Led by an initial $10,000-per-year,
two-year donation by AQUA Magazine, the National Swimming Pool
Foundation (NSPF) has exceeded its
goal for funding a hot tub immersion
study to examine the health benefits
of hot water, as first reported by
AQUA in March.
The NSPF's board of directors has
unanimously approved matching
funds to those donated. "There was
clear excitement when I reported the
commitment that each of these generous companies have made to help
support our shared vision," says Tom
Lachocki, CEO of the NSPF. "The
board voted to match dollar-for-dollar
the pledged commitments made by 12
leading organizations who expressed
enthusiastic support of the study and
came forward to pledge $80,500 per
year for two years, for a total of
$161,000.
"It has been about one year since
we started discussions with hot tub
manufacturers. At first, despite my
nature, I was not optimistic. Yet with
persistence, we have shown that
leaders will invest in good ideas. These donations demonstrate a
growing confidence in the NSPF's
ability to encourage more people to
get in the water. These donations
show that our industry can cooperate
when it makes sense for everyone's
long-term benefit."
Since AQUA's two-year pledge
commitment, the following companies have followed suit: Watkins
Manufacturing, Lucite, Vita Spas,
Marquis Corp, Dimension One Spas,
Master Spas, Aqua-Flo, Aristech,
King Technology, Olympic Hot Tub
Company, Sundance Spas and
Jacuzzi Hot Tubs.
As for the future of the research,
"The next steps fall into the able
hands of the researchers who will
create a formal proposal and experimental plan to guide their work in
2007 and 2008," says Lachocki. "Each donor will issue checks to
NSPF prior to Oct. 1, 2006, so that
we can fund the work. Dr. Bruce
Becker will present this year's deepwater (shoulder depth) comparison
between in-water and on-land exercise programs at the World Aquatic
Health Conference in Austin, Texas,
on Sept. 20."
ANSI/NSPI-5 Standard Up For Review
The International Aquatic Foundation arm of the Association of Pool
and Spa Professionals (APSP) recently announced the beginning of
the ANSI review process for
ANSI/NSPI-5 2003 American National Standard for Residential Inground Pools, which takes place
every five years.
The ANSI/NSPI-5 draft standard
covers permanently installed inground residential pools with depths
exceeding 24 inches or a volume
over 3,250 gallons, and that are intended for non-commercial use as a
swimming pool by no more than
three owner-families and their
guests.
The standard covers general design
criteria; plans and permits; structural
design; minimum pool dimensions
and tolerances; entries/exits; decks;
material of construction and finishes;
circulation systems; water supply and
waste water disposal; sanitizing
equipment; electrical requirements;
instructions for the circulation system; and safety features.
The APSP develops standards
under consensus requirements established by the American National
Standards Institute (ANSI), and the
IAF is the APSP brand for all standards development activities and
safety messaging for the recreational
water industry.
For more information on how to
be part of the ANSI consensus voting body for this standard, contact
Bernice Crenshaw, APSP, 2111
Eisenhower Ave., Alexandria, VA,
22314; 703/838-0083 extension 150;
fax 703/549-0493; bcrenshaw@
theapsp.org.
New Scientific Journal Launches
A new scientific journal, to be published by Human Kinetics in partnership with the National Swimming
Pool Foundation (NSPF), will launch
in 2007. The quarterly
International
Journal of Aquatic Research and Education
(IJARE) will be peer-reviewed
and available in print and electronic
format. The journal is accepting submissions of original research papers,
experiential reports, clinical and observational studies, reviews of literature and editorial statements of opinion from aquatics professionals and
researchers.
The editor of IJARE will be
Stephen Langendorfer, Ph.D., an associate professor of kinesiology from
Bowling Green State University,
Bowling Green, Ohio. Langendorfer
specializes in aquatics, motor development and measurement. "In addition to research and instructional
practices," he says, "the journal will
report on the use of aquatic facilities
and technology, aquatic health and
safety practices and factors surrounding and influencing aquatic participation." All submissions will be judged
by an international editorial board for
interest and value to the aquatic profession, as well as meeting the journal's mission.
To submit materials for consideration, contact Langendorfer at
419/372-0221 or slangen@bgsu.edu.
CEC Meets With Industry To Address Regulations
Spa manufacturers met on March 8
with the California Energy Commission (CEC) and Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) staff engineers
to address possible revisions to new
spa energy conservation regulations. The goal of the regulations, according to the CEC, was to remove 15 to
20 percent of the least-energy-efficient spas from being sold in the
state. Neither the CEC nor PG&E,
which actually drafted the regulations for the CEC, had sought the industry's input when writing the
requirements.
Members of the International
Aquatics Foundation's (IAF) Spa
Standards Committee, in Long
Beach for the daylong session, offered data showing that the formula
for determining spa energy efficiency was set too high, and as a result,
many models failed to meet the
state's requirements. The CEC's engineer asked that the manufacturers
provide hard data to show how their
spas are failing under the state's formula, indicating that the CEC will be
open to revisiting the formula. Manufacturers are now in the process of
providing test data to the IAF for
consolidation.
SPEC CEO Don Burns, who participated in the session, says, "The
open and cooperative attitudes
shown by both the CEC and PG&E
gave assurance that every effort will
be made to set fair and manageable
requirements."
A similar agreement to review the
CEC's new pool motor regulations
was reached in late March when the
IAF's pool motor standards committee presented data showing that, as
enacted, the California rules are unworkable. Meeting in Orlando, Fla.,
the IAF committee's manufacturers
demonstrated to the PG&E engineer
responsible for the regulation's provisions that mandated two-speed pool
motors would not work in every
swimming pool application. "It was
clear that the utility's understanding
of today's complex swimming pool
construction was unknown by those
writing the new electrical appliance
regulations," says Burns, who also participated in the Florida workshop.
"Had the industry been consulted during the drafting of the requirements,
the current problems undoubtedly
would have been avoided. However
late in coming, we anticipate modifications that will allow pool motor
manufacturers to meet pool builders'
needs. We're going to try to avoid
rewriting the regulation and going
through all of the regulatory hearings,
and rather, make the changes necessary by administrative action."
PG&E has also started work on recommendations for new
swimming pool and spa construction energy-efficiency regulations,
but this time with the industry involved. Pool contractors and industry engineering experts, as well as
SPEC and APSP representatives,
participated in a working session in
Davis, Calif., in late March to address plumbing energy efficiency.
The industry anticipates that it will
be completely involved with PG&E
as the development of new standards proceeds. "This is the way the
other two regulations that caused us
heartburn should've been handled
in the first place but weren't," says
Burns. "So I think everybody's
learned a very valuable lesson, and
that is, include the stakeholders or
the people who are going to be affected."
BUSINESS BRIEFS
• Plastimayd Corporation,
makers of vinyl liners and safety
covers, has moved its corporate
headquarters from Clackamas to
nearby Oregon City, Ore. The new
address: 14151 Fir St., P.O. Box
2320, Oregon City, OR 97045.
• Water Tech, East Brunswick,
N.J., has announced the opening
of four new distribution warehouses. The new locations are
Elizabeth, N.J., Elk Grove Village,
Ill., Torrance, Calif., and Houston.
• Hawkeye Manufacturing,
Richmond, Va., makers of Hawkeye and Barefoot spas, is teaming
with
Pacific Sands
to distribute
the EcoOne Spa Treatment System with its portable spas. Effective immediately, all Hawkeye and
Barefoot spas will include an
EcoOne Starter Kit. EcoOne's
makers tout it as an environmentally safe, nontoxic alternative to
chlorine and bromine systems.
• Sundance Spas
and
Jacuzzi
Hot Tubs, Chino, Calif., recognized their most successful dealers at a sales conference in Puerto
Vallarta, Mexico, earlier this year. Dealers from across the United
States and one from Germany
were honored with both suppliers'
Ambassador's, Regents', President's and Director's awards.
• Pool & Patio Landscaping,
Grand Prairie, Texas, was selected
as a Best-In-Business winner by
ServiceMagic
, a company whose
Web site, servicemagic.com, links homeowners with service professionals across the country.
• ESSENTIALS
recently completed a move to a new warehouse in
Cumming, Ga. The new address is
5070 Wallace Drive, Cumming, GA
30041.
• Pool Design Software
will
hold a hands-on training course in
its SplashWorks software in
Austin, Texas, on Aug. 3. The
company will also hold a training
session on its DesignWare on
Aug. 4.
•
The
Medical Fitness Association
and the
National Swimming Pool Foundation
have
partnered to expand MFA's educational offerings to its members,
which will help the two groups in
their parallel missions. The MFA,
headquartered in Richmond, Va.,
is a nonprofit organization dedicated to medically based fitness
and wellness facilities.
• Marquis Corp. is moving its factory sales from Independence,
Ore., to the Marquis retail store in
Salem, Ore. The Salem store will
become an outlet store and sell reconditioned and factory second
spas, but will also continue to sell
A-grade spas.
• Paddock Pools, Patios &
Spas, Scottsdale, Ariz., named
King Technology
its 2005 Vendor Partner of the Year and recognized
Advantis Technologies
and
Zodiac Pool Care
for Outstanding Vendor performance. Additionally,
Hayward
's Nancy
Hatley and
Cantar
's Manny
Acino received the company's
Most Valuable Representative.
• Anthony & Sylvan Pools, Mayfield Village, Ohio, has named
Aqua Products its 2005 Vendor of
the Year for its Aquabot and AquaJet robot swimming pool cleaners.
AQUA Editors
