SPLASH! breaks all records

SPLASH! has been hailed as the largest ever pool and spa trade show in Australia after breaking all industry records.

The 2008 event was bigger by every measure than any other pool and spa industry show. The 93 exhibitors filled two halls of the Conrad Jupiters on the Gold Coast, totalling 1360 square-metres of floorspace.

Over the two days of the show, 1583 visitors came through to see the latest equipment and ideas, including dozens of new products never before seen in Australia. The visitors came from every state and territory in Australia, as well as 15 overseas countries, making this the most international of trade expos to date. Additionally, many speakers, exhibitors and trainers came from overseas to impart their expertise and demonstrate their new products.

Significantly, the Asia-Pacific region was well represented, with visitors from coming from New Zealand, China, Hong Kong, India, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Taiwan. Other international regions were also represented, including the United States, Europe and Africa.

“We’re very excited by the success of SPLASH!” says show organiser, Simon Cooper. “We worked very hard to make it a professional trade show that brings people together, but we were still pleasantly surprised by just how many people turned up. One of the reasons for this was that we had so much to offer – there was twice as much floorspace as the previous show, and so many new things for visitors to see and do.

“Also, it’s the one chance in Australia to get together with industry people from all over the country and around the world. Networking opportunities like this don’t come around too often, and people know if they miss this one, they’ll have to wait another two years for the next event,” Cooper says. “Of course, the event could not have been such a success without the very real support of our sponsors, Focus Products, AstralPool, ClevaQuip, Lo-Chlor, PQ, Sunbather and SPASA Queensland.”

This year’s event was also longer, encompassing much more than the Wednesday and Thursday of the actual trade show. SPLASH! Week started with pre-show workshops which ran from Monday to Wednesday. These included the well-received professional development workshops run by the Australian organisation National Swimming Pool Institute (NSPI), and the Commercial CPO and Instructor classes run by the US organisation National Swimming Pool Foundation (NSPF). More than 400 delegates attended the informative seminars, and many more took part in the pre-show workshops.

The week also included a number of add-on events, including a technical site tour to the eco-friendly White Water World; the SPLASH! Andrew Simons Memorial Golf Day; the SPASA Queensland welcome drinks by the pool; and the inaugural SPLASH! Environmental Awards Dinner.

The next SPLASH! International Pool and Spa Trade Show will be held at Conrad Jupiters on July 28 and 29, 2010. SPLASH! New Zealand will be held on July 29 and 30, 2009 in Auckland.