The World Waterpark Association’s (WWA) annual gathering of water leisure professionals took place at West Palm Beach, Florida, in October, featuring the industry’s anticipated Leading Edge Awards.

The WWA’s 37th Annual Symposium & Trade Show attracted 1,400 owners, operators, developers, suppliers and designers from 22 countries, who came to take part in the conference, network and find out about new products as they reflected on the year and looked forward to 2018.

“This was a year of challenges for many in our industry,” said WWA president Rick Root. “Globally, we saw operators dealing with multiple hurricanes, earthquakes, fires and rainy, inclement weather throughout North America and beyond. Yet, our industry knows that good and bad seasons come and go. Whether up or down, they remain resilient and laser-focused on working together to set new goals, overcome challenges and look ahead to bigger success in the coming year.”

A programme of educational sessions and workshops aimed to bring attendees up to speed with the latest trends, overcome challenges and receive expert briefings on guest safety, operations, customer service, employee training and more, while plenty of networking opportunities enabled them to make new contacts and strengthen existing relationships.

“One of the key strengths of the WWA Show is our ability to create interaction points between attendees,” said Aleatha Ezra, the association’s director of park member development. “Whether it happens in a classroom setting, around a table at a networking event, in a booth on the trade show floor or within the WWA Show App, we want our attendees to forge new relationships and build upon their industry connections while also having fun."

The Leading Edge Awards, among the most prestigious accolades in the water leisure industry, where also presented. The winners were ADG for the Twin Tides double-ended wave pool; Morgan’s Inspiration Island and the waterproof non-battery-powered wheelchair Pneuchair; Polin and Legend of Aqua at Land of Legends in Turkey; ProSlide, WTI and Universal’s Volcano Bay in Orlando, Florida; and Wanda and WhiteWater for Changbaishan waterpark in China.