In this issue:

Article 1: Theming Your Way to the Bank

Article 2: It's Not About Swimming, It's About Building Community on Campus

Theming Your Way to the Bank

Written by: Aquatic Design Group

Featured Interview with Steve Brinkel, SCS Interactive

Gone are the days when children would entertain themselves all summer long in the rectangular community swimming pool. Today’s families typically recreate together and expect individual areas catering to each age bracket of their family. Municipal pools not only offer lap swimming, but are realizing that revenue significantly increases if they can balance competition water space along with recreational water space. Therefore, most modern facilities are responding by offering amenities that service a family from crib to cane.

Our culture demands fresh choices and alternatives, and the marketplace provides plenty of options. The mission for facilities of the future will be finding ways to tweak or change existing amenities to offer variety to their patrons in a cost effective manner. Examples of this can already be seen at several municipalities across the country where wet play features such as tumble buckets, water cannons and other elements are switched annually between different facilities and projects are being phased to add new attractions to increase and maintain their customer base.

The following is an interview with both Steve Brinkel, the director of sales at SCS Interactive.

Q : What increase, if any, have you seen with regards to trends of theming for aquatic parks?

Theming has taken place in many forms. Parks have been “raising it up a notch” by having more lifelike and realistic water play features. Theming is a great way for parks to add fun and excitement to a new facility, but this can also be done to help renovate a tired facility as well. By adding theming we can take your standard play structure and transform it into anything you can imagine, be it an Egyptian pyramid or an underwater fantasy.

Q : Besides building a “cool facility” what are some other reasons for theming?

Ultimately, theming will increase a facility’s revenue. If you want to maximize occupancy and have patrons return more frequently, theming is worth it. Overall, it creates a better experience.

Q : Are these increases only in regards to large commercial water parks?

We are actually seeing the increase in theming occur in both private and in public sector parks. Often in municipalities, the facility may be more themed to be in tune with local surroundings ie. Beach themes, palm desert themes, etc.

Q : What are some recent trends that you are seeing in regards to aquatic facility theming?

We’ve seen the typical approach to splash pad equipment “taken up a notch”. We used to see basics like tumble buckets, cannons, etc. but now play equipment is much more realistic. For instance, tumble bucket look like barrels, piping is now painted so it looks like tree trunks, play equipment can look like a shipwreck. Finishes are so realistic now, they don’t just look like painted steel pipes any longer, rather they look and feel like actual bark! It’s really fun. Some fun themes we have seen are tropical, wilderness themes, and mining themes. Another big trend is also sponsorship. For instance, we are just wrapping up a Sesame Street sponsored project.

Q : How do you theme towards age groups?

For younger children, approximately 4-12, play equipment should be kept bright and colorful, this is important for what we call “eye appeal."  Parents also need to be taken into consideration when designing splash pads. They also enjoy the theming of a facility. For older children, the overall size of a structure should be much bigger. There are a lot more challenges and competitions, such as spray guns in which they hit a target or try to spray water into buckets. Also, the structure colors can be darker. For instance, wilderness theming or pirate theming work well in this age range, but may scare younger children.

Q : Theming sounds great, however, everyone is watching the bottom line nowadays. Let’s cut to the chase- how much is the general cost of theming?
A structure is usually about half a million dollars. For “light theming” add about 10% to the project premium, and 30-35% for a heavier theming. This can include sculptures, pipe wrappings, and audio components.

Q : Thank you for taking the time to speak to us. Is there anything else an architect or a facility planner should know about theming?

Definitely. I would advise on staying away on themes that are too topical, basically anything that won’t be relevant in 5-10 years. Play equipment is much like hotel changes. You can always update as years go on. The best themed water parks I have seen have are well thought out and have been planned thoroughly in regards to location, budget, and demographics.

SCS designs and manufactures interactive water play equipment. In business since 1986, SCS has pioneered such innovative concepts as the tree house structure, tipping buckets, and the combination of wet-dry rollercoaster.

"It's Not About Swimming, It's About Building Community on Campus"

Written by: Sylvia Ramirez, Publicity/Promotions Coordinator,  University of Texas at Austin

On a campus as large and diverse as The University of Texas at Austin, building community is an important goal and one that is wholly embraced by the Division of Recreational Sports. With a population of over 50,000 students and 21,000 faculty and staff, such a goal is also a Texas-size challenge. Recreational Sports was able to rise to the challenge in its design of the Gregory Gym Aquatic Complex by utilizing a 10-point set of guiding principles that began with these three key tenets:

1.         Remember that the students are  paying for the complex.

2.         We’re building an aquatics center, not just swimming pools.

3.         More than a facility, the goal is to create a new campus environment that fosters socialization, builds community and serves as a special gathering spot for quality of life to occur.

The Division’s commitment to these particular guiding principles were rooted in a 1999 student referendum. In this referendum students voted overwhelmingly in support of the new aquatic complex to complete the renovation of Gregory Gym and to complement The Campus Master Plan with its stated goals of promoting social interaction and a sense of community on campus.

The Gregory Gym Aquatic Complex, which officially opened on Nov. 18, 2005, features the complete renovation of the gymnasium’s 75-year-old natatorium with its lap and recreational pools, as well as the creation of a new two-acre outdoor site consisting of lap, leisure and event pools, heated spa, Poolside Café, Reception Garden, deck area for lounging, wireless Internet and lush landscaping.

“From the onset, we agreed that the new aquatic facility would not be designed solely for lap swimming or programming. It would be designed for building community. We didn’t want to sacrifice one goal for the other,” said Facility Coordinator Allison Van Leeuwen, who served on the Aquatic Design Advisory Committee.

Student leaders were also involved throughout the project, helping to plan and design a dynamic, one-of-a-kind aquatic complex that would meet their needs and preferences, namely, a place to exercise, relax and build community.

To ensure that this student oasis would remain true to its stated objectives, the design committee focused on planning a facility that would lend itself to the types of activities that the informal, or drop-in, user values most: lap swimming, relaxing, socializing and lounging. At the same time, the design committee sought to strike a balance between drop-in use and programming of the facility. Included in the planning for programming were activities such as water exercise classes; kayak roll clinics and paddling workshops; intramural sports events including inner tube water polo, inner tube water basketball and water volleyball; instructional learn to swim and lifeguard classes; and special events, such as receptions, student organization events and water sport tournaments.

Some programmed activities have been more marketable than others. Water exercise classes are popular but only with a certain segment of participants, namely, older faculty and staff who are seeking a more gentle form of exercise. On the other hand, water volleyball leagues are quite popular with students who enjoy the recreational aspect of the games. Associate Director of Programs Randall Ford says, “Our participants would definitely love to see an expansion of this program so we continue to search for creative ways to do so without disrupting the drop-in use of the pools.”

The Instructional Program has also benefited from the new Aquatic Complex, allowing for an expansion of learn to swim classes. However, as Instructional Program Coordinator Nicole Olmeda noted, “It’s easier to program classes indoors because weather is not a factor. In fact, our participants prefer their classes indoors for that reason.” 

Perhaps the most beneficial programming aspect has been in the area of special events. The Aquatic Complex has become a very popular venue for special events of all types. Recreational Sports itself utilizes the aquatic complex for its annual campus-wide end-of-year pool party, featuring live music, as well as for its student employee appreciation party each May. Other campus departments and student organizations also reserve the Aquatic Complex for their events and activities. The Office of the President, for example, hosts a new faculty welcome event at the pool. The University Women’s Volleyball Team recently entertained new recruits with a poolside party. The Texas Union offered a free dive-in movie for the entire campus community at the beginning of the fall semester. Student Government also hosted a campus pool party during its welcome week of activities.

Overall, Recreational Sports has learned that students do not seem to want the Gregory Gym Aquatic Complex to be programmed to such a degree that drop-in use is compromised.  “Students definitely want to be able to use the Aquatic Complex for social interaction so we value informal recreation and we try not to over-program our pools.  We’re allowing our users to dictate how the pools will be used,” Van Leeuwen said.