WPSS Holds Fall Virtual Event, Weighs Options for 2021

Following the last-minute shutdown of WPSS in March, the organization will present a slate of seminars and vendor-networking opportunities.

By Rebecca Robledo

Organizers of the Western Pool and Spa Show will present a virtual event November 20 through 22.

And later this month, it will host a talk with the California Pool and Spa Association.

The in-person show, geared primarily toward the service industry, normally takes place in spring. However, this year it suffered from perhaps the least-fortunate timing possible when, on March 12, less than two hours before opening, government officials shut it down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The online event in autumn, called the World Pool Summit, provides an avenue for organizers to make an offering to attendees along with the exhibitors who weren’t able to show their wares in Long Beach, Calif. earlier this year, said WPSS Director Eric Nielson.

The show, free of charge to both attendees and exhibitors, will begin with a networking event the night of the 20^th. On Saturday and Sunday, the 21st and 22nd, attendees can choose from approximately 18 educational sessions each day, with three taking place concurrently. Organizers are continuing to flesh out the seminar schedule.

The event also includes opportunities for vendors and dealers to connect, as well as product giveaways.

This month’s talk will be a legislative update on Oct. 28, to provide information to help California industry professionals to prepare for the election, Nielson said.

As for next year, organizers don’t know yet whether an in-person event will take place, given the protracted nature of the COVID-19 pandemic. “We’ve been working with the convention center, and they can’t definitively say whether we can have a show or not,” Nielson said. “They can’t tell us how many people could attend, [or] what the floor can look like. So, as of right now, we don’t know that there will be a live event in 2021. ... It’s going to depend on how things are going to open up.”

Not only do they need to find out if the Long Beach Convention Center will be able to open, but also whether the allowable capacities will make such an expensive undertaking worthwhile, he added. “It’s close to seven figures to put on the events every year,” he said.

In the absence of an in-person show for 2021, a spring virtual show may take place, he said.

The loss of the March 2020 event will likely be felt by the organization for a while. It set the group back several hundred thousand dollars and used up its reserves, Nielson said.

“Financially, it was pretty devastating,” he said. “We’re not getting back anything from the convention center... The tough thing is ... there were no governmental programs or anything to help us out...”

With 2020 almost over and 2021 still a question mark, Nielson and the WPSS team are working with the Long Beach Convention Center to set schedules for shows in 2022 and perhaps 2023, reserving the dates earlier than normal.