The Fifth International Conference Swimming Pool & Spa drew approximately 195 attendees from 22 countries to Rome. The biannual event focuses on recent research advances in aquatics, with the goal being to further expand the health benefits of water immersion and exercise. Each conference is led and organized by a university in Europe. Dr. Vicenzo Romano Spica, a professor of public health at University of Rome “Foro Italico” led the adviser board responsible for organizing this year’s conference. Event highlights included speaker Tom Lachocki, CEO of the National Swimming Pool Foundation in Colorado Springs, Colo., and the release of a consensus statement that affirmed the world view about the importance of aquatic activity/exercise and the need to create safer aquatic environments. The next ICSPS will be organized by Delft University and held in Amsterdam, Holland, on March 18-20, 2015. Drs. Laura Suppes and James Amburgey will give a synopsis of the 2013 ICSPS - Rome at this year’s World Aquatic Health Conference in Indianapolis on Oct. 16-18.
