The pool and spa industry gathered once again in Atlantic City for the 35th annual Pool & Spa Show powered by the Northeast Spa & Pool Association. The event took place Jan. 25-28 at the Atlantic City (N.J.) Convention Center.
Though an incoming snow storm threatened to negatively impact attendance, the show attracted more than 400 exhibitors and 11,000 attendees, including exhibitor staff.
“By the time the show was ready to open, roads were open, weather was wonderful. It was actually sunny and bright,” said Trish McCormick, show manager for the Northeast Spa & Pool Association.
Not only did the event provide an environment for pool and spa professionals to discuss the industry, make deals and get reacquainted, but it also offered six certification programs, more than 50 technical seminars and more than 25 business sessions. This year, NESPA introduced an expanded seminar lineup for Spanish-speaking industry professionals.
“We had an excellent turnout for that,” McCormick said. “This is something that we’re very interested in doing more of in the future in collaboration with major manufacturers in the industry.”
To celebrate the show’s 35th anniversary, organizers thanked each of the 28 companies that have exhibited at The Pool & Spa Show every year by presenting them with a gift for their loyalty.
In addition to all the deal making and education, a display titled “The Wall — Water in Motion” generated a lot of buzz on the show floor. The interactive demonstration focused on swimming pool hydraulics and offered an understanding of how the flow of water can be impacted by a variety of design and system conditions. The Wall consisted of three fully plumbed, aboveground pools, six pumps and dozens of feet of pipe. By viewing the exhibit, visitors were able to learn more about pool and spa consumer safety, water quality and achieving maximum performance.
“There continues to be a disconnect when it comes to hydraulics,” said Paulette Pitrak, NESPA’s show education director. “When we started to think about how to tackle this topic, we realized pretty early we need to go way outside of the box and try something that has never been done before.”
To help attendees gain a clear understanding of hydraulics issues and how they affect system performance, Pitrak said, organizers took the pipes out of the ground and created true-to-life simulations. The exhibit was created with support from industry corporations such as AquaStar, Hayward, Pentair and Zodiac.
But if you missed The Wall at this year’s event, chances are you’ll get another opportunity to see it in the future.
“The Wall is going to be around for a while,” McCormick said. “We’re just going to expand and go from here.”
The Pool & Spa Show returns to the Atlantic City Convention Center Jan. 24-26, 2017.
