“We saw the octopus design and it was perfect. That’s it! That’s the one! It still had the river feel to it with tentacles mimicking a river… Even the city admin, who is a much harder sell because he likes things very branded, looked at me and says it’s not even a question, it’s that one. The design was just so fun, it was everything we wanted.”
NSF/ANSI 50 Passes Surfacing Standard for Interactive Waterplay Areas
This summer, after years of research, testing and careful evaluation, the Standard for Safety Surfacing in Interactive Water Play Areas has been added to NSF-50. And Life Floor is proud to be the first aquatic safety surface in the world certified to this standard.
Looking Back Through History: Playground Safety Surfacing
On October 17th, 1903 the first permanent municipal-built playground, Seward Park, was opened to a crowd of 20,000 children [x]). The adoption of these public play spaces was rapid. By 1907 there were 90 municipalities with playgrounds. In just three years that number grew to 531.[x]
With this rapid growth of playgrounds, so too did the injury reports, emergency room visits, and critical head injuries. Parents and experts across the country recognized the growing injury trend, and worked to eliminate the largest and most prevalent hazards.
In 1981, the Consumer Product Safety Commission published the Handbook for Public Playground Safety and parks were retrofitted to eliminate hard surfaces and high falls.
Splash Pads = Playgrounds + Water
Splash pads, like playgrounds, also have had a monumental and rapid adoption across the world. Splash pads were developed in response to providing kids with a play area to cool off without the drowning risk of pools or the sanitation problems associated with public fountains. In the rush to meet the demand, the role of finding safety solutions has been left to each individual operator, with mixed and inconsistent results. Every year, splash pads all over North America have closed to replace or retrofit their surfacing due to complaints, injuries and maintenance.
Operators have especially struggled with surfacing options due to the playful and interactive nature of splash pads. Kids interact with each other by jumping and running from spray feature to spray feature without the protection of clothing or shoes. The combination of bare feet and concrete has left users with burned feet, bumps, bruises, broken bones and head injuries.
To try to solve these issues, operators have been using playground safety surfaces like poured-in-place rubber. These surfaces, while great for dry applications, are simply not developed to interact with treated water. When the adhesive inevitably breaks down, particles clog filtration systems, patchy floors create tripping hazards and microbes grow inside trapped water.
For a lack of a functional surfacing system, many cities have resorted to hiring splash pad attendants to remind kids not to run.
Unfortunately, these individual stop-gaps have not solved the world-wide problem facing splash pad operators. According to the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System database, in 2014 alone, there were an estimated 20,000 injuries on pool decks, splash pads and water parks resulting in an emergency room visit.
The safety revolution that transformed dry playgrounds is long overdue for splash pads. With the new NSF/ANSI 50 standard in place, operators will be able to reduce injuries and keep splash pads open, providing fun for their communities all summer long.
After nearly a decade of designing, testing, and building aquatic surfaces, we have been proud to contribute to the process of creating these new safety requirements. The surface is an indispensable part of the play value, and overall experience of the splash pad. And that’s why we’re committed to designing the safest, most beautiful splash pad surfaces using only products engineered exclusively for aquatic play. We believe the best surface allows kids to play just as they should. Together, we’re creating a safer future for aquatic recreation, for our families, and for our communities.
Our tiles meet six unique performance based standards to meet certification: slip-resistance, impact attenuation, chemical resistance, UV resistance, cleanability, and impermeability. To learn more about our tile’s performance results, visit our NSF/ANSI 50 page.
Putting Humane Design into Perspective
Humane design doesn’t always have to be a massive change. Sometimes it can be a simple adjustment like adding water-use wheelchairs or extending facility hours for kids with sensory needs. Ultimately, we believe the best way forward is to open up communication, listen to the diverse user experience, and practice regular review of safety standards.
Water Safety Month: NSF and Independent Standards
Cities across the country celebrate Water Safety Month by making swimming lessons more accessible and by working with communities to create safer habits in and around water.
Designing Tropical Getaways in the North: Bamboo Bay
The build-out for Bamboo Bay, the multi-level spray structure expansion, was completed a few months after in early 2019. The city again chose Life Floor to cover the entire surrounding deck of the structure and the nearby locker rooms. In a recent interview, Buck expressed that she couldn’t be more thrilled with Life Floor as a solution to safer walkways and more comfortable standing areas for kids and her staff.
Designing A Memorable Family Vacation: Lake George RV Park
Up in the Adirondack Mountains, Lake George RV Park creates a vacation experience for the entire family, with 120-acres for campers to enjoy. Last summer, the park expanded their offerings with Cascade Cove: an outdoor pool complex designed by Aquatic Design & Engineering. Cascade Cove features a resort pool, spa pool, and a unique lily pad splash park and play structure.
10 Things You Won’t BELIEVE You Can Do With Life Floor
2019 is all about the Product Hack: How can you use everyday items in astonishing and unexpected ways. If you’re anything like us then you probably have RACKS on RACKS of impervious, slip-resistant, impact cushioned pool tile just covering every inch of your office. We’re here to help with some Hot Tips for your cool floor:
Legendary Fun at Atlantis Aquaventure Waterpark
Play Value Part 3: Where Does Design Fit In?
Safety surfacing, by nature, allows kids to play on splash pads the way they want to play. But there’s more to the conversation than just facilitating play. How can safety surfacing elevate experiences by encouraging and inviting new kinds of play opportunities? How can safety surfaces by design create a more dynamic play space?
Play Value Part 2: A Canary Test
We’re back to our discussion about spray parks and play value! We’re going to start where we left off and dive deeper into the issue of spray park design, specifically surface design.
In Lisa J Lewis’s 2005 paper “Role of Splash Parks in Outdoor Public Recreation,” Lewis ends with her overall recommendations about how splash pads in general should be designed. She anchors this conclusion with the following:
Spray Parks and Play Value Part 1
There are many practical reasons to love spray parks. They’re less expensive to build and maintain than pools, they’re often free to the community, and they serve as a place to connect with neighbors and new families. Of course the main users of splash pads, kids, love them for a very obvious reason: they’re fun!
But how do you measure how fun a splash pad is?
Inside Edge Safety Surfaces: The Preferred Installation Provider of Life Floor in North America
Life Floor is pleased to announce a new partnership with North America’s leading commercial flooring installation experts, Inside Edge. The two companies have partnered together to provide an all-inclusive installation service for Life Floor customers with premier warranty coverage. As part of the new partnership, Inside Edge will develop their Safety Surfaces Division as the Preferred Installation Provider for Life Floor in North America.
A Blistering Safety Issue
Sizzle. The sound you’d like to avoid when wet feet touch hot concrete. If you’ve ever been to an outdoor aquatic facility in the summer, this problem is likely a sore subject. One of the most common complaints brought to us by operators is the issue of hot surfaces throughout outdoor facilities, specifically on pool decks, stair towers, and walkways. It comes as little surprise then to learn that concrete can reach temperatures hovering around 120°F, while rubberized surfaces can easily reach temperatures above 140°F. In one recent study, a rubberized surface was reported to be 170°F (X).
Leaders in Aquatic Design: Water Technology, Inc.
For our third and final installment of the 2018 Leaders in Aquatic Design series, we had the special pleasure of speaking with two leaders in the field, Douglass Whiteaker, Principal, and President of Water Technology, Inc (WTI) and Jen Gerber, Senior Business Development Coordinator.
Leaders in Aquatic Design: Cloward H20
In the second installment of this year’s series, we had the pleasure of connecting with Allen Clawson, Managing Partner & Principal of Cloward H2O. Clawson has twenty five years of global engineering, project management, design and planning of aquatic systems and facilities experience. (x)
Leaders in Aquatic Design: Aquatic Design & Engineering
Last year, as part of our architect and designer series, we sat down with three major firms in the aquatic design industry. Josh Martin, the President and Creative Director of Aquatic Design & Engineering (ADE), was kind enough to share his perspective in the first installment of this year’s series.
National Parks and Rec Month: Project Spotlight
Happy National Parks and Recreation Month!
Municipal spaces, near and dear to our hearts, are something we love to explore and talk about. In previous blogs, we’ve discussed The 10 Minute Walk To a Park Initiative [x] and our work to standardize splash pad safety [x]. We’ve especially taken joy in sharing the public splash pads we’ve designed through the years: Bloomington, MN [x], Westfield, NY [x] Clarksville, TN [x].
This July we’re celebrating three municipal projects that embody the importance of Parks and Recreation.
LIFE FLOOR + WHITEWATER PARTNERSHIP
Bringing non-slip cushioned surfaces to the world WhiteWater is very pleased to have entered an exclusive distribution agreement with Life Floor for the global water park market. Life Floor’s patented foam-rubber flooring system significantly reduces slips and falls, the #1 cause of water park injuries. However, with Life Floor, when a fall does occur, bumps and bruises are minimized. This is a game-changing product for the water park industry because as every owner and operator knows, the majority of water park injuries occur in this category.
“The partnership further confirms WhiteWater’s designs and product offerings as the safest in the industry,”
DELIVERING FUN - SAFELY
Jonathan Keller, Life Floor’s CEO, sums up the announcement of this new partnership, “Working with WhiteWater, the market leader, was an obvious choice to access a wider market, but we’ve also found that the missions which drive our companies are very aligned. Both companies are single-minded about delivering fun safely with the highest quality products available. I think I can speak for all of us when I say that we are excited by the opportunities that this agreement represents.”
Chris Biancofiore, the Product Manager for WhiteWater’s wide range of interactive water play products and attractions, commented, “On Life Floor, kids feel safer and freer to push their boundaries without the fear of getting hurt…simply put, they play differently. The forgiving surface isn’t abrasive, so it’s soft on bare feet and won’t skin knees. As a result, the only tears will come from when they’re told it’s time to leave the park.”
MORE THAN JUST SAFETY
Life Floor is longer-lasting and stays cleaner. While Life Floor’s non-slip ‘soft fall’ is its biggest benefit, its quality manufacturing also makes it incredibly durable. The completely waterproof tiles will not absorb water or other liquids and last as long underwater as they do above water. Its closed-cell construction does not support the growth of microbes.
Virtually impossible to stain, its more resistant to chlorine and UV exposure than other rubber composite products on the market, making Life Floor not just a safety choice, but an economical one as well.
About WhiteWater
WhiteWater, The Water Parks and Attractions Company, is the leading global designer and manufacturer of innovative water park products and active family attractions for world-class clients. We specialize in water slides, multi-level water play structures, wave-generating equipment, FlowRider® stationary surfing machines, harnessed attractions, interactive play, and water rides. WhiteWater is dedicated to providing the ultimate WOW experiences to our clients and their guests by delivering projects on time, on budget, and to the industry’s highest quality and safety standards. Our industry-leading innovation is driven by a team of 600 extremely talented employees in eight offices around the world working together to complete over 5,000 projects since 1980. Recently, WhiteWater was awarded Canada’s Best Managed Companies designation for its excellence in management and business practices.
Una de Boer | Director of Marketing
+1.604.249.3432 | una.deboer@whitewaterwest.com
whitewaterwest.com
About Life Floor
Life Floor manufactures Life Floor tiles, a foam-rubber flooring system designed for use in wet areas with barefoot traffic. Created as an alternative to concrete and other conventional materials, Life Floor is the only safety surface specifically designed and engineered to perform in aquatic environments. Life Floor combines award-winning safety with unparalleled design capabilities, delivered by an expert team committed to a world-class experience for everyone who interacts with our products. All over the world, people trust Life Floor to make their aquatic environments look and feel extraordinary. Life Floor was founded in 2011, and has served the biggest names in water parks, including Carnival Cruise Line, LEGOLAND, Cedar Fair, and Great Wolf Lodge. In 2016, Life Floor became the only surfacing company ever to win the World Waterpark Association's prestigious Kelly Ogle Memorial Safety Award.
Gwen Ruehle | Vice President, Business Development
+1.612.405.2718 | gwen.ruehle@lifefloor.com
lifefloor.com
FAQS
Who is WhiteWater West Industries (WWI)?
The Original Waterpark Company! Founded in 1980, WWI helped start the World Waterpark Association and are the oldest manufacturer of fiberglass water slides. They are also the largest supplier of equipment (slides, wave pools, surfing machines, play structures) in the entire world, in fact their business is as large as all of their competitors combined. They have done over 6000 projects in the 38 years they have been in business. To get a sense of scale, if they were to install Life Floor around all of their previous projects, that would require more than 60 million square feet of Life Floor.
At this point, WWI does everything from designing, specifying, planning, supplying, managing projects, and helping maintain waterparks and theme parks all over the world. Their largest markets are China, the United States, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East, and they complete from 170-220 projects per year.
What does this partnership mean for Life Floor?
Life Floor is now WWI’s recommended safety surface. Soon, Life Floor will be included in all designs for water park Multi-Level Play Structure (MLP) equipment, as well as on applications such as slide towers, wave pools, and around FlowRiders and slide pads.
How did this partnership happen?
WWI and Life Floor both value safety, and the partnership is focused on safety first and foremost. We believe that bringing the leader in aquatic safety surfacing design and manufacture in partnership with the leader in water park design and manufacture will create safer aquatic recreation experiences for potentially millions of people.
How will this partnership work for customers?
New water park customers interested in purchasing and installing MLPs can obtain Life Floor for their facility by working exclusively through WWI.
If you are a water park customer with a preexisting relationship with Life Floor, you may contact either Life Floor or WWI directly for MLPs and other projects.
If your park does not have WhiteWater equipment, you can still buy from Life Floor directly.
What about splash pads?
Given our commitment to splash pad safety via our work with NSF-50, Life Floor will still be selling splash pad surfacing directly to clients.
Has WWI purchased Life Floor?
WWI has not purchased Life Floor. Life Floor remains an independent company, and we look forward to seeing how this partnership will serve the waterpark industry going forward.
If you have any questions about how this partnership affects you, or how to best obtain Life Floor for a project, please contact solutions@lifefloor.com.
Water Safety Month: Slip-Resistance
The Sand Paper: Shortage, Supply, & Safety
At Life Floor, we've seen a lot of sand in and around water parks, other aquatic installations, and in other human-made environments. That may not be a good thing. To paraphrase a philosopher, "We don't like sand. It's coarse and rough and irritating and it gets everywhere." (seen here) Digging into the problem a little deeper, we realized that trucking sand into these places from mines, beaches, and riverbeds isn't just annoying, it's potentially dangerous. Here are a few reasons we think the aquatic recreation industry, and any industry, should rethink sand usage: