The Importance of Free Play in Aquatic Environments

Childhood is a time of limitless imagination, boundless creativity, and wild invention. It’s the one time in life when exploration is encouraged freely without the weight of daily responsibilities other than formal learning and helping with chores. The freedom of being young displays itself in many ways, one of which is free play. 

Free play is critical to a child’s development. It enables them to problem solve, think critically, develop stories, and innovate. It can be seen in activities such as building Lego sets, playing house, creating structures and gaining achievements in video games like Minecraft, strategy forming in board games, and simply running through backyards envisioning new worlds. One method of free play continues to evolve as children explore aquatic environments, such as splash pads. 

Children play at Lopesan’s Costa Bavaro Resort, Dominican Republic.

An octopus tentacle leads guests through a spray feature at Westfield Memorial Pool, NJ.

Historically, splash pads have included spray features that inspire thoughts of running under mountainous waterfalls, becoming pirates on a treasure-hunting adventure, or riding gigantic animals through vast seas. Far too often, these features have laid upon a blank canvas of abrasive concrete beckoning for inspiration. Covering this blank canvas with a specific flooring design is one way to further encourage free play. For example, a pirate-themed splash pad could round out the experience for children with an “x marks the spot,” different clues on the island to give more context, and a beach theme with blues symbolizing the water, tans symbolizing the shore, and aquatic creatures sprinkled throughout. It could even include hopscotch inlays to encourage children to jump from shape to shape to get across a certain section of the surface. This concept of adding theming to the flooring design can also help with zoning. For instance, a facility could denote a more adventurous zone with darker blues creating the “high seas” or a calmer zone with tans to portray a peaceful sand-colored beach. 

Before: Disintegrating Pour-In-Place at Wyndham Bonnet Creek, FL

After: Life Floor’s Pirate Theme at Wyndham Bonnet Creek, FL

Alternatively, surfaces can display a more simplistic, geometric pattern to encourage a different kind of free play. For example, “the floor is lava” is a common game for children to play by jumping from color to color or chasing each other around by only touching certain patterns. These activities could augment the free play made available by the water features they encounter as they run around. 

Children play on the hexagon surface at Parr Park, Grapevine, TX.

It should be noted that free play is only as free as children feel while engaging with the aquatic environment. Do they feel like they can tumble to the ground without fear of a bruised knee? Do they think they can jump around without losing their footing and slipping? Are they certain in their games that the only thrill is that of excitement and not of fear of injury? 

Life Floor strongly believes that aquatic surfaces should lessen and, if possible, eliminate fear of major injury. It’s natural to get a couple bruises playing; however, if injuries halt play then something needs to change. Our company was founded on the idea that play shouldn’t be painful. Scrapes, cuts, and concussions shouldn’t be a common occurrence on splash pads and pool decks, especially when young children could be getting their initial introductions to aquatic free play. That’s why a central tenet of our brand is safety. Our product provides safer surfaces with cushioning, impact absorption, and slip resistance, allowing kids to play freely as they were meant to play: without fear. 

For more information on the benefits of free play, please visit https://wetheparents.org/importance-of-free-play

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If you would like to discover ways you can transform the flooring at your aquatic facility, please send us a message at solutions@lifefloor.com.

National Water Safety Month: Clean Surfaces Make Aquatic Facilities Safer

Welcome to week four of our National Water Safety Month series on issues and topics prominent in the aquatics industry! If you missed last week’s post on accessibility, be sure to check it out. In light of facilities beginning to open up again, this week we’ll be highlighting the importance of having and maintaining a clean aquatic surface.

Concerns have often been raised across industries that have significant touchpoints with the general public about clean surfaces and cleaning guidelines, especially at parks, pools, and splash pads. Recently, these concerns have increased with COVID-19 and have caused facilities to reevaluate how they are sanitizing surfaces and features to avoid spreading disease. Following the Model Aquatic Health Code, surfaces should be cleaned to remove 99.9% of microorganisms. Unfortunately, many surfaces are porous and absorb materials. For example, concrete is 97.4% impervious according to third party testing involved with NSF/ANSI Standard 50. While 99.9% of microorganisms can be cleaned from its surface, it may still absorb contaminants such as fertilizer run-off, bacteria, viruses, and other hazardous fluids. Beyond potentially harboring these contaminants, the permeable nature of a surface like concrete can lead to staining, which makes it more difficult to maintain.

Windsor Hills Splash Pad, Kissimmee, Florida

We know that cleaning has always been a forefront topic for operators and supervisors of aquatic facilities. Maintenance can get costly, and it is important to address safety concerns immediately so they do not result in pain points for years to come. Life Floor has strived to improve upon the cleanability of concrete and other surfaces by creating an innovative closed-cell foam product that is 99.7% impervious. Based on third party testing, our tiles are also 99.9% cleanable after having been exposed to harmful bacteria, even in the joints. Offering a safer surfacing solution is our company’s greatest mission and, to do so, we couldn’t just look at obvious improvements such as slip-resistance and cushioning for our tiles. We have been focused on protecting guests not only from physical injury, but also from microscopic threats that could potentially lead to infection or disease. While preventing microbial growth on our product, we have also engineered it to make it extremely difficult to stain. Even spray paint cleans off. 

For any aquatic surface, it is also important to make sure to use the right cleaners and understand that a regular maintenance schedule ultimately reduces cost and provides your guests with a positive experience. Life Floor recommends certain cleaners to ensure optimal maintenance of our floors. These include a peroxide cleaner, a degreaser, and a mineral deposit remover. Using all three of these cleaners on a regular schedule ensures that build-up doesn’t occur and that Life Floor installations remain slip-resistant and beautiful. 

Life Floor Ripple 2.0 Texture in Bluebird

As this summer season begins, we wish the safest experiences possible for all visitors and operators at water parks, pools, and splash pads. We certainly can’t wait to get out there to enjoy the beautiful weather and the great outdoors! 

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Looking to upgrade your facility’s aquatic surfacing? Contact us - we’re always happy to help. 

National Water Safety Month: Improving Accessibility at the Surface Level

Thanks for coming back to week three of our National Water Safety Month series on issues and topics prominent in the aquatics industry! In case you missed it, be sure to check out our previous post about how important it is to reduce slip and fall injuries within aquatic environments. This week our focus is on how accessibility enables a greater and safer way to play. 

Creating accessibility in built environments levels the playing field, enabling everyone to interact and explore on their own terms. Today, communities increasingly strive to create inclusive recreation areas that are inviting to guests of all ages and abilities. These facilities attract and encourage a safer and more accessible play experience by using a variety of features and paying attention to certain design elements like spacing, color, size, and flow. This emphasis to provide interactive, social, and active play opportunities for all should also be applied to aquatic facilities, whenever possible. When accessibility is inherent in a facility’s design, even more guests are able to perceive, understand, navigate, and interact with features, leading to a more robust play experience. 

With our slip-resistant and cushioned tiles, Life Floor offers an approach to surfacing that enhances aquatic facilities and splash pads by making them safer and more enjoyable to a larger range of guests. Beyond providing a safety surfacing solution, our tiles can also wrap around coping edges and steps to further improve traction for guests that require more stable footing, thereby reducing risk of injury in these areas. Other surfaces commonly found in aquatic environments, such as concrete or ceramic tile, can lead to a less safe or more inaccessible experience due to lack of traction, cushioning, and/or comfort. Enhancing safety at the surface level makes aquatic facilities more accessible to people of all ages and physical abilities, especially those who may be more prone to injury. As a result, very young children can begin to explore water play, the senior population can engage more safely in activities at their community pools, and guests of all abilities are invited to enjoy splash pads and other aquatic features. 

While use of a product like Life Floor can enhance safety and accessibility, other design methods can be used at the surface level to further accommodate a wide range of guests. These techniques can involve visual, textural, and mobility considerations. 

Use of color at the ground level within aquatic facilities can provide visual cues to a wider range of patrons. For instance, contrasting colors can help the visually impaired differentiate between different depth or surface changes. These visual color cues can supplement traditional depth markers, which do not take into account those who have limited vision or reading abilities. A contrasting colored band of coping around a pool can help to define where the deck ends and the water begins. Likewise, use of contrasting colors at the edges of steps can signal elevation changes, especially when visually obscured by water. Use of more subtle patterns with less contrast across pool decks can help to avoid confusion for patrons that may have challenges with depth perception. Keeping these techniques in mind can create an environment that inspires confidence for a greater range of guests.  

Contrasting color bands at step edges help define elevation changes underwater.

A band of contrasting color and texture indicates where the pool deck ends and the water begins.

A contrast in textures can also provide a way of differentiating between zones and features. Much in the way that tactile paving bumps signal transitions for the visually impaired, such as where the sidewalk meets the street, a similar technique can indicate changes within aquatic environments. Varying textures in this way enables people with sensory preferences or low vision to feel distinct differences when entering new areas of a facility. This equips individuals with an understanding of where they are located as well as possible features in their surroundings. At the moment, Life Floor is offered in two distinct textures that have achieved this approach at facilities where it’s been requested along pool edges. Providing these tactile methods of communication has the ability to increase safety and awareness for guests within aquatic facilities. 

Sloped transitions make an elevated pool deck surface accessible to all guests.

Ensuring that these spaces accommodate visitors with mobility challenges further increases accessibility. While pool lifts are commonly used, other design features can enhance the ways that guests are able to interact with aquatic environments. For people who ride wheelchairs, installation of ramps, sloped entrances leading into pools, or transition strips at the edges of raised decks or splash pads can enable access to features that may have otherwise been difficult to enjoy. Surfacing materials that provide traction and a more stable experience for these guests will also enhance their ability to confidently navigate these environments. Attention to spacing of features on splash pads can also improve access to more guests, especially those who ride wheelchairs. Designing with attention to mobility in mind ensures that aquatic recreation may be frequented by a greater diversity of patrons, creating a better experience overall.     

We’re happy that Life Floor is able to enhance safety and accessibility at facilities in many of these ways as we love watching people of all ages and abilities come together to enjoy aquatic spaces. Equal opportunity to experience play and joy has always been important to our team and we look forward to continuing to equip facilities with a solution that creates beautiful, safer, and more accessible environments for all. 

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Interested in learning more about accessible design within aquatic environments? Explore our related blog posts here: 

Putting Humane Design Into Perspective 
2018 Trends: Accessibility 

National Water Safety Month: Getting Traction on a Slippery Issue

Welcome to week two of our National Water Safety Month series on issues and topics prominent in the aquatics industry! If you missed last week’s post on safety messaging, be sure to check it out. This week we’ll be talking about how important it is to reduce slip and fall injuries within aquatic environments. 

As parents and guardians, the one thing we never want to see is our children getting injured by things that could have been prevented. It’s why new parents child-proof their homes and make sure sharp edges are covered, stairs are barricaded, and cabinets that contain potentially dangerous items like cleaning supplies are locked. Children are learning, growing, and developing natural responses to environmental stimuli. Our duty as adults is to protect them from threats that they aren’t yet able to recognize as dangerous. Child-proofing isn’t meant to completely bubble-wrap kids and shield them from everything; instead, it enables them to explore and be themselves without developing fears of things that have injured them. This is largely why the playground industry transitioned away from concrete and asphalt surfacing to safety surfacing in the 1980s. 

On surfaces traditionally found in aquatic environments, like concrete, ceramic tiles, and pour-in-place aggregates, there are numerous issues that arise. These surfaces are often slippery when wet, abrasive, hot, and/or non-cushioned. Not only are children slipping and falling, but they are also skinning their knees and elbows, getting concussions, burning their feet, and developing fears of community features that were intended to spark joy and inspire play. Water shoes have been developed as a low-cost alternative to help provide more traction and protection; however, this should signal to the industry that end consumers are unhappy with aquatic surfacing and are trying to improve safety within their personal means. Unfortunately, we’ve seen the effects of these types of surfaces far too often — through news articles about splash pads shut down for safety concerns, from first hand stories we hear from family or friends, or from customers looking to solve major pain points at their facilities. 

This is why Life Floor was created. Our co-founders saw a need for safety surfacing on splash pads and at other aquatic facilities, especially when one of them became a new father. He witnessed his young son slip, fall, and hit his head on wet concrete surfacing. When that happened, he saw these facilities in a new light and recognized that changes needed to be made to protect other children like his son. Fast forward nearly a decade and this mission has become a reality. Using safety surfacing standards for dry playgrounds as a historic precedent, NSF International created a new standard within NSF/ANSI 50 recommending safety surfacing for use in all aquatic play areas. In order to be certified to the new standard, surfacing products are required to meet or exceed six criteria, one of which is slip-resistance. Surfaces need to be significantly slip-resistant when wet and maintain slip-resistance even after exposure to harsh UV and pool chemicals. Another one of the six required characteristics of certified products is the need for impact attenuation. Knowing that very small children can stumble and fall regardless of surface type, it is now recommended that splash pad surfaces cushion this fall to a certain extent. These new requirements will add a standard of safety to aquatic play areas that hasn’t been present until now and we’re proud to witness this positive shift in the industry. To learn more about the standard and specifications for certification, download our NSF/ANSI 50 Guide here. 

For facilities that have chosen to install Life Floor, there have been numerous testimonials from directors, supervisors, and operators that speak to the evident improvement. Facilities are saving time, energy, and money by lowering (and in some cases eliminating) incident reports at their splash pads, pool decks, and waterparks due to Life Floor’s innovative product. Overall, liabilities are decreasing, lawsuits around surfacing concerns are diminishing, and guest satisfaction is skyrocketing. Here’s what a few of our customers have said:

“We definitely noticed a major decrease in our reports: we hardly have any slip and falls on the flooring or reports of ice pack usage. All of that drastically went down. Everyone here from the guests to the desk staff have been singing its praises.”

— Shoreview Community Center Shoreview, MN

“We notice it because of the incidence rate. We record every injury we get in the park, the injury rate, and saw a significant decrease in injuries. From a data standpoint it has made a big difference.”

— SeaWorld Aquatica, Orlando, FL

“The color is bright. We had a big fall rate and now we don’t – no injuries since installing.”

— Volcano Island Waterpark, Sterling, VA

“I have had a lot of people ask about the floor since we’ve installed it, and I always say that the upfront cost is a little scary. It tends to scare people away, I get that. But if you can do it then it’s worth it. Before this we had nothing but issues, and now we’ve not had a single thing go wrong. Don’t worry about the cost, in the long run it is worth it.”

— The Steer Barn Clubhouse, Hemlock Farms, PA

This summer will be unique as not all aquatic facilities across the country will be open as usual. We anticipate that, in many communities, splash pads may be the only types of aquatic recreation available this coming season. With limited activities accessible to families, operators are going to be focused on keeping these areas as safe and enjoyable as possible. To learn more about ways that your facility can prevent slip and fall injuries and meet the requirements of the new NSF/ANSI 50 surfacing standard, feel free to contact us - we’re always happy to help. 

National Water Safety Month: An In-Depth Look at Safety Messaging

Happy National Water Safety Month! May is one of our team’s favorite months for many reasons, but the number one reason is because summer is rapidly approaching! This usually means that outdoor pools, splash pads, and waterparks are starting to open; however, this year looks a bit different due to safety concerns surrounding COVID-19. As states and communities begin to slowly reopen parks and facilities, we want to ensure that everyone remembers how to stay safe around water. We also want to give operators and aquatics supervisors ways to improve safety at their facilities. Throughout this month, we’ll be publishing blogs and articles on our website and social media to raise awareness for water safety while also suggesting potential ways to update facilities to improve guest experience.

This week, the focus is on safety messaging and how to provide guests with the confidence to enjoy your amenities safely. Safety messaging is present at facilities in many forms such as posted signs and rules, depth markers, no-diving symbols, and underwater contrast strips to show depth changes on stairs and pool bottoms. In light of COVID-19, it is likely that new types of signage for line queues encouraging social distancing at waterparks, similar to those found at grocery stores, will be required for safer re-openings. We anticipate that pools may also need to indicate which swim lanes are open or closed for use as a measure to safely distance visitors. If you’re a pool operator or designer, you know that, regardless of the circumstances, proper messaging in primary contact zones is crucial for a positive guest experience and to help reduce liability for facilities. 

One of the largest pain points we’ve noticed in messaging regards depth markers and no-diving symbols. Traditional markers are typically either painted or coated, as well as often made out of slippery ceramic tiles. Painted or coated markers can fade or wear down over time. Ceramic tiles can crack or chip with regular wear. Instances of engraved messaging can also be prone to collection of dirt and debris. Unfortunately these issues can all obscure safety messaging, preventing it from having its intended effect of keeping guests safe. Depth markers made from these methods often need to be replaced or repaired fairly regularly. 

Fading safety messaging that was painted.

Engraved safety messaging obscured by wear over time.

A contrast in textures (and traction) between broomed concrete and smooth ceramic depth marker tiles.

It is also commonly the case that depth markers are made from a completely different material than the surfacing that surrounds them. While broomed concrete and other textured surfaces can provide a certain level of slip-resistance, ceramic tiles have the potential to create a slippery situation. The difference in materials can also look odd if a surface such as pour-in-place is used since safety markers cannot be seamlessly integrated into the deck and may be overlooked entirely. 

To address these pain points, starting several years ago, Life Floor developed depth markers, no-diving symbols, and other prominent methods of safety messaging that are all made out of our slip-resistant tile materials and uphold the same level of detail and quality found in the rest of our products. With precision cutting, we have been able to achieve extremely fine details that mimic traditional markers, but can also seamlessly integrate into any Life Floor surface. Since they are custom cut with lettering that goes the entire depth of the tile, any messaging created with Life Floor will last the full lifetime of our product. Because lettering is cut into our markers, rather than painted or coated on the surface, it won’t fade from traffic or chemical exposure over time. It will likewise remain legible even after prolonged UV exposure due to Life Floor’s built-in UV Resistance. All of these factors ensure that clarity of messaging will remain prominent. 

Life Floor depth marker and safety messaging.

Life Floor depth marker technical detail.

Life Floor also offers fully customizable options to accommodate specific attractions or match facility theming while also staying within code parameters. As new protocols are developed as a result of COVID-19, they will likely require new types of signage. Our team is ready to help facilities adapt to any updated requirements and to continue to conform to existing best practices. 

We encourage you to take a look at your facility and note all of the safety messaging present to ensure your guests are getting all of the right information at key access points. Enthusiasm to revisit aquatic attractions will be high and we look forward to supporting our customers as they aim to make re-openings as safe as possible.   

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Still curious about Life Floor’s depth markers and safety messaging? Visit our page here or feel free to contact us via email at solutions@lifefloor.com or call us at 612-567-2813.

Pairing Safety Surfacing with Risky Play at Costa Bavaro Resort

Located in Punta Cana on the coast of the Dominican Republic, Lopesan’s Costa Bavaro Resort offers 5-star accommodations and amenities to provide guests with an oceanfront Caribbean experience. Among the features on this 27-acre property is a 16,146 sq. ft. aquatic play area named Splash Island, the result of the creative collaboration between Martin Aquatic Design & Engineering and WhiteWater West and installation by Inside Edge. Splash Island’s main attraction is an elevated play structure by WhiteWater complete with slides and spray features. This area is augmented by integrated natural landscaping elements functioning as “islands” and Life Floor surfacing, which pairs theming with our tiles’ slip-resistant and impact-attenuating properties. Our High Tide color combination of blue tiles is featured in the main play area while sandy colors speckle the deck to simulate a beach where parents relax as children and teenagers play. The pairing of Life Floor surfacing with WhiteWater’s multi-level play structure and the other spray features on-site creates an attraction committed to both adventurous play and safety. 

Large landscaped “islands” separate the larger risky play area from the adjacent splash pad where smaller children may feel more comfortable. These different zones help shape children’s development at different stages. Any type of water play for infants and toddlers can be seen as risky from their perspective. For instance, interacting with spray features on a splash pad is often a new and exciting experience. Life Floor surfacing enables this type of early water play and exploration while also providing cushioning for potential falls from wobbly footing at this age. 

Children will ultimately seek out more adventurous activities as they get older. It is important for facilities, when possible, to include more advanced risky play features such as the elevated play structure, slides, and spray features seen at Splash Island. These play elements inspire them to explore and develop the skills necessary in adulthood to make good choices and have fun. Life Floor promotes this risky play by encouraging children to play how they were meant to: without fear of falling or getting seriously injured. By providing a slip-resistant and cushioned safety surface, children are supported in their activities and are emboldened to create their own stories as they interact with each other and the features at Splash Island. 

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We all love to see visible joy on children’s faces when they spend an exciting day imagining, discovering, and exploring in environments that cater to adventurous play. To explore other projects where we’ve lived out our mission to increase play value and make aquatic areas safer for children around the world, head to our Portfolio. 

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.