can connect to the community by being open and transparent, putting ‘sport on display’ and encouraging the widest possible participation with both recreational and competitive users.

A strong rhythm of forms and the use of natural materials adds to a sense of ‘belonging’ of the centre within the local landscape.

4. Internal Interconnectivity By visually connecting the different activity areas internally – whether they are aquatic, gyms or other sports facilities, the ideal centre will provide opportunities for different user groups

to connect, thereby allowing ‘cross-fertilisation’ through visual connection and observation.

For example, by visually connecting an aquatics hall with the fitness and wellness components using open glass structures and centralised wayfinding points, it is possible to engage the widest group of users within an interconnected facility.

5. Efficient Design and Construction By setting out logical structural grids, using prefabricated modular construction and minimising unnecessary architectural complexity it is possible to deliver a cost effective and efficient building without compromising architectural quality.

Vandenberg notes “our approach is to always prioritise ‘quality over complexity’ - reducing unnecessary complexity in order to achieve a high calibre design result for the community.”

6. Great Now, Better Later He goes on to say “we believe architecture must make way for the constantly changing variety of activities within.

“Excellent sports buildings get better with time. While immediate success is a core project requirement, improvement with age is a higher ambition that demands the consideration of the effects of use and occupancy.

“Great community recreation and aquatic centres need to withstand heavy use while enabling adaption and expansion to cater for changing demographics and community needs, without interrupting ongoing operations.”

Daryl Maguire is Studio Principal at Warren and Mahoney Architects.

Making the most of natural light will ensure indoor buildings are more energy efficient. Concept commissioned by Dubbo Regional Council.

26 Australasian Leisure Management Issue 146

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Entr-Prises wall from The Highgate Group.

The Crux bouldering gym in Coburg North (top) and Flow Climbing on the Sunshine Coast.

Sport climbing set for rapid ascent James Croll examines the status of sport climbing in Australia following the success of the Tokyo Olympics and the impact on the sport’s venues, product development and growth

O

f the five sports that made their debut at the Tokyo Olympics, it was sport climbing that probably had the most impact. Apart from the drama of the competition itself, the sport provided a wonderful spectacle with blaring music and strobe lights accompanied by a backdrop of a massive 20 metre high Gundam anime robot.

The event’s triathlon-style format, where climbers needed to perform in each of the three disciplines - speed, boulder, and lead climbing - initially drew some criticism but, as it was, the format packed in a lot of entertainment and finally showcased one of the fastest growing sports to the world.

Leading up to the Olympics, organisers had been encouraged by the growing number of indoor climbing gyms and a surge in the sport’s popularity. The 2019 Oscar winning documentary ‘Free Solo’ about Alex Honnold’s exhilarating climb up El Capitan in Yosemite National Park in the USA had also undoubtedly provided a wonderful pre-curser to the event.

Sport climbing’s triathlon format at the Olympics meant that each athlete was obliged to participate in all three of the sport’s disciplines - speed, boulder, and lead climbing. In speed climbing, two athletes compete against each other by racing to the top of a 15-metre wall while secured to safety ropes. Bouldering involved climbers - without safety ropes individually trying to negotiate as many routes as they can on a 4-metre-high wall within four minutes. In lead climbing athletes sought to climb as high as they can up a 15-metre-high wall

28 Australasian Leisure Management Issue 146

within six minutes, again using safety ropes.

Commenting on the format, Rob Parer of Brisbane-based ICP Climb, one of Australia’s leading specialists in climbing wall design, construction and safety, advised “the Tokyo 2020 format no doubt would have unsettled a number of athletes at first.

“While it was not the most conventional format it did manage to pack in a lot of entertainment and did certainly showcase our sport to the world. I do believe athletes will welcome a revised format in Paris 2024 when they will split up the disciplines.”

Considering the implications of the discipline’s success in Tokyo 2020 for the sport in Australia, Parer comments “our Australian athletes really did shine on the Olympic stage and have brought back a wealth of knowledge which will not only help prepare for the Paris Olympics but knowledge that will prove invaluable to Australia’s future Olympic climbers.

“What’s more, at ICP Climb we have already seen several climbing centres reach out to us wanting to grow their facilities.

They’ve realised the need to upgrade to provide world-class walls, holds and safety matting for their local athletes so that they can become comfortable with international products and competition route setting.

“That said, to see a strong gain in performance we need the support of government to build some world-class training facilities and back our climbing athletes like many of the European countries do.”

Todd Austin of the Highgate Group, one of Australia’s leading

Climbing wall at Arcadia College on the Gold Coast. Equipped by ICP.

Clip ‘n Climb from The Highgate Group.

designers and manufacturers of climbing walls, not just to the recreational and professional sector, but to the Australian Defence Force, agrees.

Austin notes “climbing in Australia is in its infancy (and) in all honesty, there are no competition grade speed walls or other competition facilities in the country at all and any serious climber has to train overseas. It would be great to see government support to assist our athletes.”

However, Austin is encouraged by the noticeable growth of the sport at grassroots level particularly in schools, stating “we’re not only experiencing a significant increase in demand to design and install walls at schools but a rise in demand from boutique climbing venues looking to accommodate teens by way of far more imaginative and creative environments.

“Kids and teachers are realising that climbing isn’t just a test of strength and agility, but a fabulous test of problem solving.

This is particularly relevant when it comes to bouldering as the discipline calls upon the climbers technical and tactical expertise as they try to negotiate the routes in as little time as possible. Few other sports can compete with climbing in providing a combined physical and mental challenge. What’s more, it’s apparent that teens aren’t just wanting to experience the stimulation of climbing itself but are wanting to experience it in an exciting and social environment.”

as they design and manufacture a range of highly diverse walls.

Austin notes “at Highgate we can design climbing walls from simple plywood construction through to fully modular fibreglass ‘real rock’ surfaces.

“We’re the exclusive Australian distributor for Entre-Prises climbing systems which is proving particularly popular in recent years with 6,000 climbing wall projects across Europe, the US and China.”

Highgate supplies and installs two of Entre-Prises climbing systems to the Australian market - the Freeform Sculptured Rock and Mozaik Striking Designs. The Freeform Sculptured Rock-climbing wall is particularly striking; it is 100% hand formed; custom made climbing wall which recreates the look of natural rock. It is flat with high density handhold locations and Highgate can recreate any rock formation, feature or style of climbing.

However, the Clip ‘n Climb concept is probably the most exciting concept for the youth market.

Austin adds “Clip ‘n Climb is the most exciting new concept in indoor climbing to have emerged in the past decade.

“It is stunningly visual and has been designed to be actionpacked with individually themed climbing challenges for everyone from primary school kids to ‘recycled’ kids. It was developed to encourage non-climbers to give it a go in a safe but fun environment. Conventional indoor climbing gyms are great for the experienced and technically minded climber but not always as appealing to the non-climbers, especially young ones. By creating an arena full of colourful and clearly different climbing challenges it encourages non-climbers to give it a go. It is incredibly popular with families, friends, schools, youth groups, sport teams, work socials and corporates alike.

There is also no minimum or maximum age. Participants are encouraged to test their resolve and determination while climbing commando style on the Jungle Gym, reach new heights on the Skyscraper, take the Speed Climbing challenge or light up the board on the Checkerplate. There’s even an ultimate challenge - the Leap of Faith.”

In a similar vein, the recently opened The Flow bouldering gym at Forest Glen on the Sunshine Coast is already welcoming a range of first-time climbers in addition to its more adventurous climbers.

Developed and built over the past three years, General Manager James Hembury and his partner and Operations Manager Angel Freeman developed the facility having climbed and worked in gyms all over the world.

Henbury explained “we wanted to bring what we found in various places around the world to the Sunshine Coast and that’s why we’ve made The Flow.

“There are over 50 problems to suit all abilities, from highly experienced climbers to first-timers.

“Every angle and every feature have been checked carefully

Action-packed and visually stunning The Highgate Group is ideally positioned to satisfy that demand Entr-Prises’ Mozaik from The Highgate Group.

30 Australasian Leisure Management Issue 146

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“It was a real pleasure having a larger space to develop the project. It allowed us to use ICP’s high-quality walls and boulder matting to their full potential by building grand, flowing angles. It also gives more room for socialising, chilling out, and a yoga area.

“The daylight streaming in through skylights in the roof was also a big plus. It helps to make it feel lighter and brighter inside, giving the indoor environment a natural connection with the outdoors while really showing off the space.”

Route setting by members of the ICP team.

to give climbing space with the best holds available which are regularly updated by an experienced team of route setters.

“Our unique walls and experienced climbing coaches can help everyone climb better and upskill faster.”

Hembury said climbing incorporated a mental and physical challenge and that was no different inside the flow building, adding “each problem and every route you see on the wall is crafted so it requires you to figure out the problem, to solve it mentally and then to use your body to actually get through the route. Ultimately, we’re trying to make a space and a vibe where people can come and hang out regardless of whether they climb. Right now, it feels as if everybody involved knows somebody that climbs so we’re hoping to bring everyone together to make a proper climbing community.”

Explaining how the company equipped The Flow, ICP Climb Head of Design, Silvia Febres stated “the inspiration for Flow originally came from a bamboo farm - rows of bamboo flowing across a field, with shoots popping up out of nowhere.

Innovation from Walltopia (and right).

32 Australasian Leisure Management Issue 146

Safety The rise in popularity of climbing has of course led to an increased focus on safety. As a result, leading international climbing wall and active entertainment equipment manufacturer Walltopia has released a flooring guide for climbing and active entertainment facilities.

A perfect example of how valuable safety flooring is can be seen in the guide’s advice on flooring for indoor bouldering where it is mandatory in most parts of the world to put some impactabsorbing material underneath the artificial climbing structure.

The purpose of the impact-absorbing flooring for bouldering is to be able to accommodate landings to minimise injuries. The flooring solution can be an air cushion, shingle, or foam safety mat. Bouldering being the discipline where falling is a part of the sport, it is safe to say that these options are perfectly valid for high wall climbing and active entertainment facilities as well.

The most popular choice are foam safety mats. Simply put, a foam safety mat is several layers of foam encapsulated together in a fabric bag (PVC coated, polyester fabric, carpet, ballistic nylon, etc.). Customers can choose between ‘vinyl,’ ‘carpet,’ and ‘ballistic nylon.’ ‘Vinyl’ has been the most popular material of choice because of its elasticity and tensile strength but since it is hard to clean and does not hold the chalk, many users prefer ‘carpet.’ In fact, the best quality and results are achieved when using ‘vinyl’ and ‘carpet’ together since ‘carpet’ on its own can be brittle and exhibit inelastic deformation.

Dr Bozhidar Oreshkov, Head of Research and Development for Climbmat - one of the top manufacturers of flooring solutions for climbing gyms and active entertainment facilities - advises “all of our products are on the lower half of the deceleration (impact force) range, allowed by the European and Australian standards. However, to some climbers, even our softest mats could feel hard. Thus, alongside quantifying the forces experienced by climbers and minimising the possibility for injuries, we advise our customers to educate all climbers on proper ways of falling on boulder mats, to further minimise the chances for injury.”

James Croll looks after Client and Partner Relationships for Australasian Leisure Management.

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Australia hosts a tennis grand slam tournament, Formula 1 and MotoGP series tour events, and will host its third Olympics in 2032, the nation certainly achieves a sporting pedigree that belies its population.

For comparison, Australia is similar in population size to Taiwan or Romania, yet with a far more advanced sport market. Whereas Taiwan’s professional sport market featured 21 teams in 2019, Australia featured 120 teams across its seven largest commercial sport leagues.

It is this breadth of passion across sports that, I argue, positions Australia as the most distinctive sport marketplace in the world.

While an abundance of sport content has been a boon for the purchasing power of sport fans, it has contributed to a cut-throat competitive intensity within the Australian sport sector for the hearts and wallets of consumers. This intensity, particularly in the context of the hyper-competitive football landscape, is

the core focus of my recently published book: Code War$: The Battle for Fans, Dollars and Survival. Although our football codes have been entrenched in competition for over a century, the onset of COVID-19 has coincided with broader industry challenges and transformation.

Accordingly, the 2020’s may represent the most profound period of industry development since the onset of sport sector’s hyper-commercialisation during the 1970s.

Our modern football landscape: chance or fate?

What differentiates Australia from more typical sport settings is not only that we have multiple football codes, but that their respective popularity remains so heavily geographic-centric. The Australian Football League (AFL) retains an average 89% share of Google search volume across the four football leagues across southern states, while the National Rugby League (NRL) achieves an equivalent 63% search volume share in northern states. By contrast, North America’s National Football League (NFL) is the most searched league among the National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball and National Hockey League in every state of the USA, including regions without a local NFL team. Such Google search data also reveals the AFL’s generational success in northern expansion, as compared to the NRL’s laissez faire approach to expansion. Whereas the AFL achieves a 31% share of search in northern markets, the NRL achieves just 7% in southern states.

Despite the ingrained dominance of particular codes within particular regions, history reveals that many tantalising ‘what if’ scenarios have shaped our modern football landscape.

For instance, West Australia’s inaugural football code from 1881 was in fact rugby union. Rugby held ground for three seasons, until overthrown by Australian rules advocates. The now all-powerful West Australian Football Association (WAFA) was the last Australian rules state association to form, doing so on the 8th May 1885. So too in Brisbane does the current day passion for rugby, in particular the league variety, conceal that the state’s first football club was aligned to Melbourne rules. Melbourne

The Wallabies line up.

AFL action between Richmond and Geelong.

Optus Stadium during the 2021 AFL Grand Final.

Football’s survivors and thrivers Dr Hunter Fujak explains the state of Australia’s Code Wars

I

f we take a broad view of the global sport marketplace, it is uncontroversial to state that football (soccer) is the most culturally dominant sport in most domestic settings. It is rather uncommon for soccer not to be a nation’s favourite sport, and even less common for a nation to prefer another form of football over soccer. However, Australia sits alone as a sole outlier, as the only nation where four football codes operate at a commercial level, and soccer is not a clear favourite.

When one further considers that

34 Australasian Leisure Management Issue 146

Australia’s national football teams are well positioned for fan engagement following Tokyo 2020.

rules were in fact dominant for much of the period from Queensland football’s commencement in 1866 until 1886.

Queensland only became a rugby state after the NSWRU (rugby union) successfully undermined the NSWFA (Australian rules) to secure exclusive interstate tour matches in 1882, which proved to be rugby’s catalyst in Queensland.

Perhaps the most interesting football history resides in Tasmania, the ramifications of which persist today by virtue of the state’s exclusion from the AFL competition. Tasmania did not settle on a particular football code until 1879, prior to which it was rugby and soccer that were played. It was agreed that during the 1879 season each of the three codes would be played in rotation, to give participants an adequate chance to compare them. Following this, a vote was to be held to determine which code to adopt. Victorian rules won the ballot by just a single vote, allowing the code to become the ingrained preference of Tasmania thereafter. Organised rugby would only re-emerge 50 years later in 1933 with the formation of the Launceston Rugby Club. Given the current tensions that surround the pathway to a local AFL team, many locals may no doubt wonder whether the state’s loyalty to Australian rules has been adequately rewarded since this fateful vote.

Australia’s crowded sport marketplace Australia’s moniker as a ‘sport mad’ nation is indeed validated by empirical research, with approximately 80% of Australians self-identifying as sport fans, and 65% of Australians as supporters of at least one football code. Among football fans, approximately half solely support one code and the other half support multiple codes. Perhaps of greatest insight, however, is how divergent Australia’s northern and southern states are in terms of the structure of football fandom within their populations. Whereas approximately a third of the population in Melbourne, Adelaide or Perth are exclusively interested in Australian rules, only 14% of Sydney and Brisbane residents are exclusively interested in rugby league. Correspondingly, Sydney has the highest proportion of football fans who support two (18%), three (8%), or all four codes (5%). Therefore, while Melbourne has long been positioned as Australia’s ‘sports capital’, Sydney may well be Australia’s sport-diverse capital.

Fandom data confirms that AFL’s success in the code war has largely stemmed from its ability to maintain a cultural iron grip in southern markets, not matched by the rugby codes in northern markets nor soccer’s diminished but evenly distributed national popularity.

If one were to walk into a sports bar in Melbourne, Adelaide or Tasmania, approximately 80% of attendees would be interested in AFL and more than half the pub solely interested in AFL to the exclusion of all other football codes.

This cultural dominance has translated into a financial dominance. When the AFL’s independent commission was established in the mid-1980s, the AFL had total net assets of only $3 million and many of its clubs were teetering upon financial collapse. Approaching 40 years later, the AFL derived as much central revenue as the combined total of the NRL, Football Australia and Rugby Australia for period 2012 to 2019.

Can Australia continue to sustain so much football?

While Australia has long been understood to be a competitive sport market, the football codes have largely operated in equilibrium over the long span of history.

Key to their co-existence has been the steady escalation in the overall value of media rights, which has benefited all four codes, albeit asymmetrically. Alarmingly however, the financial gap between our codes appears to be growing in not just absolute but also relative terms. In rugby union’s second year of professionalism, their revenue ($21 million) was a quarter to that of the AFL’s ($85 million). By 2019, Rugby Australia’s revenue ($112 million) was only 14% that of the AFL’s

36 Australasian Leisure Management Issue 146

Fremantle Dockers fans (above) and NRL action between Cronulla and the Cowboys (below left).

($794 million). In 2020, the Richmond Tigers generated more revenue as a single AFL club than Rugby Australia did as a national sporting association, for the first time in the professional era.

Despite the onset of COVID-19 ravaging the ability of sport clubs and leagues to generate revenue, our football landscape appears intent on growing rather than shrinking. The confirmation of an imminent 18 team AFLW will see the Australian rules season start deeper in summer, resulting in an Australian rules calendar that is eleven months long. The NRLW too has been expanded, allowing rugby league to continue into November for 2021 at least. Where previously the Australian sport calendar divided neatly between discrete summer and winter seasons, the modern sport calendar is hence undoubtedly cluttered. In the process, sport consumer attention is increasingly fragmenting across a growing abundance of viewing alternatives, further facilitated by falling production costs that has seen more semi and nonprofessional sport content broadcast on a growing number of platforms. Although the competitive tension created from new digital media platforms may continue to fund our football codes, when it comes to the pursuit of the hearts and minds of Australian sport fans, the code wars have perhaps never been as intense as is the case today.

Dr Hunter Fujak is a Lecturer in Sports Management at Deakin University.

His research focus includes sport consumer behaviour and broadcasting, and has previously consulted across audience and sponsorship for Australasia’s largest sporting leagues, events and brands. His recently published book, Code Wars - The Battle for Fans, Dollars and Survival, provides a cutting-edge analysis of the past, present and future of the Australian commercial sport landscape.

Code Wars is published by Fair Play Publishing, and is available from bookstores and direct from the publisher.

For details contact 02 7229 4889, E: sales@fairplaypublishing.com.au

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Attractions at Ocean Park’s new Water World. Credit: Ocean Park.

Ocean Park Hong Kong opens new Water World waterpark cean Park has officially opened its new HK$4 billion (US$500 million) O Water World water park, with guests now able to enjoy the new aquatic theme park which includes 27 attractions in five themed zones.

Imaginatively squeezed into Ocean Park’s hilly location, the 55,740 metre² waterpark features both indoor and outdoor aquatic attractions - including an infinity pool, lazy rivers, dynamic water slides, a surf rider, and Hong Kong’s firstever indoor wave pool - allowing year round operations.

First announced in 2013 with an anticipated 2017 opening, the eagerly awaited attraction received its official opening last month, officiated by Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, Chief Executive of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region along with a range of dignitaries and stakeholders.

Speaking at the ceremony, Ocean Park Corporation Chairman, Lau Mingwai stated “the opening of Water World means a lot to Ocean Park as it marks the first step in our transformation into a world-class resort for discovery, learning and fun. It also marks a milestone for the ‘Invigorating Island South’ initiative, where we are playing a key role in bringing new elements and new economic driving forces to the Southern District.

“Everyone has been longing for the opening of Water World Ocean Park to enjoy some new experiences in Hong Kong. It is now here and ready to excite our senses in a new, fun and adventurous setting.”

Water World Ocean Park’s key attractions include Splendid Reef, an expansive open area overlooking the South China Sea; the Torrential River

waterslides; Thrill Valley, with extreme slides and freefall experiences; and Adventure Coast, a relaxing zone offering food and beverage outlets.

Nearly twice the size of the site’s old water park, which closed in 1999, it also includes Hong Kong’s first-ever indoor wave pool, Horizon Cove.

In initial operations, visitor numbers to Water World will be capped at 4,500 - half of the waterpark’s maximum capacity because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

COVID-19 vaccinations for visitors will be encouraged but are not compulsory, with patrons required to wear masks when they are not on rides or attractions.

Entry fees for the Water World are from HK$320 (US$41) for adults and HK$225 (US$29) for children during the initial opening period.

Subsequent prices will not be fixed, but will be dynamically priced according to “seasonal factors” and weekends and weekdays.

Initial interest in attendance has been significant with Lau noting “we are thrilled to see strong support from the local community with the overwhelming ticket sales that started last month.”

The opening of Water World marks the start of Ocean Park’s revamp, with Lau noting that the waterpark will be the first key project of the theme park’s revamp.

The Hong Kong Government recently agreed to Ocean Park’s HK$6.8 billion (US$876 million) makeover plans which involve relaunching the destination as an adventure-themed resort.

Ocean Park subsequently issued an invitation to bidders to join the first round of the tender process for the overhaul plans, seeking potential partners for the venture.

In July, Ocean Park appointed Ivan Wong Chi-fai as its new Chief Executive, replacing interim postholder Joe Wong Chi-cho.

Nigel Benton.

Progressing its plans to co-develop its site, Ocean Park issued an invitation to bidders to join the first round of the tender process for its HK$6.8 billion ($876 million) overhaul plans.

Seeking potential partners to turn the attraction into an adventure-themed resort through a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) model, this formally starts the two-phase procurement process for the implementation of Ocean Park’s future strategy, beginning with the current Pre-Qualification Stage and to be followed by a Tender Stage in late 2021 or early 2022.

For more information go to www.oceanpark.com.hk/en/oceanpark-future-strategy

40 Australasian Leisure Management Issue 146

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Pimpama Sports Hub, Queensland Destined to be an iconic hub for aquatic leisure and social community on the northern Gold Coast, the Pimpama Sports Hub will feature a wide range of educational and recreational programs, with its aquatic components facilitated by Swimplex’s array of state-of-the-art Myrtha swimming pools.

These include a premier 10 lane, 50m Olympic standard pool and a luxurious 25m heated indoor pool. Swimplex will also be providing a learn-to-swim pool and splash pad, complete with slides and a giant bucket of water.

Polin Waterparks’ transparent looping rocket waterslide.

A Time Like No Other

Parramatta Aquatic and Leisure Centre, NSW This landmark 40,000 metre², $88.6 million aquatic centre will feature Swimplex’s most popular Myrtha pools including 50m and 25m pools, a learn-to-swim pool and a lush spa to provide the facility with a therapeutic and relaxing area.

Filtration plants to all pools will also be provided by Swimplex.

The construction of the facility has been described by City of Parramatta Lord Mayor Bob Dwyer as an “historic moment”.

Oz Ikiz explains how, despite the challenges of the last year, Swimplex Aquatics has never been busier

W

hile much of the world may have slowed its working pace during the Coronavirus pandemic, at nationallyrecognised commercial aquatics industry leader Swimplex we have been busy working on exciting projects across Australia and in New Zealand.

Renowned for our well-loved splash pads and water slides, Swimplex has been working non-stop to uplift some of Australia’s favourite aquatic facilities with new innovations with highlights including Myrtha learn-to-swim pools to educate young children along with New Zealand’s first trapdoor hydroslide.

42 Australasian Leisure Management Issue 146

St Catherine’s Waverley, NSW Swimplex is working closely with St Catherine’s School to redesign their swimming facilities (including demolition of outdated structures) by installing an indoor 25m pool and learnto-swim pool on the school grounds.

These two pools - complete with filtration and powerful heating - have been designed to enhance the school’s already comprehensive swimming, diving and water polo programs.

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

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Brimbank Aquatic and Wellness Centre, Victoria Replacing the recently-demolished St Albans Leisure Centre, Brimbank City Council’s new $60 million Brimbank Aquatic and Wellness Centre, located in the Melbourne suburb of Keilor Downs, will feature a 50m, 10 lane indoor pool, leisure water/ learn-to-swim program pool, a warm water program pool with adjoining spas, water play unit and splash pad, a wellness centre and 24 hour gym.

Set to be Australia’s first zero emissions aquatic centre, perhaps the most exciting new addition to this upcoming facility are the twin watersides from Swimplex/Polin Waterparks Australia/NZ. Two aquatube slides will entertain and dazzle riders as they plunge down the 12m platform height, to race along the 176m slide length.

Christchurch Metro Sports Facility, New Zealand The Metro Sports Facility is one of the cornerstone projects of the post 2011 earthquake rebuilding of central Christchurch, with the facility set to be the largest of its kind in New Zealand.

In addition to the facility using Myrtha technology for its pools, the joint venture of Swimplex/Polin Waterparks Australia/NZ will install five impressive and innovative hydroslides (the term for waterslides in New Zealand).

These will include New Zealand’s first ever trapdoor water slide, the 12.6m Looping Rocket.

Manufactured by Swimplex/Polin Waterparks Australia/NZ the Looping Rocket will see riders start their experience by standing on a trapdoor, which will then open and plunge them down a sheer drop reaching blinding speeds of up to 40km/h.

The Looping Rocket will serve as the salient show-stopper for the Metro Sports Facility, drawing thrillseekers, swimmers and families from all across New Zealand to experience its fun and exciting drop.

Alongside this impressive hydroslide, Swimplex will manufacture four more slides for the Christchurch CBD facility including the ‘Sphere Slide’ - with back and forth movement inside of a sphere which causes exciting disorientation and a thrilling raft ride for one or two riders and a 9m platform slide that features slower and more gradual turns.

The Sphere Slide will be one of the most distinctive looking slides at any waterpark or aquatic facility in Australasia.

The waterslides provided by Swimplex/Polin Waterparks Australia/NZ will also have cultural significance as well as practical value, being painted to resemble silver bellied eels.

Aroha Reriti-Crofts, Chair of the Matapopore Charitable Trust, which is overseeing the implementation of cultural values into the city’s anchor projects, explains that this will “develop a greater depth of understanding of the Ngai Tuahuriri/Ngai Tahu values, traditions and concepts within a contemporary urban environment.”

The cultural significance of the facility will bring the Ngai Tuahuriri/Ngai Tahu identity to life, as well as ensure the city of Christchruch and its indigenous heritage is recognisable on the world stage.

The $301 million Metro Sports Facility is scheduled to open early 2022.

44 Australasian Leisure Management Issue 146

Bay Pavilions (Batemans Bay Regional Aquatic Centre), NSW The brand new regional aquatic centre at Mackay Park, Batemans Bay, will replace an old and tired 50-metre outdoor pool with a modern indoor swimming centre. This new centre will feature multiple pools, gymnasium, cafe and recreational areas.

However, the heart of this new facility will be Swimplex’s fun aquatube slides - four in total. These slides will enhance the new Aquatic Centre with unforgettable thrills for all ages.

Swimplex Batemans Bay Project Perspective

Annagrove Aquatic Centre, NSW Swimplex is excited to be installing its educational and innovative learn-to-swim pool at a private aquatic centre in Sydney; providing children of all ages with a safe space to learn.

Mount Gambier Aquatic Centre, South Australia Swimplex is bringing its premier water feature - Splash Pad to Mount Gambier’s $40 million redevelopment of its aquatic centre.

Offering an explosion of colours built into twisting slides, water guns, adventure platforms and its iconic tipping bucket, the features will contribute to the enhanced multipurpose facility for the local community.

The Splash Pad, as well as all indoor facilities, will be designed with disability access while the redeveloped Myrtha Pools will keep the facility operational for swimming enthusiasts for decades to come.

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Aquatopia/Prairiewood Leisure Centre Wave Pool, NSW Swimplex is excited to be a part of the new 55 metre wave pool and design uplift of the Prairiewood Leisure Centre in Western Sydney.

Set to feature surfable breaking waves that can be enjoyed by families looking to experience the beach firsthand, as well as by surfers looking to improve their skills, the $12 million wave pool (which will make use of Ultrafine pool salt) is planned to be complimented by a tropical paradise: cabanas, palm trees and umbrellas.

Swimplex’s wave pool is designed to emulate the enjoyment of a visit to the beach, from the textured saltwater, to the crashing waves, giving families who may not live close to the coast an opportunity to enjoy the tremendous pleasure of beach life.

New Crookwell Swimming Pool, NSW Southern Tablelands We are also installing a 25m and learn-to-swim pool using Myrtha technology along with filtration plant for the Upper Lachlan Shire Council in the town of Crookwell.

The new pools will replace the town’s two ageing outdoor pools, one of which dates back to the 1950s, which are noncompliant with today’s safety and environmental standards.

The $5 million project contains a regular swimming pool, a heated pool and a toddler’s pool.

If you’re looking for experienced, qualified, and trusted experts for your next aquatic project, then there’s none better than Swimplex - trusted by the best in Australia.

Swimplex’s friendly and professional team is just a call away from bringing you the most exciting pools, slides and aquatic playgrounds in the industry.

Oz Ikiz is Sales and Marketing Manager for Swimplex Aquatics.

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Australasian Leisure Management Issue 146 45

Unlocking the Pandemic VLocker installation at Te Papa, Wellington (and below).

James Croll investigates some of the innovative solutions such as social distancing software and queue management developments that locker suppliers are introducing

L

ockers have always been fundamental to running an efficient leisure business - be it a fitness or aquatic centre, theme park or other attraction. Pre-COVID the focus was largely on storage, security, and ease of access in what has long been a multi-million- dollar sector of the leisure industry.

However, the last few months have seen a massive shift in focus; largely on compliance and managing the multitude of restrictions brought in by the pandemic. It’s a shift that has resulted in fascinating and innovative developments in locker concepts and products.

Social Distancing and Queue Management With social distancing becoming the new normal, one challenge manufacturers have faced is queue and visitor management. It’s a challenge that one manufacturer, VLocker has overcome by developing software that essentially enables visitors to pre-book

46 Australasian Leisure Management Issue 146

lockers prior to their arrival and then manages not only their initial locker allocation, but also their locker retrieval, ensuring guests remain separated sufficiently to be COVID compliant.

VLocker founder and Chief Executive, Alan Danson explains “social distancing meant that we had to adjust the way our lockers operate.

“Our software designers subsequently developed a new technique of locker rental which enabled customers to prebook lockers in advance via an app or through the facilities software management system, ensuring the guest peace of mind they had their security needs covered in advance.”

Another development by VLocker, ironically developed prior to the pandemic, has also enabled them to help manage social distancing - their innovative Patented Dual Door Ride Locker. The product has been recognised by the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) in its Best New Product Concept Brass Ring Awards.

Danson continues “the Dual Access Ride Locker was developed to provide a solution for guests needing to access short term locker space while riding the latest high intensity inverted rollercoasters and thrill rides.

“It is a mandatory requirement to provide ride lockers on inverted rides. Historically this has proved a major challenge when positioning the lockers close to an attraction, as it can cause congestion between the incoming and outgoing queue lines and certainly not acceptable in current times.”

The Dual Access Ride Locker however overcomes this by being positioned as close to ride embarkation as possible so that the number of lockers required only has to cater for a small number of ride cycles. A ‘wall’ of lockers is positioned between ride entrance and ride exit allowing access from one side when entering the ride and from the other side when exiting the ride.

Entrance and exit areas are completely separated by the locker ‘wall’ thus ensuring social distancing.

www.vlocker.com

VLocker Dual Access Ride Lockers “The ride lockers installed at Twisted Timbers have been a great addition to the overall operation of the ride.

The locker system adds a level of convenience for guests who want to take their cell phones into the queue while also providing a safe location to store their phones while riding Twisted Timbers.

Overall, the purchase and installation process went very smoothly and VLocker has been a great partner” Brian D. Rath Director, Park Operations Kings Dominion, VA

VLocker has solved the problem of providing guests short-term locker space while riding the latest rides and attractions for all ages.

Proud to be a member of the following associations

A unique A unique awardaward winningwinning patented patented queue line management locker s line management locker system.

Hygiene … Touch-less systems .. Contact tracing … and a nudge of the elbow In addition to social distancing, hygiene practises are more important now than ever before. The issue has seen another supplier, Metra Australia develop several solutions to provide a touch-less experience when using their lockers to cater for not only the leisure industry but for the corporate sector with end of trip facilities and office lockers.

Matt Hughes of Metra Australia advises “with a broader range of access control media used across the industries, our lockers can be integrated with membership management and security system software to facilitate touchless access through the use of the HID Mobile Access™ App on a mobile phone or smart watch, as well as via the MyMetraKey proprietary app, or even via facial recognition.

“The door automatically pops open and is easily closed with a nudge of the elbow.

“Our software also enables usage-based cleaning practices.

Apart from scheduled cleaning, cleaning crews are given full audit capabilities which enables them to manage cleaning schedules and, if required, provide contact tracing records.”

Metra have also recognised that tackling the pandemic is not just a software issue, with Hughes noting “our lockers are HighPressure Laminate (HPL).

“This not only ensures that they are robust, secure and damage resistant but that they are bacteria and corrosion resistant, and waterproof. A solid core also meanwhile prevents bacterial or fungal growth and reduces the risk of infection and contamination.”

Metra also house their POS terminals within solid grade The MyMetraKey proprietary app (above) and a Metra installation at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre.

48 Australasian Leisure Management Issue 146

laminate (HPL) locker compartments. These sealed compartments create a micro-environment for the POS/user interface terminals, which are ideal for housing such items.

The long-term durability of the lockers, as well as no battery requirements for the locks, means environmental sustainability is also addressed.

Yellowbox, a start-up launched by UNSW Business School graduates - Adrian Brossard, Vanessa Zhao, Ho Jun Tang and Ben Delaney - at the start of the pandemic is a new supplier that has been disrupting the locker sector. With a focus on seamless experience for both users and facility managers, their locker technology is modernising and optimising the short-term locker/storage experience. It has not only dramatically reduced the contact of users themselves but the facility managers as well since their smart lock technology replaces the previously installed mechanical locks that were causing constant issues for the facility management.

Brossard states “since equipping lockers at Coogee Beach, Maroubra Beach and the Des Renford Leisure Centre with our smart lock technology, lifeguards have essentially been relieved of their locker servicing roles, saving countless hours of servicing mechanical locks.

“The Yellowbox app allows users to find the closest locker through a live map with the ability to reserve lockers ahead of time and choose an appropriate size. Through Bluetooth, users can then simply tap the ‘open’ button which pops open the locker, removing the need for any card, keys, or bracelets.

If users then want to store their mobile phone, they can set a personalised four-digit code within the app, so they can later unlock their locker without their phone.”

Brossard goes on to explain that users are then able to retain that code for all their Yellowbox locker bookings, resulting in a simple three-tap booking process for consistent beachgoers. As a completely cashless system, users input their details and only pay for the time they use. The self-serve nature of the lockers and the 24/7 in-app support that Yellowbox provides, ensures onsite staff do not need to tend to the lockers. However, facility managers remain in control through a personalised Managers App and Dashboard allowing facility operators to open, monitor and disable lockers if needed.

A change in culture .. new target markets … and logistics It’s not just innovation and product development that COVID has impacted.

VLocker has seen a significant impact on demand from the US markets, where restrictions have been lifted and the population now travel extensively.

Danson notes “Asian markets which have predominantly kept their borders closed are down dramatically and are unlikely to return to pre COVID activity for some time while North America is very active. Indoor theme parks such as Urban Air are expanding significantly while volume within certain states like Hawaii continue to grow.

“We know that being adaptable, ready to address ever changing market needs quickly is key, change is ever more a constant, be prepared for tomorrow before it arrives.”

Five at Heart, who acquired Excel Lockers just prior to the arrival of the pandemic, have used the last 12 months as an opportunity to continue to refine the design of their locker range, from a functional perspective.

Five at Heart General Manager, Richard Reeves comments “there are a heap of smart locker players out there adding a lot of value to customers from a monitoring and integration perspective, but a critical and essential aspect is providing a functional space for the user. This is what we’re passionate about. Builders are always number focussed, which often leads to the user getting a locker that’s too small, or impractical for their requirements. Materiality is another important consideration for us, with ESG considerations and lead times being a focus for

The Five at Heart Pandora system.

many projects. Manufacturing in Brisbane and leaning heavily on Australian material suppliers has been a great help for the business recently, in addition to having a local presence for our customers to have a real conversation about lockers with.”

Some particularly popular products in the leisure space at the moment include the ‘Iron Maiden’, a state-of-the-art ironing board within the locker which is of course ideal, if not essential, for those travelling to work; and the ‘Maximus’, a two metre two-door locker with integrated bench seating for the user.

Reeves adds “paired with user focussed bike parking, Five at Heart provides a great option for businesses considering the needs of active transport users at their facility.”

On the manufacturing and development side, specialist locker suppliers Advanced Locker have adopted an interesting ethos for a number of years. They have strived to ensure that all their manufacturing and development remains in Australia.

It’s a stand that they now see as even more important as the pandemic continues.

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Ideal solution for Sport, Leisure & Aquatic Centres Electronic locking PIN access RFID options Cashless payments Member and casual Hire options

Touch-less solutions MyMetraKey Mobile App HID Mobile Access Member Management Software and API Integrations OUR RECENT SUCCESS STORIES Gunyama Park Aquatic and Recreation Centre Melbourne Sports & Aquatic Centre Yawa Aquatic Centre Ian Thorpe Aquatic Centre

www.metraaus.com.au 1300 638 722 sales@metraaus.com.au Australasian Leisure Management Issue 146 49

The Five at Heart Maximus system.

Advanced Locker installation.

Advanced Lockers’ Dean Burrows explains “we’ve always thought it important to base our manufacturing and development in Australia.

“Our hardware development including all locker cabinets and terminals as well as our design solutions are all based within Australia. It’s something we’re even more proud of now as the pandemic causes an increasing number of industries to look overseas to save costs. We made the decision to manufacture within Australia years ago to engineer out a lot of the typical manufacturing methods you see employed overseas which sees cheap labour and ineffective solutions thrown at problems.

“By working with Australia’s leading engineering specialists, we follow a manufacturing process that ensures everything is

crossed and dotted, is really robust and follows a strict Quality Management System. We are very focussed on locker cabinets being fit for purpose.

“For instance, sheet metal is chosen for longevity and strength/durability in a public environment. At the end of the day the solution is as good as the way it’s held together. If doors are essentially being held on with plastic and composite screw products like we’ve seen on the markets, how can our customers be confident their belongings are safe inside? How can parks be confident that cash within locker terminals is secure?

“We also feel the use of non-corrosive materials is essential.

We are building lockers for wet public environments. They have to last. There’s no magic solution for corrosion such as electronic rust prevention systems and powdercoat. Our solution has no mild steel in it whatsoever. We’re not in the game of seeing rusty cabinets within a year into a project nor do we want to see corroded and failing electronics/locks/computers.

Components also have to be waterproof, this includes cables, electronics, mounts, our earthing strategy etc. It needs to be safe for the public environments. If theme parks want to hose down a locker area, the solution must be able to take it.”

But it’s not just the ethical aspect that drives Advanced Locker focus on its manufacturing and design being based in Australia. There’s another somewhat alarming aspect.

Burrows concludes “we’ve realised for some time that not only Australia but the whole world is facing a critical issue with regards to manufacturing, supply and freight.

“It’s particularly worrying that a number of industries are looking short term and totally ignoring this. In some cases delivery times have blown out from weeks to months. As a result, we’ve focussed on risk purchases of our main components to manage lead times. This not only ensures that we can deliver on our pipeline this season but can give our customers absolute confidence.”

James Croll looks after Client and Partner Relationships for Australasian Leisure Management.

Metra installation at the City of Sydney’s new Gunyama Park Aquatic and Recreation Centre.

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Australian Designed, Developed and Built

Advanced Locker installations and the Advanced Locker team (below).

Advanced Locker’s collaboration with one of Australia’s leading engineering specialists in the defence and medical device sector has achieved their objective of delivering a ‘game-changing’ self-managing smart locker system

A

s Australia returned to work after the Christmas break in January 2020 Dean Burrows, founder and Director of Advanced Locker, had an issue that he was determined to solve that year. The company had achieved his goal of being one of the leading providers of lockers across Australasia’s leisure industry, but it had yet to achieve an objective he had in his sights when he first launched the company in 2012 - that being to break new ground and truly take the locker industry into the 21st century.

Burrows recalls “I had always been immensely proud of what we had achieved in eight years at Advanced Locker.

“But it troubled me that we hadn’t yet realised the full potential of what locker systems could deliver for park owners and venues; essentially a locker system that was a reliable, risk-free self-managing system. I knew the answer lay in the AI space.

I also knew that the answer probably lay outside our industry.”

Burrows was aware that the locker industry had for a long time had a stigma of being issue ridden. Venue owners had seen lockers as a “pain in the arse”; products that would inevitably break down and have issues that would create problems that proved time consuming and an immense frustration for staff.

His goal was to not only remove this stigma but to position lockers so that they became regarded as a significant asset across the industry.

The answer appeared one day in a chance meeting at a networking event.

Burrows was introduced to Dino Bravin and Aaron Maher, Directors at Procept, one of Australia’s leading engineering companies best known for designing and developing medical devices and smart technology for several leading brands in the medical device sector as well as several government departments including the Department of Defence.

Burrows advises “I was tremendously excited when Dino, Aaron and I connected.

“I’d known of Procept for a while and long admired their reputation but had never put two-and-two together and realised they could provide the solution to what we wanted to achieve at Advanced Locker. Within minutes of talking and explaining

52 Australasian Leisure Management Issue 146

our objectives I realised they had the capability to deliver the solution. Their hardware is world-class, they have impeccable ISO standards, and their software solutions enjoy a reputation of being ground-breaking and second to none. I knew if we worked together, we could develop a locker system that we could take to market both domestically and worldwide with absolute confidence.”

Burrows literally engaged Procept that week. His brief was straightforward. He wanted to deliver a robust, reliable, selfmanaging locker system to market that would not only be trouble free for venue and park owners but provide them with full auditing and reporting capabilities that would enable them to optimise the revenue they’d receive from their lockers.

Explaining that the first step of Procept’s engagement was a product review, Bravin notes “we needed to know from an engineering perspective what Advanced Locker were doing wrong and more importantly how it could be fixed.

“Once we had achieved this, we could then adapt and build on their existing product to meet Dean’s objectives. It was an exciting challenge for us and on completion we produced a detailed report – a roadmap – that would achieve Dean’s objectives. We were fully confident it would achieve his ‘set to forget’ objective for park and venue owners.”

On completion of the report, Burrows didn’t hesitate in fully engaging Procept, and the design and development journey started.

It was to take a full 10 months but was to result in some staggering results.

Advanced Locker launched the new range in July 2021, with Burrows convinced that the system is like no other on the market.

He states “Procept’s expertise has enabled us to launch a locker range the like of which the industry has never seen.

“It’s robust, self-managing and its auditing and reporting system enables venues to optimise locker revenue like never before. We’ve now been in the market for three months and surveys and feedback are way beyond our projections. The system has almost totally eradicated negative experiences of venue staff, introduced extra layers of redundancy, and the AI system has proved literally ground-breaking.”

Another intriguing aspect of the Advanced Locker AI system is that it not only monitors the system itself, but it sends comprehensive information back to the cloud.

Explaining that the Advanced Locker system was developed using QMS (Quality Management System) procedures and processes, Bravin noted “we wanted to ensure that everything was crossed and dotted and ensure that the venue was in control of the whole system. Overseas developers tend to work around processes so it’s wonderful seeing the growing trust and faith venue owners have in the Advanced Locker system.

“Essentially the engineering process has de-risked everything. Everything is accountable to itself, the doors, the screens, and other key components. Everything is done in a methodical structured way. The process has ensured that Advanced Locker has literally been able to put them in the field and ensure that they can be run from an iPhone. The sophisticated data also gives park owners a full audit trail and an analytics dashboard that enables them to run status reports as well as revenue reports.”

Advanced Lockers provides park teams with full system training on installation. Refresher training as well as a yearly update is also provided. The remote management also ensures that there is minimal need for manual intervention which is a massive relief for owners as well as their staff.

The system comes with some fascinating benefits. A content sensing device monitors what’s in the interior of the lockers and captures any discrepancies, such as items or rubbish being left behind when a locker should be clear. The system can sense anything as small as a credit card left behind in the locker and will not let the user end the rental or rehire the locker door. The system will then notify the venue.

Burrows concludes with an observation he hadn’t thought of at the start of the venture, commenting “a good experience to the beginning and conclusion of the day is absolutely vital to the whole visitor experience.

“The feedback we’ve been getting from Park owners is outstanding. I never thought I would ever hear of visitors commenting on how a locker of all things has enhanced their whole day at a park or a venue but it’s something we are proud of and we’re receiving feedback about time and time again.”

Advanced Locker can be contacted at: sales@advancedlocker.com or Chris Kenny on 0412 306 662.

James Croll was talking to Dean Burrows at Advanced Locker and Dino Bravin of Procept.

People

IN BRIEF

Richard Bayliss has joined the Australian Professional Leagues, operators of the top tier of domestic men’s, women’s and youth football in Australia, as its first Director of Content.

One of the leading administrators of drag racing in Australia, Peter Beaumont, has been appointed Chief Executive of the Willowbank Raceway.

World football governing body FIFA has announced that Dave Beeche has been appointed to oversee overall delivery of the Women’s World Cup 2023 in Australia and New Zealand.

City of Newcastle lifeguard Mick Body’s displays of courage, and professionalism have seen him secure an Australian Professional Ocean Lifeguard Association Meritorious Service Award, the highest accolade in the profession.

Basketball New Zealand has named Dillon Boucher as its next Chief Executive, taking over from Iain Potter.

Monique Dowling has been appointed Special Events Manager at Perth’s Optus Stadium.

Nicole Edsall has taken on the role of Senior Contract Manager - Aquatic Leisure Services for the City of Sydney.

Industry-leading playground and outdoor fitness equipment manufacture KOMPAN has named Justin Edwards as its new Managing Director for Australia.

Jonathan Fisher is the new Chief Executive at Tasmania’s Port Arthur Historic Site Management Authority.

Boxing Australia has appointment Dinah Glykidis as its new General Manager. Glykidis joins the NSO from Queensland Rugby League where she has worked since 2014.

Power Plate has appointed Clare Hozack as their latest Women’s Health Ambassador.

Basketball Australia has announced a new role for Hall of Famer Lauren Jackson where she will focus on the game’s women and girls strategy, aiming to deliver outcomes in gender equality. The body has also appointed Patrick Moloughney as its new Executive General Manager Commercial.

Blue Mountains Tourism has appointed Colleen Kanzora as its new Marketing Manager.

ASM Global has appointed Dr Debbie Kristiansen as General Manager of the new Bahrain International Exhibition and Convention Centre - which is set to be the largest venue of its kind in the Middle East when it opens in 2022.

The rapid expansion of specialist industry consultancy Fitness Business Sales has seen the appointment, just six months after launching, of Jason Laurence as a Senior Advisor.

Myzone has announced that fitness innovation and technology expert, Leon Rudge, is joining its team as Global Head of Product.

Visit Sunshine Coast has announced the appointment of Kelly Ryan - a highly experienced tourism marketer - to the role of Head of Marketing.

The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) has named New Zealander Katie Sadleir as its new Chief Executive.

Michael Scott, General Manager of Perth’s RAC Arena has been inducted into the Australian Hotels Association’s (WA) Hall of Fame.

Australian Taekwondo has appointed Bronwyn Slatter to its executive team as Communications Manager.

Fitness technology solutions company OneFitStop has named Stephanie Tucker as Global Chief Customer Officer.

John Weir, formerly Creative Director at Octagon Australia, has been recruited by the Gemba sport and entertainment consultancy to fill a new role as Creative Director in Sydney.

Sydney’s Powerhouse Museum has announced the appointment of Mark Wilsdon to the new role of Chief Operating Officer.

Australasian Leisure Management Issue 146 53

Enough Staff to go round?

Nigel Benton looks into the contradiction of the industry facing staff shortages and job losses

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mid the many uncertainties that almost every sector across the leisure industry has endured through the Coronavirus pandemic, with levels of vaccinations rising and prospects for borders and economies reopening, challenges relating to the industry’s workforce are starting to loom large.

While some pockets of the industry have fared well during the pandemic, most have struggled enormously, being forced to close, pivot, adapt and reopen then close again - looking to make the most of Federal and State government assistance packages to survive and maintain workers.

However, with the large numbers of predicted job losses when the Federal Government’s JobKeeper program ended in March appearing not to have occurred, with workers being stood down rather than made redundant during subsequent lockdowns.

Contrary to jobs being lost, an inability to fill job vacancies led to one of the abiding industry images of recent months - that of fans at Perth’s Optus Stadium for AFL semi-final between Geelong and the GWS Giants waiting in long queues times at food and beverage (F&B) concessions due to lack of staff.

This echoed what many regional tourism and hospitality operators had experienced following the first lockdowns of 2020, as the rise of in-state tourism activity stretched workforces.

54 Australasian Leisure Management Issue 146

Explaining the labour shortage facing the venue, Optus Stadium Chief Executive, Mike McKenna stated “we’ve had demand for people who normally work these jobs, casual workers throughout the hotels, restaurants, bars, and up and down the state and tourist locations, and we just don’t have enough people anymore.

“We’ve lost the backpackers and the overseas students who put in so many hours in these type of jobs.”

Stepping up recruitment for later games in the AFL finals series, operator VenuesLive has used recruitment websites and social media in its search for staff, offering free parking and meal incentives and a draw in which the winner will be flown to Melbourne and given tickets to next year’s AFL Grand Final.

It also pooled workers from other Perth venues, including staff from RAC Arena, and even local governments.

Peak national body the Australian Regional Tourism (ART) has gone on to call for Federal Government leadership to address the issue of skills and workforce shortages, which it says will be “the next crisis to hit the regions”.

ART says skills and workforce shortages across regional Australia will restrict business recovery as the easing of lockdown restrictions apply, and the rebuilding of what was once an industry worth $138 billion, attributing to one in 12 jobs nationally, and closer to one in six jobs in some regions.

ART Chair, Coralie Bell explained “the regional tourism industry has been calling on the Federal Government to address skills and workforce shortages in regions as a key National priority since 2017, warning that there will soon be a breaking point, we are furious that after so many years, we’re still having the same conversation.

“Regional Australia needs a National Framework to address skills and workforce shortages now. We have states reporting that some regions are expecting record numbers on the easing of COVID restrictions, while industry is reporting they can’t open their doors because they don’t have staff.

“Let me be very clear. Our industry is facing the largest national skills and workforce shortage in living memory. This is not new. This was true before COVID and it remains so now, more than ever.”

Swim teacher image courtesy of AUSTSWIM.

Another sector impacted is aquatics.

Earlier this year, Australian Swimming Coaches and Teachers Association (ASCTA) identified a massive shortage of swim teachers as putting young children at risk with swim schools across the country scrambling to find suitable staff and reporting long waiting lists for lessons as a result.

Estimating a need for at least 2000 swimming teachers across Australia and highlighting that extra training courses were being implemented, ASCTA Chief Executive, Brendon Ward stated “we lost a lot of swim teachers during COVID as pools were closed and many were ineligible for JobKeeper and sought alternative employment in other sectors.

“As a result, we are now seeing average waiting lists for swim lessons 20% higher than they were pre-COVID and many swim schools cannot even cater for their existing customer base.”

Even as aquatic facilities in Greater Sydney reopen for swimming lessons and squad training as of early October, with staff having been stood down or redeployed during the lockdown, reports have suggested that facilities may face staff shortages.

Advising that staff had moved into other industries that had been less impacted by COVID-19, Belgravia Leisure Area Manager - South West NSW, Scott Vanderheyden explained “in the last 17 months, the COVID closures and restrictions have meant that only 42 weeks of lessons out of a possible 70 weeks of swimming lessons were conducted. This has meant that swimming teachers have been unable to work for 40% of their time in the last 17 months.”

Associate Professor Richard Robinson of the University of Queensland Business School has been investigating the impact of COVID-19 on Queensland’s tourism workforce and developing a crisis resilience and recovery plan with the support of the Queensland Government.

Commenting on what he found, the UQ Business School researcher advised “tourism operators are really struggling to get workers in their regions due to the uncertainty of domestic and international border closures.”

Associate Professor Robinson said Tropical North Queensland operators had suffered the most with a loss of both international tourists and the international labour market, such as working holiday makers and that businesses in marine and Indigenous tourism were most impacted.

He went on to explain “the key concerns that came up in the consultations were mostly around job security, financial hardship, wellbeing and skilled labour shortages.

“We are working on strategies for recovery and resilience,

focused on three industry groups who experience the crisis differently - employees, businesses, and stakeholders - to support a staged recovery from COVID-19 impacts and develop workforce resilience.”

Financial supports like JobKeeper improved work opportunities and a strong sense of community helped boost workforce confidence in mid2020, but it has since declined again in 2021 due to continuous lockdowns and border closures.

Yet job losses continue with the Tourism and Transport Forum (TTF) predicting in August that more than 3,000 Tropical North Queensland tourism jobs are likely to be lost by Christmas - shrinking the tourism workforce to half its pre-pandemic size.

Commenting on this, Tourism Tropical North Queensland (TTNQ) Chief Executive, Mark Olsen explained “by July 2021, we had lost 3,600 permanent staff, even with the support of JobKeeper and a returning domestic market.

“The region grew its workforce across the entire supply chain ready for a busy winter, but now these new recruits, including more than 200 from the tourism industry, who have been in training for months are being told to find other work.

“Government needs to understand how significant this impact will be on our community where one in five jobs have depended on tourism.”

Advance Cairns Chief Executive, Paul Sparshott said the ability for the regional economy to recover would be greatly reduced if skilled staff were lost to the tourism and hospitality sector, noting “there will be far reaching ramifications. When tourism markets are severely impacted it flows through to other industries affecting the whole regional economy.”

Olsen went on to say “without customers, businesses do not have the turnover to keep their highly skilled staff, some of whom have received years of training in specialised areas to become the skippers, dive masters and jump masters that provide the region’s signature tourism experiences.

“Most businesses are running at less than 5% of their normal revenues … and most venues are on limited trading hours, while others have gone into hibernation.

“Consumers have lost confidence in booking travel interstate and far from home, with nearly 60% of Australian travellers unlikely to cross their state border according to new data from the Queensland Tourism Industry Council.

“With half of our domestic travel coming from interstate before lockdown, the closing of borders will continue to have a dramatic impact on our region.”

In the arts, as reported in the article ‘Boot up the Arts’ in last issue of Australasian Leisure Management, the loss of jobs and the exodus of skilled live performance workers into other parts of the economy will blight Australia’s culture sector for years.

Suggesting that the industry’s value proposition won’t bring staff back, particularly for highly skilled workers, Associate Professor Robinson of the University of Queensland Business School suggests that addressing the aspirations of its workforce is a major issue of the industry.

He suggests that the “leisure and tourism industry has traditionally talked about wanting ‘flexibility’ in its workforce but to workers flexibility is seen as representing insecurity and without serious dialogue this will continue.”

Nigel Benton is Publisher of Australasian Leisure Management.

Australasian Leisure Management Issue 146 55

Technology - the key to unlocking events

These figures don’t even take into account 2021 lockdowns and effects on the industry.

When events are allowed to return in Melbourne and Sydney, they will be closely monitored and held under the utmost scrutiny for COVIDSafe measures. It is likely that the rest of Australia will be held to the same standards as the borders open and the threat of COVID becomes more apparent. Tools such as digital ticketing can provide a safe-guard for events as it offers a number of COVIDSafe practices that can assist in the industry opening once again. There are many reasons why upgrading technology is beneficial, even without COVIDSafe requirements. It provides better digital security for purchases, it saves time, you can keep better track of payments and you can track who used their ticket, and at what time, so there is no double up or risk of fake tickets getting through.

The events industry is ready to open safely in Australia and do what is right to stay open in the safest way possible.

Our industry has been at the forefront of advocating for and implementing COVIDSafe requirements.

This includes COVIDSafe plans for events, strict contact tracing and QR code check-in requirements and the #VaxTheNation campaign.

We would all love to get back in a crowd, listen to our favourite music live, cheer for our favourite sports team or partake in a festival celebrating food and other specialities. The way to do this effectively and safely is to invest in technology and digital ticketing.

Alex Grant is Chief Executive of leading independent digital ticketing platform INTIX.

Alex Grant explains how digital ticketing can drive the revival of events

B

ecause they present the ‘perfect’ combination of increased movement and large gatherings of people in one place, events in Australia have been the first to go and will be the last to return amid the global COVID-19 pandemic.

As we begin to edge closer to a higher vaccination rate, and the possibility of a return to events, we can’t help but look to the northern hemisphere to learn from their approach to reopening.

What we have seen overseas is that the digital element to events is here to stay. Digital ticketing and smartphone ticket scanning are just some of the ways event organisers in the UK, Europe and the USA are using technology to ensure they are opening in a safe and effective way.

Digital ticketing caters to a safer event as it provides contactless ticket purchase and entry, fast and effective contact tracing and a way to manage patron density as per local restrictions. It is also inexpensive so can be used for events of all sizes.

Although some Australian states have been able to continue running events throughout most of this pandemic the Australian events industry continues to INTIX Chief Executive, Alex Grant be affected in a major way.

Prior to the 2021 lockdowns, live music activity was just 12% of pre-COVID levels.

According to the Live Industry Events Alliance #VaxTheNation campaign, two thirds of industry jobs (79,000) were gone by the end of 2020, plus $23.6 billion of economic output and $10.7 billion of added value also lost.

56 Australasian Leisure Management Issue 146

Leading entertainment promoters launch ‘Vax the Nation’ campaign More than 200 of Australia’s biggest artists and performers have joined with tour promoters, music festivals, venues, ticketing agencies, record labels, comedy producers, theatre and opera companies, streaming platforms, industry associations and peak bodies, to launch #VaxTheNation, a campaign urging Australians to get vaccinated in order to bring forward the restart of the live entertainment industry.

Advocating the need to “#VaxTheNation and stop the interruptions, a statement from the campaign advises “Australia, it’s time to get our live industry back on the road.

“Remember that incredible feeling of singing along to your favourite band in a crowd of thousands, arms around your mates under an open sky. Hearing an entire audience laugh alongside you at a sold-out comedy show. Feeling the passion at your local theatre, or getting lost in the beauty of a classical symphony performance?

“Australia’s $36.4 billion live entertainment industry is speaking out … let’s roll up our sleeves, get vaxxed and stop the interruptions.”

The campaign is an initiative of the newly formed LIVE (Live Industry Venues + Entertainment) Alliance, backed by promoters Frontier, Chugg Entertainment and Illusive Presents, that represents an industry that has been one of the hardest hit by lockdowns and border closures during the pandemic.

Making the most of insight ActiveXchange’s James Ellender explains how delivering insights to industry decision-makers will shape a more informed, connected and active industry

C

oined in 2006, the metaphor ‘data is the new oil’ and the 2011 inference that ‘information is the oil of the 21st century, and analytics is the combustion engine’ sings true amid the myriad of challenges to date in capitalising on ‘data’ throughout community aquatic, recreation and sport industry.

Ahead of what is likely to be a truly exciting decade, finishing with the Brisbane 2032 Olympics, if ‘data is the new oil’ can it be part of the step-change required to deliver the Australian Government’s bold vision for sport and ensure we are the ‘world’s most active and healthy nation known for its integrity and sporting success’?

Separating the metaphor, oil is consumed, but data is created. When oil is used it’s consumed once and permanently destroyed. Data, on the other hand, is created and does not have to be destroyed even after it’s used for analytics.

However, we continue to see this so-called ‘growth fuel’ locked away in silos, fragmented, unrefined and with relatively low value. Like oil, data is only valuable if it is in a usable form.

Just as crude oil is transformed into more useful products such as petroleum in oil refineries, raw data needs to be preprocessed before it can be used for analytics.

58 Australasian Leisure Management Issue 146

The popularity of the phrase, “data is the new oil” in Google searches.

Image source: Google Trends.

So where do we start with data?

In the information age, human action generates data every day and here are some industry examples: -When someone joins a gym, swimming program or sport, they are creating data.

-When someone brings a friend, they have created data that can be used to grow participation.

-When someone swipes their membership card or checks in for a game, they are creating data for a recommendation algorithm.

In recent years, ActiveXchange has taken the sector a long way in building trust, collaborations and partnerships by building a connected ecosystem (refinery) focussed on changing the game when it comes to using data to empower decision making, investment and reporting on outcomes using evidence (data) via its tech solution - ‘SportsEye’.

As the industry’s leading data technology platform, we are passionate because we have lived with the challenges in harnessing data across the sector and know the reality that data science is not a core skill, nor affordable, for the majority of organisations we partner with.

However, to stay ahead, leaders are becoming increasingly aware of the need to understand and master data related to their performance to positively influence stakeholders, requiring a shift beyond aggregating information, to actually analysing the insights and ‘so what next’ scenarios – efficiently, cost-effectively and importantly, consistently at scale.

Taking it one step further, ActiveXchange has built strong relationships with leading management system providers to ensure a smooth movement of data when required, taking the heavy lifting away from leisure operators and sports. This is a significant step towards changing the game and creating a true ecosystem through market insights.

How do we protect data?

Through local, state, federal and now international partnerships, ActiveXchange has been tackling some of the bigger issues around privacy and ethics that come into play when collecting data.

While data might be infinite, a significant amount of potentially useful data may be protected by privacy guidelines and laws.

Naturally, there are also ethical concerns that may occur when using data collected from customers.

This has largely been ActiveXchange’s role, pioneering an important way forward, investing in data infrastructure through our participation with the Federal Government’s AusIndustry Accelerator program, as well as overseeing the collection of quality data that is actually useful for a range of stakeholders who are equally charged with making more people, more active.

We know that our partners’ data (and the data of their partners, members and stakeholders) is important, and the security of it is paramount, and from the outset, we have implemented strict principles in the way we use and store the information shared with us.

Once concerns are overcome, trust grows, and collaboration evolves however, what is typically seen is the reality that data collected typically suffers from some of the following flaws: -The data contains inconsistent or inaccurate information.

-The data contains missing information.

-The data does not represent the population that it was intended to represent.

-The data is not in a form that is ready for predictive analytics.

As we look towards reaching an important milestone of onboarding 100 state sporting organisations by the end of 2021, we have spent a significant amount of time through our Chair, Martin Sheppard, listening to government, private, not for profit and peak bodies using SportsEye, and those who don’t, to ensure that we continue to progress.

Introducing ActiveXchange’s Expert Circles This recent work has culminated into the launch of ActiveXchange’s ‘Expert Circles’ via collaborative partnerships with over 30 leaders who have decided to proactively connect to SportsEye and unlock the potential of data.

According to Sheppard, “COVID-19 has shown us how both

Australasian Leisure Management Issue 146 59

Federal and State Governments have embraced the rationale that health evidence should ‘provide guidance on decision making’, whether that would be to lock down or open up! As many Premiers have said, this removes the political part of the decision making.

“As a society, we now have a greater understanding of the benefits of embracing the right data, exploring the insights this presents to then make the best decisions, whether that is for strategy and policy development or management decisions.

Within our sector, one of the key challenges has been the degree of confidence surrounding the data available. For years we have used the same data to ask different questions, many times without understanding enough about the data or the question.”

ActiveXchange has been working with leisure and sport, and more recently with a number of state governments and bodies, to capture the data that is available for supply and demand, retention, health and wellbeing and future needs. As the challenges have been highlighted, specific solutions have been delivered. Now though, key thought leaders have come together to resolve the thinking around additional challenges and which data should be used to answer them.

Four Industry ‘Expert Circles’ have been established to think about what we can do in the run-up to Brisbane 2032 and beyond: -How active or inactive is our community?

-What is the current participation in organised activities? (e.g. events, programs, activities or membership) -Where is the infrastructure needed to cope with the current and future demand?

-What is the social and community value of participation?

Each group has key thought leaders from all levels of government, sport, health, consultants, academia and data analysts, joined by ActiveXchange to consider key opportunities and gaps in data and knowledge.

Phil Reeves, Executive Chair of Active Queenslanders Industry Alliance (AQIA) joined after recently connecting with ActiveXchange as AQIA collectively build ‘Active QLD Eye’ alongside QSport, Outdoors Queensland and Fitness Australia thanks to the Department of Tourism, Innovation and Sports ACTIVE KIT grant program.

According to Reeves, “we’re looking forward to building on top of the significant experience ActiveXchange brings, to enable

60 Australasian Leisure Management Issue 146

collaboration with organisations, commercial operators and councils across Queensland to track, over time, our sector’s impact on Queenslanders who are insufficiently active and our ability to strengthen the capability of organisations within the industry.”

Mitchell Malone, Associate Director, Management Consulting & Economics at KPMG, notes “as a consultant in the industry, we have seen that everyone is tackling the inactivity challenge in various ways and to varying degrees of success across the country.

“It is a fantastic initiative to get these different voices from across the sector together on a regular basis to share insights and collectively confront these issues. A consistent and robust approach to physical activity data will accelerate the journey the sector is on regarding the measurement of the social and economic benefits of sport and recreation, and will benefit everybody.”

Kathy Parton, who sits on a number of national working groups and industry bodies, and is Chief Executive of Aquatics and Recreation Victoria (ARV), explains “I’m looking forward to participating in the Expert Circles to enable a national discussion, and response, on key industry issues including how we collectively create and strengthen our capability to enable a joined up, data driven approach to planning, investment and delivery across local government, community sport, leisure, aquatics and fitness to encourage more people to be physically active, more often and in more places.”

By understanding the key questions, the circles will identify how the data and knowledge needed to ‘close any gap’ on missing data sources can be solved.

Options may include further research, embracing current data by third parties, alignment of modelling to better inform the industry and investment in future work. With Sport Australia, various state departments of sport and recreation, as well as facility operators, academia and major event promoters, access to non-membership data, will be critical for future planning, decision making and strategy/policy development.

James Ellender is Chief Executive of ActiveXchange.

If industry members wish to be involved, they should contact Martin Sheppard, Chair of ActiveXchange at martin@activexchange.org.au.

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Time to combat Climate Change Dr Ken Marriott believes it’s time for leisure and recreation planners and providers to drive effective action on climate change Image courtesy 2021 Climate Council report: Rising to the challenge: addressing climate and security in our region.

I

t is now known with a high degree of certainty that climate change and the severe ravages of ‘weather change’ that this brings, will irreparably damage and change the world in less than the next 50 years. The 2018 United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicted potentially ‘catastrophic’ and long term impacts lasting ‘for centuries to millennia’ with the impacts projected to vary in intensity across different parts of the earth. Impacts include higher global temperatures, greater temperature extremes, increases in the frequency, intensity and amount of heavy rain, greater flooding, increases in the frequency and intensity of drought, sea level rises of 0.26 to 0.77 metres by 2100 (with rises to continue well beyond that year), species loss and extinction on land and in the oceans, increased ocean acidity and reduced oxygen, ice shelf melting and an ice-free Arctic.

From a human perspective, there are projected to be severe impacts on health, livelihoods, water supply, food security, human security and economic development.

The 2018 report has now been endorsed and strengthened by a further Intergovernmental Panel summary report, released in mid 2021, with the full report due in late 2022. The 2021 report has prompted a UN ‘red alert’ for life on earth (IPCC, 2021). It predicts that the 1.50C global temperature increase projected to be reached by 2050 could now be reached within nine years. It also indicates that change is occurring faster than predicted and that the impacts will be more severe than projected. The report provides details down to the level of specific sub-regions in Australia and will be carried forward to the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) to be held in Glasgow later in 2021. Unless dramatic and far reaching action to reduce greenhouse gases is agreed to at that conference, the impacts of climate change could take hundreds if not thousands of years to overcome.

Research by the Australian Climate Council (2021) and the Australian Academy of Science (2021) endorse the IPCC findings, the latter arguing that ‘the only way to reduce the risk 62 Australasian Leisure Management Issue 146

of…unpredictable and dangerous (climate change) outcomes is…a substantial reduction in the emissions of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere’ (Australian Academy of Science, 2021) The Academy argues that unless urgent action is taken, the world could well warm by 30C or more by 2100, double the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change objective of 1.50C. Ahead of the rest of the world, and one of the regions expected to be most severely hit by the already-emerging changes, Australia has already warmed by 1.40 degrees.

What is of major concern is that even if the world reaches net zero emissions by the UN target of 2050 or sooner, the atmosphere will still hold trillions of tonnes of CO2 and other greenhouse gases which will continue to create global warming. It has been estimated that ‘drawdown’ of these gases at a rate of 10 billion tonnes annually will be needed up to 2050 if not until 2100 to start to achieve stability. Reafforestation, cessation of land clearance, ocean greenhouse gases capture, soil biology improvements and technology-driven carbon capture and storage will be critical to drawdown. Unfortunately, natural processes are slow while technology-driven techniques have yet to move beyond the experimental stage, despite Australian government assertions to the contrary. The world’s most advanced project to date, based on the Gorgon gas fields off the Western Australian coast, is designed to capture and bury 80% of CO2 mining emissions (but not those from gas liquifying processes). In mid July 2021 it was announced that the scheme had captured little more than half its initial five year target of 9.6 million tonnes. Critically, that is from mining operations where CO2 concentrations are as much as 15%.

In the open atmosphere, where concentrations are generally only 0.04%, the process is much more difficult and the gases captured have still to be compressed and stored or transshipped to be used for other industrial purposes.

This paper argues that there is now a critical urgency for leisure and recreation planners to take more targeted action to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, to adapt existing leisure

Greening Darwin Strategy. Image courtesy City of Darwin.

and recreation facilities, programs and services so they can better deal with climate and weather change conditions, and to take still further actions to avoid these impacts in future. What has been done to date is not sufficient.

Local Government Action on Climate Change: A Review A preliminary review of the climate change policies and documents published on-line by a sample of Australian local government authorities identified some positive and some concerning findings. The review was undertaken as part of a wider paper prepared by the author to provide a framework for leisure and recreation planners and providers to ensure they work to mitigate climate change, adapt to it and where possible, avoid it.

The Councils selected for the review included a state capital city, suburban metropolitan councils, and regional inland and coastal councils across Australia’s three eastern mainland states. They were selected because of their differing geographic situations, their varying action capacities, and the often quite distinct climate change challenges they faced. The review found: •Excellent and often quite extensive work has been done by some Councils in preparing both ‘generalist’ and issue/site

Solar Power at the Gold Coast Aquatic Centre.

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specific climate change policies and action guidelines. This is especially so in capital cities and larger metropolitan Councils.

Several exemplary reports warrant promotion as models for other Councils •In proactive Councils, there is generally a good level of awareness of and affiliation with regional, state, national and international bodies concerned with addressing climate change, and •There have been significant initiatives on some mitigation activities including in particular, tree planting, greenbelts and parkland plantings; installation of solar energy systems on municipal buildings; management of water use; harvesting and re-use to reduce consumption; community education and engagement programs, and greenhouse gas emissions measurement and monitoring.

At the same time however, the review found that: •Some rural Councils are still at the point of questioning climate change science and debating whether action should be taken.

These generally do not have climate change policies. Others have natural disaster action plans - with no links to climate change - while still others are in the process of developing what appear to be quite sophisticated and advanced policies (but have no published documents at present). Several Councils were reviewing and updating past policies, a number of which are as much as eight to 10 years old •Regional and rural Councils regularly prepare ‘state of the environment’ and environmental sustainability reports mandated by state legislation but do not have climate change policies or action plans as part of these. The same applies to their water management, energy use and waste management policies •Some regional Councils have developed broad policies designed to strengthen disaster resilience and to help with recovery from what are seen as ‘natural disasters’, rather than ‘extreme’ or ‘hazardous’ conditions created by climate and weather change. In these instances, particular emphasis is put on disaster management, water security, natural area management and coastal erosion and inundation. In general, specific action plans in response to known local or regional climate change threats were not identified, suggesting a lack of detailed local knowledge and/or a lack of the technical capacity to design appropriate actions as implied by Australian Disaster Resilience Index analyses. This suggests a need for greater

support and guidance from higher levels of government and other relevant agencies and organisations eg: via Emergency Management Australia •It would appear that quite a few Councils are working in isolation on climate change issues when they would benefit substantially from regional support and cooperation, including use of the work of Emergency Management Australia •Some regional and rural Councils use external consultants and agencies to prepare reports on climate change and environmental management progress and compliance as they do not have in-house expertise. This is of concern as there is a danger of ‘template’ and ‘tick the boxes’ style reporting, of issues being given insufficient attention and of limited community engagement. Further, climate change and environmental management can be all too easily overlooked between mandated reporting periods •Most of the policies and many of the initiatives taken by Councils are ‘generic’ in nature and could have been taken by any Council across Australia. This most probably reflects the view that ‘any action is better than no action’ and the earlier point that many Councils are uncertain as to what specific local actions they should prioritise, can afford and what outcomes these would achieve. While the generic nature of action is not a problem in itself and allows for some useful inter-Council comparisons, the lack of action on known local issues is of concern as locally-emerging crises could well be overlooked and not responded to •Climate change initiatives that have been taken, focus largely on broad scale mitigation –such as installation of solar power and tree planting-- while local adaption and avoidance strategies are overlooked. While again unquestionably invaluable action, it is a further reflection of the uncertainty as to the most important or effective specific local actions and the greater ease of taking mitigation action •The implementation of policy driven initiatives occurs on a case by case basis and there are few ‘industry/portfolio’ action plans or programs. To illustrate, rather than developing climate action policies for the leisure and recreation industry, for infrastructure development, for local businesses, for health and community services or (in rural areas) or for farming and water management, Councils tend to pick off issues that they can readily deal with. While important in terms of climate change mitigation, these initiatives do not add up to a comprehensive policy. Of greater concern is that this approach tends to create a Council-only or Council-focused process and program of action and there is limited guidance for organisations other than the Councils themselves in terms of what they should do to contribute to the overall municipal effort on mitigation, adaption or avoidance, and •In the context of the present paper, none of the Councils reviewed had a specific leisure and recreation planning and development climate action policy. While references were made to problematic leisure and recreation situations caused by climate change (such as damage to playing fields due to drought or extremely wet weather), none of the suggested actions (such as assessing the option for installing synthetic playing fields) were tied back to climate change.

In overview, while some good work is being done on climate change by local government authorities, too much would appear to be symbolic and does not appear to follow a systematic, integrated plan: there is clearly a long way to go.

Overcoming the Local Government Shortcomings The paucity of what could be described as climate change policies at local government level that are up to date and up to the science is of real concern. Even more so, the lack of initiatives and of a package of policies relating specifically to leisure and recreation planning and provision must be deemed to be a substantive deficiency given the hundreds of millions of

Solar Powered Tweed Shire Council Facilities

dollars spent on leisure and recreation opportunities every year and particularly, given the urgency of action.

To overcome the deficiency, it is recommended that leisure planners and providers follow six sequential steps in addressing climate change. The steps, for which comprehensive action plans are spelt out in the full report, are: 1.Establish information baselines, values, goals and objectives 2.Build awareness of climate change 3.Take action to reduce or mitigate the projected severity of climate change 4.Reduce climate change impacts on existing leisure and recreation facilities, programs and services 5.Avoid the impacts of climate change, and 6.Evaluate the performance and success of the actions that are taken in steps 1-5.

These six steps explain the need to understand what assets we have at present and the threats they face; the need to ensure that the community and users of leisure and recreation resources understand the threats and the urgency for action; the actions that can be taken to reduce climate change, to reduce and hopefully, minimise the impacts on existing and future resources, and the critical need to evaluate what is done so that the optimal outcomes are achieved and the lessons learned can be carried forward to the future.

Conclusion Unless leisure and recreation planners understand the details and implications of the research into climate change and take action in keeping with the six recommended steps, there is considerable danger that they will continue to contribute to the emission of greenhouse gases, thereby contributing to climate change. They will also fail to mitigate climate change and they will miss significant opportunities to both adapt to it and avoid some of its worst impacts.

Dr Ken Marriott trained as a geographer with special studies in urban land uses, agriculture and climatology.

Having, in 1979, completed a PhD in geography at Monash University, with his research focused on the effectiveness of then-current leisure and recreation planning strategies he went on to be Managing Director of the leisure planning consultancy HM Leisure Planning Pty Ltd from 1984 until his retirement in 2016.

His book, Community Leisure and Recreation Planning, co-authored with John Tower and Katie McDonald, was published by Routledge early in 2021.

The full paper is published on the Australasian Leisure Management website and can be obtained at no cost via email at ken.marriott@hmleisureplanning.com Australasian Leisure Management Issue 146 65

Gold Coast Sport and Leisure Centre. A legacy of the 2018 Commonwealth Games (above) while Brisbane’s Gabba is set to be the main venue for the 2032 Olympics (below).

Ensuring the Right Legacy

Jason Leslie believes that maximising post-Games usage is essential for facilities built for the Brisbane 2032 Olympics and Paralympics

F

ollowing the recent exciting announcement of Brisbane as the host city for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, there has been much discussion about ensuring legacy outcomes are maximised. In fact, Games organisers are aiming for an integrated and effectively implemented Games legacy program delivered over a sustained twenty-year period.

The International Olympic Committee is committed to changing the way Olympic Games have previously been organised by ensuring sustainability outcomes, reducing the cost of delivery and maximising synergies with stakeholders through programs such as the Active Well-being Initiative.

Throughout my recent travels across Queensland working with our local government clients, it seems almost all Councils are already discussing the opportunities the Games could bring Australia’s team at the opening ceremony for this year’s Tokyo Games. Credit: Getty.

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to their communities. I have lost count of the number of times a local government representative has said to me, “we are going to build it to attract Olympic and Paralympic teams in the lead up to the Games.”

Legacy planning of venues as part of a major sporting event has often not understood the specific needs of the sports involved and/or surrounding catchments. There are many examples from around the world and here in Australia where these types of facilities have failed to best meet ongoing community needs post-Games and/or have proven costly to maintain.

Understanding community sport and recreation facility needs from local to national levels, and how Olympic facilities can maximise their post-Games usage and viability by responding to them, is an essential ingredient of early design. This understanding can inform the mix of permanent and temporary infrastructure that caters for the Games but reduces the wholeof-life cost burden to the post-event asset owner.

While it is true the Games will present an unprecedented opportunity for Queensland, several key factors should be at the forefront of any local government seeking to invest in sports infrastructure as a means of attracting Olympic and Paralympic teams before the Games.

The first question that must be answered is ‘why’? What is the reason for investment in sports infrastructure to attract pre-Olympic training or other Games-related activities? Is

2018 Commonwealth Games venue the Gold Coast Aquatic Centre.

Concept for the Gabba’s redevelopment for the 2032 Olympics.

2018 Commonwealth Games venues the Gold Coast Sport and Leisure Centre and Metricon Stadium.

The 2000 Games created a legacy of sport, entertainment and recreation facilities at Sydney Olympic Park.

it part of a strategy for securing external funding support for infrastructure local government cannot typically fund? Is it as part of broader tourism or economic strategy? Is it to improve community health via encouraging increased physical activity?

Understanding the why will assist to ensure investment in the right type of infrastructure.

Understanding the funding environment and opportunities is critically important. With Queensland being one of the few States or Territories without a major sport and recreation infrastructure fund, the overall funding environment for major sports facilities will likely remain difficult. The focus of sports infrastructure funding by the Queensland Government between now and the 2032 is likely to be for projects that can demonstrate a clear and legitimate alignment with the Games.

Another factor for consideration is what is the legacy outcome a local government is seeking from investment in sports infrastructure as a strategy to attract pre-Olympic teams to its region? From the discussions I’ve recently held with several councils, it appears the facility provision and design focus are on what the Games teams will need first. This is the wrong way around. The focus in the planning and design of sports infrastructure should be based on what will maximise the community use and viability of a facility before and post the Games. Getting this right first must be the objective. Once this is achieved, the focus should only then start to think about the subtle changes that can be made to the facility mix and design that will also act as an attractor to Games teams and nations.

I often share the great anecdote with my clients of, ‘don’t build for Christmas Day’.

One of the other key considerations must be to focus on the sport and activities that align to the existing strengths of the community, destination, infrastructure and services.

Developing infrastructure for sports that will likely be attracted to other destinations will result in the wrong type of legacy being achieved. Most local governments in Queensland will be seeking funding to develop Games aligned facilities. Councils will also be seeking to secure as many teams and nations as possible to their local government area in the lead up to the Games. Both the available funding environment and the ability to attract nations and teams to a destination before the

Games will be highly competitive. It is important Councils avoid unnecessary duplication of facilities with surrounding local governments and concentrate opportunities that showcase their unique strengths and character.

So, how can local government in Queensland become part of the Games and maximise legacy outcomes? The answer is by taking a multi-faceted approach to planning around Games opportunities. Understand the broader Queensland network of major sporting infrastructure supply, including what is currently available and plans for the development of new facilities.

Create a strategy that focusses on the unique strengths and character of the Council area. Don’t compete in spaces that others do better or are better located to deliver. Ensure facility planning and design aims first to maximise community use and viability before exploring the needs of teams pre-Games.

Ensure planning around Games opportunities aligns with the broader strategic planning context of the local government area by ensuring consistency with other plans and strategies and identifying opportunities to maximise economic and tourism outcomes as a result of the Games.

In conclusion, to maximise the usage and sustainability of post-Games sporting facilities it is critical that the infrastructure is able to respond to the current and projected needs of catchments and integrate with other sport and recreation plans of local governments. Pitfalls should be avoided that make sporting venues more difficult to manage, be underutilised, or less viable. Facilities need to be the right-size, with components that enhance usage and viability and avoid costly maintenance of permanent, but seldom used, infrastructure. Hands-on, contemporary venue management perspectives need to be employed in the planning and design phase so that facilities can be flexible and can respond to emerging sport and recreation trends and changing participation patterns over time. Spaces need to be provided that support the delivery of programs and services for sporting groups and the broader community and must cater for realistic future sporting events.

With over 25 years’ experience in sport planning and management, Jason Leslie is a Director of Otium Planning Group and previously held senior management positions with the Queensland Department of Sport and Recreation.

He can be contacted on jason@otiumplanning.com.au Australasian Leisure Management Issue 146 67

People

New appointments made to TEQ board to help support tourism recovery Four new appointments have been made to the Tourism and Events Queensland board to help support the recovery of the tourism industry from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Joining the TEQ board are Brian Hennessy, Duane Fraser, and Kylie Blucher, along with Paul Martyn - Chief Executive Trade and Investment Queensland who joins the board as an ex-officio appointment.

New Football Australia board appointments see women in the majority Layne Beachley named as one of two new URBNSURF board members Surfing lagoon operator URBNSURF Group Pty Ltd has announced the appointment of two new board members - Layne Beachley, the seven-time world champion and current Chair of Surfing Australia, and Nigel Allfrey, former Chief Executive of Impact Investing Pty Ltd, the Australian company acquired by global fund manager BlackRock.

With Beachley and Allfrey having both participated in the URBNSURF Sydney capital raise helping to secure the $55 million funding for the Sydney facility, the high profile pair are seen as expanding the board’s skillset.

Eugenie Buckley takes on interim Chief Executive role at Swimming Australia Swimming Australia has appointed highly experienced sports administrator Eugenie Buckley as its interim Chief Executive following the resignation of Alex Baumann due to health reasons.

Buckley, the Managing Director of Suiko Consulting, has held roles as Chief Executive of the Brisbane Roar and the ICC Women’s World Cup in 2009 and has a multitude of experience across high performance sporting organisations, both in Australia and overseas - working across commercial, strategic planning, operations, integrity and risk, and people and culture.

Carlton FC recruits Brian Cook as its new Chief Executive Carlton FC has announced the appointment of former Geelong Cats Chief Executive Brian Cook as its new Chief Executive, replacing Cain Liddle.

Cook, who is stepping down from his role as Geelong’s Chief Executive after 23 years, has reportedly been courted

by Carlton President Luke Sayers for some time and will take on the role in midOctober.

Liddle ended his near fouryear tenure with Carlton in September.

Liddle joined the Blues in November 2017 after playing a key part in Richmond’s commercial success over eight years. While strengthening the club financially - reducing Carlton’s historical debt by $2 million as of early 2020 - the club has continued its finals drought which goes back to 2013.

68 Australasian Leisure Management Issue 146

Football Australia has advised of three board appointments that, for the first time, will see women make up the majority of the sport’s nineperson board.

The appointment of three members to the Board of Directors saw former Socceroo Mark Bresciano reappointed and Taekwando Australia and former Matilda, Heather Garriock (pictured) and banking industry executive and former Managing Director of Retail Distribution at ANZ Bank, Catriona Noble appointed.

New Director and permanent Chairman appointed to deliver Christchurch stadium project Christchurch City Council has confirmed a new permanent Chair and Director to the board of the company overseeing work on the city’s $523 million Canterbury MultiUse Arena.

Barry Bragg, a chartered accountant who has served as a director on a number of property and commercial companies, including Ngai Tahu Property, has been appointed Chair and businessman.

Gill Cox has also been appointed as a director to the stadium board and as Chairman of Venues Otautahi, the council-owned events company that will operate the 30,000-seat when it opens.

Darryl Jeffrey appointed General Manager at Sydney Showground Sydney Showground has announced Darryl Jeffrey as its newly appointed General Manager following the retirement of Peter Thorpe in early July.

As the venue’s Chief Operating Officer, Jeffrey has been with the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW (RAS) and Sydney Showground since 2012 and boasts over 13 years’ experience within the event industry and nineteen years in the Australian Army, making the transition into the role a natural progression for the new General Manager.

Send your people news to leisure@ausleisure.com.au

Products

Rockhampton Council announces transformation of wet play area at Southside Memorial Pools With the weather warming up, Rockhampton Regional Council has unveiled a transformation of the wet play area at its Southside Memorial Pool.

Speaking about the new facility, Rockhampton Parks Sport and Public Spaces Councillor, Cherie Rutherford commented “the new soft fall surface not only looks fantastic but it is now much safer for the kiddies to play on.

“We have also given the play equipment a cut and polish to really bring it back to life.”

Installing the soft fall surface saw the removal of the existing worn out surface and the installation of Life Floor in three colours with the work undertaken by Gold Coast-based Synsurf.

Noting that the improvements were much needed and will extend the life of the facility, Rockhampton Communities and Heritage Councillor Drew Wickerson, added “the existing soft fall product had come to the end of its life and the new product was chosen after some extensive research.

“We wanted to make sure that the new soft fall material was a far better product - improving safety and longevity of the facility.

“The product we have installed will not only last much longer but it has superior anti slip properties - making it much safer as well.”

Life Floor is currently installing a new 720 metre² splash pad at Wet ‘n’ Wild Gold Coast, the most complicated design ever undertaken by Life Floor.

Contact 1300 721 135, E: info@lifefloor.com.au, www.lifefloor.com.au

Polin introduces world’s first fully transparent composite looping Rocket Waterslide Polin Waterparks has introduced its latest attraction - the world’s first fully transparent composite Looping Rocket Waterslide pushing waterslide technology to the next level and anticipated to have a dynamic impact on the industry.

On its own, Polin’s Looping Rocket is already a highadrenaline ride that gets guests’ hearts pumping due to its ultrahigh, heart-stopping drop. But with its new availability as a fully transparent slide, the Looping Rocket increases guests’ adrenaline even more.

Polin Waterparks installed the first version of this new waterslide at Candyland Waterpark at the Vogue Hotel in Bodrum, Turkey, in July 2020, and continues to receive positive guest feedback.

Guests already associate waterslides with some of the most fun places to cool off during hot daytime hours. Now, guests have a reason to stick around for more fun after the sun goes down. With its pulsing, phosphorescent glow, the Looping Rocket becomes an exciting nighttime attraction for both riders and those watching - even those driving by who can see it shimmering as they pass by. For parks wanting to enhance the guest experience further, they can add a variety of enhancements to the slide, transforming their venues on an even greater scale and creating a true night to remember for their clientele.

Contact Polin’s Australian representative Swimplex Aquatics on 1300 796 759, E: sales@swimplex.com.au, www.swimplex.com.au

Technogym completes Sydney ‘Experience Centre’ Wellness leader Technogym has opened a new state-of-theart display space at Rushcutters Bay in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs to showcase its treadmills, weights, exercise bikes and fitness solutions.

Designed for both the home market and industry buyers, the new showroom is Technogym’s first Australian Experience Centre and has been designed with the intention of giving consumers and buyers a space to find the appropriate fitness and wellness solutions.

The warmly lit 800 metres2 space allows those interested to try equipment from the brand’s ‘Skill Line’, which includes functional apparatus that caters to all fitness levels, and its ‘Personal Line’, which combines acclaimed Italian architect Antonio Citterio’s style with Technogym’s experience in fitness and wellness technologies.

For industry operators, trainers and professionals, the Technogym Experience Centre is available for meetings, consultancy and guidance on all solutions for the different offerings: fitness clubs and sports centres, hospitality, health, rehabilitation and real estate.

Technogym will also host seminars and educational activities dedicated to industry operators from all the different applications of sports, wellness and fitness, from the digital

technologies of the Technogym Ecosystem to the newest training solutions, formats and products chosen by the best teams and athletes worldwide.

The new Experience Centre, which is inspired by the company’s Global Headquarters in the Italian city of Cesena gives fans of the brand the opportunity to come in, test out the entire range and get a comprehensive feel for the products that will benefit them and their fitness journey the most.

The Technogym Experience Centre Sydney is located at 20 McLachlan Avenue, Rushcutters Bay, NSW, 2101.

Contact: 1800 615 440, E: info.au@technogym.com, www.technogym.com

Australasian Leisure Management Issue 146 69

Products

BH Fitness launches new premium MOVEMIA line

Perth Royal Show deploys Megatix for digital safety and security solution

Leading international fitness equipment manufacturer BH Fitness has unveiled MOVEMIA, its all new premium line of equipment, to the Australian market.

The range, in which the BH Fitness has invested significant development resources, is made up of cardio, strength and indoor cycling equipment with the three product families combining connectivity and technology to allow users to monitor their activity in real time, representing an important differentiation point from its competitors.

The MOVEMIA range has been entirely designed and conceived by the company, with the advice of experts in biomechanics and incorporating the latest trends in design and technology for fitness equipment.

The high-end equipment will allow facilities to enhance their digital solutions to members while boosting their customer experience. Explaining how the new range demonstrates BH Fitness’ ability to innovate in the highly competitive global fitness market, Pablo Pérez de Lazarraga, Chief Executive of BH Fitness, advised “sports centres are increasingly demanding more personalisation, connectivity and vanguardist design in fitness equipment.

“Through MOVEMIA, we intend to offer something different, a unique value proposition that sets us as a relevant agent in the future of fitness industry, thanks to the technological development we have carried out in this new line.”

Alongside with MOVEMIA range, BH Fitness has also launched the BH GYMLOOP user management software, with the aim of helping fitness centres to digitalise sports facilities. It is a digital tool that has been 100% developed by the Spanish company and offers a variety of solutions for managers, staff and club members.

Contact 08 8387 3985, E: sales@fitnesswholesale.com.au, www.bh.fitness/en/

With its custom made, digital, ticketing and event management solution, Western Australian startup, Megatix helped the Perth Royal Show return this year in a COVIDSafe way.

Visitors to the 2021 Royal Show were the first in Australia to benefit from digital safety and security features unlike anything ever seen at agricultural and large-scale events across the country.

With COVID safety the main priority for the Royal Agricultural Society of WA, tickets, contact tracing, crowd control, and even the safe return of lost children, were digitally managed by technology specifically designed to meet the unique needs of the Royal Show.

Royal Agriculture Society of WA Chief Executive, Peter Cooper commented “being able to put on a Royal Show while so much of our fellow Australians are under lockdown (came) with a deep sense of responsibility.

“The technology provided by Megatix was able to solve many of our challenges, some of which we have never had to consider before. The fact that this kind of innovation was right here in WA and designed by local entrepreneurs was an added bonus.”

Roshan Odhavji, one of the founding partners of Megatix advises “the difference between Megatix and some of the more traditional ticketing companies is that our technology has the flexibility to be client driven. The Perth Royal Show is a perfect example of how customers come to us with a variety of unique demands and we develop the technology specifically matched to their needs. In addition, they get to fully own their customers, marketing, selling, and communicating directly through their own channels with our technology supporting in the background.”

Contact E: support@megatix.com.au, www.megatix.com.au

Neveplast innovation aims to transform artificial ski slopes sector Leading global artificial ski slopes innovator Neveplast has introduced a new product aimed at revolutionising the sector.

While Neveplast’ NP30 ALPINE surface simulates skiing on a layer of hard and compact snow, the new Neveplast FREESKI feels more like natural snow thanks to innovative technology and the different pattern of the slope’s stems, which guarantees an easy side grip.

Neveplast sees that FREESKI is appropriate for skiers and snowboarders from beginners to the elite, with Neveplast PR Manager, Camilla Ronchi noting “Neveplast FREESKI is also ideal for pro-riders willing to improve their style and technique in the snowpark.”

Contact: +39 035 453 6661, E: neveplast@neveplast.it, www. neveplast.it 70 Australasian Leisure Management Issue 146

Products

QTIC’s Daniel Gschwind and Rhonda Appo with Kristen Goldup of Local Tickets.

QTIC announces partnership with Local Tickets The Queensland Tourism Industry Council (QTIC) has announced the recent addition of Local Tickets as a Corporate Partner.

As the peak body, and not-for-profit membership business, QTIC’s role is to lead the industry with the support of key strategic business relationships.

Founded by Kristen Goldup in 2011, Local Tickets is a Queensland grown ticketing company that has expanded nationally and internationally to become Queensland’s leading tourism and events ticketing agency.

Contact 1300 855 580

Les Mills launches new profit centre to help grow revenue and member retention The release of Les Mills Content marks the international fitness brand’s provision of a new profit centre to help clubs and fitness facilities better engage their members, so they fall in love with fitness and achieve their goals faster.

Introducing the content, Les Mills advise “times are tough right now (so) if your club or facility is: struggling with lost income during closures; looking for ways to keep your members engaged - especially during lockdowns - (and are) wanting a way to support your members until they return to your club or facility, ... then Les Mills Content could be just what you need.”

Les Mills Content is a cost-effective digital solution that enables clubs and fitness facilities to host 100 Les Mills workout videos for members to access. These include world’s most popular workouts such as BODYPUMP®, BODYCOMBAT® and BODYATTACK® - and all the while you’ll be keeping them within your own brand ecosystem.

Contact 02 6282 8192, E: myclub@lesmills.com.au, www.lesmills.com.au

Send your product news to leisure@ausleisure.com.au

Fluidra continues global expansion with acquisition of S.R.Smith Fluidra S.A., the Spanish listed global leader in aquatic facility and wellness equipment and connected solutions, has announced its acquisition of S.R.Smith, the US-based manufacturer of commercial and residential pool deck equipment and accessories, from private equity fund Champlain Capital.

Founded in 1932, S.R.Smith is a leading global manufacturer specialising in commercial and residential pool deck equipment and accessories.

Their product portfolio, which is complementary to Fluidra’s offering, is extensive and includes a wide range of products, such as starting blocks, rails, ladders, slides, diving boards, ADA-compliant lifts, swimwall systems, thermal cover systems and in-pool furniture.

Headquartered in the US state of Oregon, S.R.Smith operates manufacturing facilities from multiple locations in the USA and Australia with its products supported by distributors around the world, with a focus in the United States, Australia, Canada and Europe.

In Australia, the S.R.Smith business includes Sunbather, one of the country’s leading suppliers of heating solutions and pool covers.

With the addition of S.R.Smith’s footprint in Australia, Fluidra will further expand its extensive existing operational network, increasing the company’s overall product delivery capability.

The acquisition from US-based private equity fund Champlain Capital, was valued at US$240 million and was fully settled at closing with existing cash and debt facilities.

Keith Hall, Managing Director at S.R.Smith Australia, welcomed the acquisition, commenting “it was through the acquisition of a commercial pool equipment manufacturing business in late 2013 that laid the company’s foundation down-under.

“Additional acquisitions, channel expansion and new product innovations helped S.R.Smith expand their footprint across Australia. Joining the Fluidra family helps S.R.Smith Australia support their clear vision for global growth, importantly this includes Oceania.”

Contact 1300 693 584, E: au.commercial@fluidra.com

Online Subscriptions Australasian Leisure Management magazine 12 month/six issue subscriptions cost AUS $90 To subscribe go to www.ausleisure.com.au

Australasian Leisure Management Issue 146 71

Products

Vivaticket welcomed The Events Centre, Caloundra (TEC) as one of their most recent clients.

Vivaticket enhances its enta platform to provide additional support to clients Leading global ticketing business, Vivaticket, has enhanced its enta platform to provide a host of benefits that are being requested by its clients across Australia.

The company’s ticketing and CRM functionality for the arts community has been strengthened despite the ongoing lockdown uncertainty across parts of Australia.

Providing local Australian development and support has allowed Vivaticket to listen closely to client needs and bring a host of new and enhanced features to an ever-changing landscape.

The latest release allows their clients to: •Expand gift voucher and credit functionality to allow customers and users to plan for attending future events.

•Increase functionality for conferencing and all-day events.

•Further develop integration with MailChimp allowing for pre and post show event EDMs using MailChimps automation features.

•Provide new options to utilise souvenir tickets, allowing promoters to deliver customised experiences for their events.

•Expand sales channel functionality, giving venue and promoters a greater picture of audiences tastes and behaviours.

•Amplify enta’s integrations with MailChimp, Microsoft Power BI, and Artifax adding a whole range of tools into enta’s already extensive range of capability allowing for increased communication, analytics, and venue management information to flow between the platform and third party software.

Contact 1300 682 203, E: sales.au@vivaticket.com, www.vivaticket.com

Wibit installs the world’s biggest water park Leading inflatable water play products company Wibit Sports has installed the world’s largest floating park, the ‘SaudiArabia’-TAG with a capacity of 700 people at Pure Beach in King Abdullah Economic City, Saudi Arabia.

The installation follows Wibit securing GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS©-title in 2019 for the world’s largest floating water park forming the word ‘Indonesia’.

With the innovative WibitTAG-system, the colourful play modules forming any letter, number or symbol can be put on the water to create individual messages.

The six-person Wibit-installation-team installed and set up the park in record time. The operator Blue Limits, a local Saudi company, hosted its opening in August.

Contact +49 2871 23820-0, E: info@wibitsports.com, www.wibitsports.com 72 Australasian Leisure Management Issue 146

Crunch Fitness Australia’s Evolt partnership aims to help members reach goals Evolt has revealed that its 360 Body Scanners are now available across Crunch Fitness gyms in NSW and Victoria, helping members achieve their health and fitness goals.

Offering high-tech body composition analyses to all of its members, the fast-growing fitness chain is looking to offer members a wide range of exercise and wellness options in each of its clubs, with a wide range of cardio and resistant equipment along with group fitness classes and HIIT stations, recovery lounges and services unique to each facility across both states.

Making use of the Evolt 360 Body Composition Analyser, Crunch Fitness members stand on the scanner and through a non-invasive electrical currant, receive a detailed report of more than 40 different measurements across their body.

Contact 07 5659 1958, E: info@evolt360.com, www.evolt360.com

revolutioniseSPORT releases new features to manage sporting officials’ courses and accreditations Leading sports management technology platform revolutioniseSPORT has released two features designed to streamline the management of sport accreditations and courses.

Part of the extended ‘revolutionise360’ product suite, which focuses on marketing, data and insights and sits ‘on top’ of the standard revolutioniseSPORT platform, the new features have been extensively piloted through several sports, with customer feedback used to ensure that these features are at a stage that they can deliver industry-wide benefits.

Introducing the new features, revolutioniseSPORT Lead Product Manager, Cass Simonetti advised “we have seen an incredible growth in the need for sports to manage accreditations and qualifications in the past few years.

“Throughout COVID, sports have seen a real ‘brain drain’ in officials due to not being able to re-accredit, and so evolving our product suite to allow a continuous learning model has been really important. These features will give state and national sporting organisations a clear picture of the progression of qualifications within their sport.

This includes certifying officials and members and easily identifying any gaps within their organisations training.”

Sport Australia has recently updated their approach to coaching and officiating, with a focus on increasing the number and quality of recruits. Acknowledging the importance of this development, they have introduced a modernised approach to support the growth they want to see within sport in Australia, moving from the annualised accreditation process to one of ongoing personal development, with a focus on individualisation.

Noting this, Simonetti advised “a growing number of people stay in their sports for many years. Giving the option to continually learn and continually develop their skills is important - and if we can provide a way for customers to manage this, the entire industry benefits.”

As the platform comes closer to its 10-year anniversary in 2022, the revolutioniseSPORT team are working to expand the capacity in which sporting organisations can manage their operations.

Contact 02 9746 5389, E: info@revolutionise.com.au, www.revolutionise.com.au

Products

Pulsar Precision feeders provide winning chlorination for Team USA’s Olympic swimming trials AlphaFit launches innovative product for lower body training Fitness equipment manufacturer AlphaFit has launched the new Core Belt Squat – a plate loaded cable belt squat machine - enabling gym users to train several lower body or athletic leg movements without placing unnecessary stress on their shoulders, spine or lower back.

Designed and engineered in Australia with peak performance and aesthetics in mind, this product is guaranteed to be the centrepiece of any commercial gym, specialty strength or rehab facility.

The Core Belt Squat is a massive drawcard for weightlifters, powerlifters and athletes nursing back pain or shoulder injuries.

It aids in increasing muscular hypertrophy in the legs without placing heavy pressure on the back and spine. Athletes with restrictions from axial loading spinal compression or rehabbing from shoulder, elbow or wrist discomfort can safely load the glutes, hamstrings and calf muscles to continue building strength despite their upper body limitations.

Contact 07 5574 4975, E: admin@alphafit.com.au, www.alphafit.com.au

Daisy Commercial Caddy Pro offers easy to deploy pool insulation solution Western Australia - based Daisy Pool Covers have shared details of their Commercial Caddy Pro system, a commercial pool solution that has been designed and built as a robust portable drive to recover, and deploy, single or multiple commercial thermal foam or solar pool covers onto Daisy Commercial Roller systems.

The Caddy Pro is a fully selfcontained, stand - alone Stainless Steel console that suits any commercial pool from a single cover and roller, to multiple pools (e.g. 50m and 25m within the same complex) with multiple cover and roller systems.

The Caddy Pro’s 24v heavy duty internal batteries will usually last for weeks of work however, as there is an inbuilt battery charging system (powered by normal 10A GPO), it is advised to simply park and place the Caddy Pro on charge when it is not in use.

With tilt and overload protection, along with normally off switching (the unit will only work when a button is pressed, it will stop when you release the button), this simple yet robust system is designed to make every pool operator’s life easier and reduce OH&S risk that may occur with manual roller usage.

Contact 1300 551 811, E: hello@daisypoolcovers.com.au, www.daisypoolcovers.com.au

Some of the most advanced water chemistry technologies available - including regenerative media filtration, ultraviolet disinfection, and demand-based chlorination using Pulsar® Precision calcium hypochlorite feed systems from Sigura - were used in the temporary swimming pools that staged the trials for the Team USA squad for the recent Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

Encompassing 12 days of intense competition in June featuring more than 1,400 athletes, the trials were staged in two temporary Olympic-size swimming pools - using Myrtha Pools technology - at the CHI Health Center in Omaha, Nebraska, USA. During this time it was critical to maintain optimally balanced water chemistry to ensure the health and safety of the competing swimmers. In addition, with a national television audience watching as cameras captured all the underwater action pool water clarity had to be sparkling at all times.

With each of the pools holding around 3.5 million litres of water, the competition pool was a 10-lane, 50-metre pool while the warm-up pool was ‘L-shaped’ with an 8-lane, 50-metre section and a 6-lane, 25-metre section.

Pulsar® Feeders Selected Spear Corporation of Roachdale, Indiana, was responsible for all piping and mechanical systems related to the two pools, and was responsible for ensuring that pool water chemistry met the highest quality standards. The company selected Pulsar® Precision calcium hypochlorite feed systems to handle chlorination duties for maintaining optimum pool chlorination.

Spear Corp has used Pulsar® feeders for many previous high-profile competitive swim events, including the U.S. Swim Team trials for the Rio Summer Games in 2016.

Less Maintenance, Ease of Operation The new Pulsar® Precision feeder design from Sigura uses special high-capacity erosion (HCE) technology that works in conjunction with Pulsar® Plus calcium hypochlorite briquettes to produce a fresh concentrated liquid chlorine solution. The system chlorinates, treat organics, controls metals, boosts hardness, and provides shock treatments, all in one simple process.

Contact 02 9948 4177, E: timbws@bigpond.com, www.tbwsaquatic.com.au

Online Subscriptions O A Australasian Leisure Management magazine M 12 month/six issue subscriptions 1 ccost AUS $90 TTo subscribe go to www.ausleisure.com.au w

Australasian Leisure Management Issue 146 73

Advertisers Index

Humanforce offers a solution to help manage COVID-19 vaccination policies

Advertiser

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Aflex Inflatables

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FITNESS + WELLNESS SHOW

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Jonas Leisure

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Leisure Concepts

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Life Floor

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Livn

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Metra Australia

49

Myrtha Pools

45

National Sports Convention

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Otium Planning Group

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ParkEquip

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Perfect Gym

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Supreme Heating

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Swimplex Aquatics

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The Highgate Group

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TicketSearch

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Tim Batt Water Solutions

76

Viva Leisure

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World Culture Tourism Village 16 & 17 Zeolite

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To assist hospitality organisations in managing complex workplace vaccination issues, Humanforce is offering a solution to effectively communicate and manage COVID-19 vaccination policies.

As increasing vaccination rates become a primary path towards reopening Australia, local hospitality workers are indicating a preference to work in environments where their colleagues are vaccinated.

Humanforce can support employers and employees with a solution featuring the following tools: •Create custom vaccination requirements, including expiration rules and allow upload of vaccination proof.

•Automated communication of vaccination requirements to relevant employees.

•Prevents people from being rostered on if they don’t meet vaccination requirements, ensuring compliance.

•Single view of all employee vaccination status and any upcoming expirations.

•Can collect vaccine status and proof from new employees during onboarding.

The Humanforce solution also supports contact tracing reporting among employees, should a positive COVID-19 case occur within the workplace. This helps employers to rapidly and accurately identify and report workers who are contacts of a positive case.

Additionally, the solution helps to navigate and manage a number of new and complex leave types, including pandemic leave, that have been introduced in response to COVID-19.

Contact 02 9434 0500, E: sales@humanforce.com, www.humanforce.com

Anti Wave helps drive Australian swimmers’ achievements at the Tokyo Olympics Welcoming the remarkable achievements of Australian swimmers at the Tokyo Olympics, leading aquatic industry supplier Anti Wave International has highlighted its history of supporting Olympians from Brisbane’s St Peters Western Swim Club by supplying its Australian designed, top performance swimming, pool programming and pool deck equipment to the Club’s high performance training centre.

The Indooroopilly-based St Peters Western Swim Club has in recent years become Australia’s premiere high performance swimming club, sending no less than six athletes to the Tokyo Olympics, including the legendary double Tokyo Gold medal winning Olympian Ariarne ‘Arnie’ Titmus.

With a strong focus on high performance swim training and development, the Club is coached by Dean Boxall - one of swimming’s so called ‘rockstar coaches’ and who was back-to-back Age Coach of the Year and Youth Coach of the Year at the Australian Swimming Coaches and Teachers Association (ASCTA) Awards.

Anti Wave supplied key equipment in 2010 when the Club’s facility was re-built; transitioning from a basic skimmer type pool to an international standard ‘wet deck’ or overflow type competition pool, complete with industry leading Anti Wave MAXI Racing Lanes, Moveable Track Start Blocks, Overflow Pool EndWalls, SwimWalls, Overflow Gratings, and Pool deck equipment.

St Peters Western Swim Club acts as a key research and development facility for Anti Wave, with focus on product innovation and development through direct Coach and Swimmer feedback.

Anti Wave remains committed at the ground level to the support and development of swim and polo clubs and facilities around the world, with a strong focus on product innovation and development, and the best possible availability to all clubs and pools.

Anti Wave International products are distributed in Australia by S.R.Smith Australia.

Contact S.R.Smith on 07 3812 2283, E: info-au@srsmith.com, www.srsmith.com/au Contact Anti Wave International on +61 412 172 636, E: anton@anti.to, www.anti.to

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11 –and 13 November 23rd 24th March2021 2022 • ICC Sydney Exhibition Centre • #onestepaheadFWAshow Health Clubs • Gyms • Studios • Corporate Facilities • Rehab • Leisure Centres • Pro Sports • Universities • Defence • Retail

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