(SARASOTA, Fla.) – The Florida Swimming Pool Association (FSPA) recognized 13 companies who received more than 25 awards of excellence in the organization’s annual Design Awards competition. The winners were announced during the 51st annual Everything Under the Sun Expo.

The annual FSPA Design Awards program gives FSPA members an opportunity to enter their pools, spas and water features for judging on workmanship, soundness of design, beauty, practicality and safety. Categories customized for Florida pool construction divide the entries by size, type of construction and features. Winners were selected by the Design Awards Committee, a volunteer group of decorated professionals in the pool and spa industry.

Lucas Lagoons of the Manasota Chapter won Best in Show for their aesthetically astounding pool paradise. The group garnered a total of 10 awards, including four Gold Awards.

Other winners included Ike’s Carter Pool Companies from the Broward Chapter, which garnered five awards including a Gold Award and Technical Achievement. Best Pools of Brevard from the Space Coast Chapter won the “Salt Life” Award for their unique Florida-shaped pool.

In addition to pool and spa design, the organization recognized the Tops in Trucks, recognition for fleet graphics in the pool industry. POOLfection of the Tampa Bay Chapter was the Small Fleet Winner and Master Touch Pool Services of the Palm Beach Chapter was the Large Fleet Winner.

“The FSPA’s annual Design Awards recognizes the excellent craftsmanship, engineering feats, innovative use of technology, and outstanding quality within Florida’s pool and spa industry,” said Elizabeth McMurray, FSPA Executive Director. “This year’s winners represent just a small portion of the incredible pools, spas and water features that builders and their teams are crafting every day around our state.”

A full list of winners is detailed below. Pictures are available upon request. For more information, please e-mail [email protected]

• Almar Jackson Pools, Inc. – Tequesta, FL (Palm Beach Chapter)
Gold Award – Residential Pool 501 square feet and over

• AquaTech Pools GC – Nokomis, FL (Manasota Chapter)
Bronze Award – Residential Pool 250-500 square feet
Gold Award – Residential Pool 250-500 square feet

• Best Pools of Brevard – Melbourne, FL (Space Coast Chapter)
“Salt Life” Award

• CM Custom Pools Design – Ormond Beach, FL (East Central Florida Chapter)
Gold Award – Residential Pool Restoration

• East Coast Pools & Spas – Ormond Beach, FL (East Central Florida Chapter)
Silver Award – Residential Pool Vanishing Edge

• Ike’s Carter Pool Companies – Oakland Park, FL (Broward Chapter)
Bronze Award – Residential Pool 501 square feet and over
Silver Award – Residential Pool 501 square feet and over
Gold Award – Residential Pool 501 square feet and over
Technical Award – Residential Pool Vanishing Edge
Bronze Award – Residential Pool Vanishing Edge

• Indigo Pool Patio BBQ – Venice, FL (Charlotte Harbor Chapter)
Bronze Award – Residential Pool 501 square feet and over

• Lucas Lagoons – Sarasota, FL (Manasota Chapter)
Best In Show
Silver Award – Residential Pool 501 square feet and over
Silver Award – Residential Pool 501 square feet and over
Gold Award – Residential Pool 501 square feet and over
Gold Award – Residential Pool 501 square feet and over
Silver Award – Residential Spa
Gold Award – Residential Spa
Bronze Award – Residential Water Feature
Silver Award – Residential Water Feature
Gold Award – Residential Water Feature

• Master Touch Pool Service – Coral Springs, FL (Palm Beach Chapter)
Tops-in-Trucks Award – Large Fleet

• Nautilus Pools – Port Charlotte, FL (Charlotte Harbor Chapter)
Gold Award – Residential Pool Vanishing Edge

• POOLfection – Wesley Chapel, FL (Tampa Bay Chapter)
Tops-in-Trucks Award – Small Fleet

• Poolwerx Beaches – Jacksonville, FL (Northeast Florida Chapter)
Gold Award – Residential Pool – Fiberglass

• Trusted Pool and Spa LLC – Parrish, FL (Manasota Chapter)
Silver Award – Residential Pool 501 square feet and over

The Florida Swimming Pool Association is a trade association for the pool and spa industry in Florida. There are approximately 750 member businesses in 16 Chapters across the state. Members are required to abide by a code of ethics and to be properly licensed and insured. FSPA provides the industry with access to continuing education courses, information on current trends and issues, and an arbitration program and government relations representation. FSPA is governed by a Board of Directors.

Featured Photor: (from L to R): Don Cesarone from Lucas Lagoons pose with FSPA Board President Don Ball upon receiving the Best in Show Award at the 2023 FSPA Design Awards.

Council for the Model Aquatic Health Code Seeks Volunteers to Fill TRC and TSC positions for MAHC review process and 5^th Edition voting cycle ahead of Vote on the Code 2024

Maricopa, Ariz. – The Council for the Model Aquatic Health Code (CMAHC) is seeking volunteers for its Technical Review Committee (TRC) and Technical Support Committees (TSC), as well as two individuals to serve as TRC Chair and Vice Chair. Filling these positions is a critical part of the Model Aquatic Health Code’s (MAHC) update and Change Request (CR) process, due to kick-off in April 2023.

About the Technical Review Committee and Technical Support Committees: The TRC is composed of 13 members, six of whom are from public health, two from academia, and five from various aquatics industry sectors. TRC volunteers are responsible for reviewing submitted CRs, including the technical and scientific data or other references submitted to support proposed changes. Additionally, the TRC is responsible for determining if a CR meets MAHC style and scope guidance, as set forth by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). For more information, click here.

There are seven TSCs: Design & Construction; Disinfection & Water Quality; Injury Prevention, Risk Management, & Safety; Lifeguarding & Bather Supervision; Operation & Maintenance; Recirculation & Filtration; and Ventilation & Air Quality. The TSCs are formed with 16 volunteers responsible for key components in the CR review process and examining the technical merit of CRs, including existing technologies and methodologies, scientific information gaps, and outlining data needed to support MAHC revisions. For more information, click here.

How to Apply and Time Commitment: Only CMAHC members are eligible to serve on CMAHC committees. To apply to be a TRC or TSC committee member, click here. The deadline to submit an application is Friday, March 31. If you are not a current CMAHC member but would like to serve on the TRC or TSC committees, click here to learn more about joining CMAHC.

Anticipated time commitment across committees is approximately two and a half hours per month for meetings, and another two hours per month for independent review work. The scope of work would begin in late April or early May, with most work ending by November.

Plans for Vote on the Code 2024: The MAHC (4^th Edition) review and CR process will kick-off in April 2023 and culminate with CMAHC membership voting for changes to be made to the 5^th Edition at the Vote on the Code conference, scheduled to take place in February 2024. For more information and to stay updated on conference details, click here.

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About CMAHC: The Council for the Model Aquatic Health Code (CMAHC) was created to manage updates to, and promote voluntary adoption of, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Model Aquatic Health Code (MAHC), the only all-inclusive national model pool code. The MAHC is kept sustainable, current, and complete because the people who use it also research, develop, discuss, and vote on proposed changes through membership in the CMAHC. The CMAHC submits proposed changes to CDC, advising how the MAHC needs to change to keep up with the latest science and best practices. Throughout the year, CMAHC staff educate local and state authorities, aquatic facility owners and operators, designers and builders, manufacturers, and suppliers about the MAHC and the potential it provides to ensure a healthy and safe swimming experience for everyone. Learn more at https://cmahc.org.

(Alexandria, Va.) – The Certified Pool & Spa Operator (CPO) certification program is celebrating its 50^th anniversary in 2023. In the last five decades, more than 500,000 pool, spa, and hot tub industry professionals have earned this certification, awarded exclusively by the Pool & Hot Tub Alliance (PHTA).

CPO is the world’s leading education and certification program for keeping pools safer and keeping them open. It provides individuals with the knowledge, techniques, and skills required for proper pool operations. CPO certification satisfies state and local jurisdiction requirements for pool operator professionals.

The formal introduction of the CPO certification was a benchmark in the realization that those who operated and managed swimming pools needed some type of formal training to safeguard their patrons. In 1973 the National Swimming Pool Foundation (NSPF) took the first steps to develop a program, that could be taught by well qualified aquatic specialists, by introducing a text that covered the basic knowledge an operator might need.

PHTA would like to give a special thank you and tribute to the late Leif Zars, who provided the space and additional resources to NSPF (known as NSPI at the time) when the CPO program was first introduced in San Antonio, TX, in 1973. Zars was the chair of the national association’s drain cover standard writing committee when it drafted the first standard cited in the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act (VGBA) that was done with the Association of Pool & Spa Professionals (APSP).

By 1978, Zars established the first Instructor School Institute that was held in Dallas, TX, a move that would allow the CPO course to be offered nationally. Three of the 50 certified candidates (Bruce Carney, Fontaine C. Piper, and Phillip Reynolds) became members of the original Instructor Education Committee, and Piper and Reynolds are still part of the PHTA Instructor Assessment Committee to this day.

When NSPF and APSP merged into PHTA in 2019, CPO remained the most popular professional certification in the industry. To meet this high demand and ensure all CPO students receive the highest quality of instruction, PHTA offers the CPO Instructor Assessment School twice a year. Currently, there are more than 700 CPO instructors around the world who provide training in 122 different countries.

Over the years, the CPO certification course materials have been updated and expanded to keep pace with changes in technology and in knowledge. The most significant changes occurred in 2005 and again just recently in 2021 with the introduction of a significantly updated operator’s manual.

“The CPO program continues to be the gold standard by which state health departments develop and define their individual standards,” says Fontaine C. Piper, Ph.D., Dean Emeritus of Truman State University and Chair of the PHTA Instructor Assessment Committee. “Without the original CPO certification program, the operational quality of aquatic facilities would not be as exceptional as it is today.”

“Congratulations to PHTA on the 50^th anniversary of the CPO program!” says Zach Skinner, Chair of the CPO Advisory Council. “I took my first CPO certification course in 2000 and I continue to be amazed at the opportunities for lifelong learning within this community 23 years later. Serving as the Chair of the CPO Advisory Council has made it even more evident how CPO certification provides structure and framework to assist swimming pool operators and improves safety for guests. I look forward to continued program growth and expansion in years to come.”

“I have that honor of being able to help new CPOs in their journey to service their customers and to help new instructors formulate their own unique style to teach the CPO course,” says Wayne Ivusich, Vice Chair of the CPO Advisory Council and member of the PHTA Instructor Assessment Committee. “After 31 years in the industry, I’ve seen and experienced an incredible wave of needed education and am happy to be a small part of that wave. Congratulations on the 50^th anniversary of the CPO program, and here’s to 50 more!”

The 50^th anniversary will be celebrated throughout the year, culminating in the 50^th Anniversary Luncheon Celebration at the 2023 World Aquatic Health Conference, November 13-15 in Las Vegas, NV.

For more information, please contact Amy Willer, PHTA’s Associate Director of Marketing and Communications, at [email protected] or 703-838-0083, ext. 121.

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About the Pool & Hot Tub Alliance
The Pool & Hot Tub Alliance (PHTA), a non-profit organization with over 3,600 members from around the world, was established in 1956 to support, promote, and protect the common interests of the $36.5B pool, hot tub, and spa industry. PHTA provides education, advocacy, standards development, research, and market growth to increase our members’ professionalism, knowledge, and profitability. Additionally, PHTA facilitates the expansion of swimming, water safety, and related research and outreach activities aimed at introducing more people to swimming, making swimming environments safer, and keeping pools open to serve communities. For more information, visit www.phta.org.