It was a case of the old guard making way for the new as a number of first-time recipients stood up to accept awards at the recent Swimming Pool and Allied Trade Association presentations. With no less than 16 companies all taking home golds; the celebrations were more evenly spread than in living memory. The SPATA organisation represents 178 pool building and retail companies, the majority based in the UK. It announced this year’s winning projects at a ceremony held at the De Vere Grand Hotel in Brighton, in February. The competition was fierce with 133 projects vying for victory in 21 categories compared with 85 entries in 22 categories last year.
Golden Coast
Although attendance figures for this year’s SPATEX show fell for the third year in succession, the consensus of opinion has been that Brighton once again offered a worthwhile showcase for the majority of exhibitors and attendees alike. It was a case of quality over quantity as official visitor figures put attendance at 1,241 – the lowest figures since 2009 and nearly half that of the 2007 total of more than 2,000.
Members of the National Leisure group of companies came face to face with its main suppliers at its biennial seminar recently at the Sywell Aerodrome in Northamptonshire.
The Sywell event provided a fast-moving ten minute appointment slot for member companies to talk directly to suppliers to hear about both existing and new products and to
feedback comments on their use.
