New Year, New Opportunities

The year 2020 was not a kind one for a huge number of industries and people, and aquatics were among those that felt the pain. Some facilities never opened. Others opened much later than usual. And many, when they did open, had to keep locker rooms closed and strictly limit the number of visitors in the facility at any one time.

2021 is not likely to represent a complete return to normal. While the vast majority of aquatic professionals believe they'll be open for business this year, many are fully expecting that this won't mean business as usual. The social distancing measures and other strategies deployed to limit the spread of disease will still need to be in place.

That's just one tidbit of information uncovered and reported here in our third annual Aquatic Trends Report. Based on a survey of nearly 650 aquatic professionals conducted in October 2020, this report builds on the information we've collected over the past several years, dealing specifically with aquatic facilities.

We cover a wide range of information about these facilities, from management and operations to budgets and equipment, resource conservation, programming and, yes, the impact of the global pandemic on facilities across the country.

As you make plans for your own aquatic facility, we hope the information in these pages will prove helpful.

Cheers!

Emily Tipping
Editorial Director,
Recreation Management
[email protected]