A highly successful AquaRec conference was held at
Flemington Racecourse on 28-29 August 2008. Over
240 people including delegates, speakers and trade
attended over the two days in the impressive conference
facilities in 'the Grandstand'. Preparatory work for the
forthcoming Spring Racing Carnival and Melbourne Cup
could be seen whilst enjoying the tea and lunch breaks.
The growing size and complexity of the industry means
that the range of relevant topics also grows and it was
a difficult task compiling a program that would appeal
to the different elements of the industry.
An underlying theme for 2008 was to look to the future.
New facilities are bigger, more expensive, multi purpose
and involve a greater investment by government. A
number of presentations relating to future developments
included the proposed new facility at the University of
Queensland, the 10 year Master Plan for Melbourne Sports
& Aquatic Centre, community use of the new North
Melbourne Football Club facility and the changing brief
for multi function community hubs as outlined by Suters
Prior Cheney Architects.
Keeping up to date and meeting continuing professional
development requirements are crucial for raising
professional standards and the AquaRec conference plays
an important role in supporting the industry for this
purpose.
Picture:
North Melbourne Football Club CEO, Eugene Arocca
(middle) with
Aquatics &
Recreation Victoria CEO, Andrew Whittaker (left), and
Chairman, Andrew Hocking (right)
The wide ranging program provided plenty of choice for
delegates and the opportunity to network with industry
colleagues from across Australia. Delegates were
treated to not only the best speakers from the aquatic
and recreation industries, but from a variety of
associated fields.
Conference delegates, along with session presenters and
trade representatives mingled at the Cocktail Party
following the first day's activities. Several
prizes, kindly provided by sponsor Roejen Services, were
'up for grabs' as guests networked both socially and
professionally.
