SPATEX going fourth in Coventry
Andy Slater- 8 years ago
SPATEX organisers have announced that the wet leisure exhibition will be returning to the West Midlands for a fourth appearance at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry after being boosted by a significant increase in visitor numbers.
Following a year of industry-wide promotion combined with enhance marketing initiatives to ensure a ‘sold out’ 20th anniversary edition of the wet leisure extravaganza, the SPATEX team are now taking stand bookings for the 2017 event that has a change to its traditional Sunday, Monday and Tuesday format. It is now scheduled to be hosted in the middle of the week next year from Tuesday, January 31, to Thursday, February 2.
This time round a host of SPATEX stalwarts, major distributors, and leading hot tub and swim spa product brands help to boost the list of 120 exhibitors in the Jaguar Exhibition Halls 1 and 2 including: Aqua Spa Supplies, Aqua Via Spa, Certikin International, Coast Spas, Elite Spas, Golden Coast, Passion Spas, SCP (UK), Spa Crest Europe, Superior Spas, and Wellis. Many of these, along with companies making their debuts, have already made verbal pledges to return for the landmark 21st outing of the exhibition.
Boosted by very positive elements on all fronts including ‘sold out’ stand bookings, increased visitor numbers by over 25 per cent and support for the next event from established and a new exhibitors, SPATEX organisers have been showered with praise for the success they have achieved by their commitment and hard work during the past 12 months.
SPATEX organiser Michele Bridle, who had to accommodate a late surge of exhibitors wanting to take part in this year’s special wet leisure extravaganza, reported that she was delighted that their stands had been boosted by such a high increase in visitor numbers.
“All very positive messages have been coming out of this special 20th anniversary edition and we’re delighted that our visitor numbers this year are up be at least 25 per cent,” said Michele.
“We will be verifying these figures to provide the official total but I’m delighted to say that to gain this response after our ‘sold out’ uptake of stand space has been very rewarding for everyone involved in organising this year’s exhibition.
“If we had achieved the same visitor figures as last year then it wouldn’t have been viewed as making progress. Thankfully all of our efforts have paid off and we had increased levels of visitors for our exhibitors to promote their products to.
“Throughout the three days of the exhibition the feedback from exhibitors and visitors was very positive and we’ve already gained a large amount of verbal commitments for stand space for the 21st edition of SPATEX.”
BISHTA and SPATA Managing Director Chris Hayes was among the high-profile representatives from the wet leisure industry who praised the SPATEX organising team members for their ‘amazing achievement’ to ensure the 20th anniversary edition was a major success.
“This year the show has exceeded our expectations, having sold out much earlier than expected,” said Chris. “Once again this has led to the show expanding in its size and in the third year of being in Coventry this is an amazing achievement by the SPATEX team.
“The Ricoh Arena offers purpose-built facilities, which have given us the opportunity to make the show even bigger and better for our exhibitors and visitors and our plan is to continue with this expansion in the coming years.”
Following the conclusion of the first day of SPATEX, the Ricoh Arena once again hosted the 2016 British Pool & Hot Tub Awards Gala Evening and Presentation Ceremony and Chris reported that he was delighted with the level of quality entries and congratulated the winners from the BISHTA and SPATA ceremonies who are now also eligible to be entered into the EUSA European Pool and Spa Awards later this year.
Rebranded in 2015, the British Pool & Hot Tub Awards combine entries and accolades for BISHTA and SPATA members. The first SPATA award recipients were in 1978 and the first BISHTA awards were won in 2008 and the presentation ceremonies for the respective organisations have been hosted for the past three years at the Coventry venue.
During the 2016 British Pool & Hot Tub Awards presentation, which allowed the Institute of Swimming Pool Engineers (ISPE) to re-present their 2015 awards, big winners were Jacuzzi and Wellis retailer Oyster Pools & Leisure; who won eight accolades across the two BISHTA and SPATA awards ceremonies including the prestigious Peter Geekie Award for Retail Excellence sponsored this year by leading hot tub and pool product specialist Certikin International; and Hydropool UK, who landed a magnificent seven BISHTA awards including a Gold for Best Showroom.
Specialist Jacuzzi retailer and Euphoria Lifestyle chief Mike Robinson, who exhibited the original Jacuzzi pump that kickstarted the hot tub industry as part of Euphoria Lifestyle’s stand at last year’s Goodwood Revival, was rewarded for his enhanced online presence with Gold Award recognition in the Best Website category.
The BISHTA Award winners were:
Residential Hot Tub Below £7,000
Gold: Oyster Pools & Leisure
Silver: Hydropool UK
Bronze: North Spas
Residential Hot Tub £7,000 to £14,000
Gold: Euphoria Lifestyle
Joint Silver: Oyster Pools & Leisure
Joint Silver: Complete Spas
Bronze: Oyster Pools & Leisure
Residential Hot Tubs £14,000 and Over
Gold: North Spas
Silver: Euphoria Lifestyle
Bronze: Complete Spas
Residential Hot Tubs in an Overseas Setting
Gold: Hydropool UK
Swim Spas and Exercise Pools
Gold: Castle Hot Tubs
Silver: Hydropool UK
Bronze: Oyster Pools & Leisure
Hot Tubs Change Lives
Gold: Hot Tub Suppliers
Best Hot Tub in a Holiday Setting
Gold: Castle Hot Tubs
Joint Silver: Oyster Pools & Leisure
Joint Silver: North Spas
Best Showroom
Gold: Hydropool UK
Silver: Oyster Pools & Leisure
Bronze: Complete Spas
Best Website
Gold: Euphoria Lifestyle
Silver: Hydropool UK
Bronze: Hot Tub Suppliers
The 2016 SPATA award winners were:
Residential Above Ground Pools under £15,000 (sponsored by Plastica)
Gold: Spruce Pools
Residential Outdoor Pools up to £40,000 (sponsored by Plastica)
Gold: New Dawn Pools
Silver: Oyster Pools and Leisure
Residential Pools over £40,000 & under £75,000 (sponsored by OASE)
Gold: Cresta Leisure
Silver: Spruce Pools
Bronze: Cresta Leisure
Residential Pools over £75,000 & under £125,000 (sponsored by Pollet Pool Group)
Gold: XL Pools
Silver: Spruce Pools
Bronze: Tanby Pools
Residential Pools over £125,000 (sponsored by Fi-Clor)
Gold: Origin Leisure
Silver: Tanby Pools
Bronze: Tanby Pools
Residential Indoor Pools up to £100,000
Joint Gold: Origin Leisure
Joint Gold: Jetform Swimming Pools
Joint Silver: Origin Leisure
Joint Silver: Rigo Spa
Bronze: XL Pools
Residential Indoor Pools between £100,000 and £200,000 (sponsored by Astralpool UK)
Gold: Rockingham Swimming Pools
Silver: Whitewaters
Joint Bronze: Origin Leisure
Joint Bronze: Tanby Pools
Residential Indoor Pools over £200,000 (sponsored by Golden Coast)
Gold: (joint entry) Aqua-Blue Designs & David Hallam
Silver: Rio Pool Construction Co.
Bronze: New Dawn Pools
Special Requirements Pools (sponsored by Heatstar)
Gold: Cheshire Wellness
Silver: XL Pools
Bronze: Cheshire Wellness
Commercial Pools (sponsored by Astralpool UK)
Gold: Alba SB Pools
Silver: Cresta Leisure
Bronze: Pinelog
Overseas Commercial Pools
Gold: Belhasa Projects
Overseas Residential Pools
Gold: Belhasa Projects
Silver: Belhasa Projects
Bronze: Belhasa Projects
Refurbishment Pools (sponsored by Golden Coast)
Joint Gold: Grayfox Swimming Pools
Joint Gold: Tanby Pools
Silver: Tanby Pools
Bronze: Cresta Leisure
Inground Residential Spa (sponsored by Fi-Clor)
Gold: Rigo Spa
Silver: Cheshire Wellness
Inground Commercial Spa
Gold: Cresta Leisure
Silver: Cheshire Wellness
Bronze: Centurion Leisure
Sustainability Award (sponsored by Calorex Heat Pumps)
Gold: Whitewaters
Silver: Rigo Spa
Bronze: Waterstream
The Peter Geekie Award for Retail Excellence (sponsored by Certikin International)
Gold: Oyster Pools & Leisure
Paul Kite Award for the Pool Star of the Year (sponsored by Nsure)
Winner: Anita McArthur from Tanby Pools
The Dick Millward Trophy for Pool Contractor of the Year
Winner: Cresta Leisure
Pool of the Year
Winner: (Joint entry) Aqua-Blue Designs & David Hallam
“We congratulate all the winners of this year’s British Pool & Hot Tub Awards,” said Chris Hayes.
“We set a high standard for our judges from across both the pool and spa industry to score each entry on visual impression and technical merit. This means that an award won at the British Pool & Hot Tub Awards is very well deserved, and ownership of at least one award stands as a strong endorsement to consumers of the standard of work a winning company offers.
“Each year, the outstanding quality of submissions creates stiff competition. The high quality of the entries provides a fantastic opportunity for showcasing what our members can do for their customers and reinforces why it is so important to choose a BISHTA or SPATA member to turn a dream into a winning project.
“The publicity generated from the awards evening helps to promote consumer awareness, to generate demand for products and services to kick start the New Year. There is also the added bonus that our BISHTA and SPATA winners are also eligible to be entered into the EUSA European Pool and Spa Awards.”
To book exhibitor stand space for the 21st edition of SPATEX in 2017 contact the SPATEX team via email: helen@spatex.co.uk or michele@spatex.co.uk or telephone +44 (0) 1264 358558.
