The Florida sun was not the only cause for celebration for the Association of Aquatic Professionals last month.
At its 7th annual conference and exposition in St. Pete Beach, the group enjoyed its largest showing of both attendees and exhibitors. More than 590 aquatics professionals attended the educational sessions, networking opportunities and exhibit, while more than 100 companies showed their wares. The exhibition portion had to spill out into a second room.
Courtesy AOAP
“We’re excited to see how we’ve grown,” said Juliene Hefter, executive director/CEO of the organization. “We’re excited to see how everybody’s really coming up and supporting us.”
Pre-conference programming included AOAP’s first facility tour, organized by the Florida Aquatic Council, as well as 15 to 20 new first-time presenters.
The event also played host to programs from other organizations, such as the Starfish Aquatics Institute, American Red Cross, National Swimming Pool Foundation, Genesis, and USA Swimming. Hefter said AOAP hopes to sponsor more.
“We’re really looking at continuing to grow those partnerships and collaborations and always looking for other, smaller groups that might want to offer some training in conjunction with our conference so that their attendees can participate in our exhibit hall and other things,” she said.
The AOAP Board of Directors met in conjunction with the event and stated their intention to expand its AQP designation to allow for renewals of those who have attained the status, as well as exploring ways to solicit more applications for its free life jacket and swim lesson grant programs. The group also is considering ways to increase member-only benefits.
For next year’s session, she added, AOAP hopes to find presenters who can offer addition instruction on programming and events and technical issues, as well as roundtable and in-pool sessions.
Next year’s event will take place Feb. 25 to March 1, including post-conference workshops, at the Embassy Suites and Convention Center in Frisco, Texas. The format and scheduling of the conference may change some so attendees can take advantage of free breakfast and happy hour offered at the venue, Hefter said.