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ASSOCIATION OF PLAY INDUSTRIES
Who is the Association of Play Industries?
Representing a 75+ strong membership base consisting of a diverse cross
section of manufacturers, designers, installers, and distributors of both outdoor
and indoor play equipment and safer surfacing, the API represents
approximately 85% of the annual UK market demand of over c. £180 Million.
The API’s aims and objectives are:
To promote good play space design, installation and workmanship within
the industry
To promote an understanding of play and risk
To maintain and assist the development of British, European and other
Standards for play
To liaise closely with governing bodies of play, nationally and internationally
To ensure members comply with standards and good practice
To provide a united voice for the play industry
The API operates under the umbrella of the Federation of Sports and Play
Associations (FSPA); the national trade body responsible for representing 17
DirectoryofMembers2009/10
Associations in the UK’s sport and play industries. The FSPA is the voice of the
UK sports and play industries; ideally positioned at the heart of the sector and
acting as the first point of contact for its associations and member companies.
www.sportsandplay.com
The API is passionate about play, play which encourages appropriate thrill
and reward from assessing and taking risk. Best practice in play area design offers
visible challenge and risk and API members use their years of experience to design
and create environments that deliver this within well-developed safety standards.
Why the API
In 1984 each of the play manufacturers was an island with a siege mentality.
There was no unified voice on the British Standards Committee, each Company
trying to take commercial advantage of every decision; no voice to Government,
no knowledge of industry size or direction. Against this background a few of us,
Published for and on behalf of
The Association of Play Industries
David Tabor, Arthur Record, Jack Croasdale and myself agreed we desperately
Federation House needed a body where we could raise the bar (not drinking, though that as well!)
Stoneleigh Park
for the industry, speak with an Industry voice and raise standards.
Warwickshire CV8 2RF
Tel: 024 7641 4999 (ext. 208)
So at IOG in 1984 we invited everyone we knew in the industry to a meeting.
Email: api@api-play.org After clearing the blood from the floor there was a tentative consensus to give
Web: www.api-play.org
co-operation a go and the API was born, the first such Association in the play
Contact: Deborah Holt, Association Manager
world. Interestingly the two biggest companies did not want to participate initially,
but it wasn’t long before they saw the light! Under the umbrella of the then
BSAIF (now FSPA) we started to have regular meetings and got representation
on the British Standards Committee. The rest is History!
So where are we now? I think that we can reasonably say that we are the
most developed Industry Play Association, certainly in Europe. We have
participated in the creation of the European Standard; we have numerous sections
for the different faces of the Industry. We have supported and participated in
the campaign for a National Play body and strategy, we have supported the
The API Directory 2008/09 is published by:
Play Safety Forum and we are represented on the Children’s Play Policy Forum.
Building for Leisure magazine I believe that we have helped to raise the standard of
Stable Publishing Limited
places where children play and have contributed
SBC House
Restmor Way
responsibly to the development of national play policy,
Wallington making the UK one of the most respected countries
Surrey SM6 7AH
in the world (contrary to what the media would have
Tel: 020 8288 1080
Fax: 020 8288 1099
us believe!). Perhaps most significantly we have also
Email: info@stablepublishing.co.uk learnt and continue to learn through this process,
The publishers do not necessarily agree with views
aiming to participate as valued partners.
expressed by contributors and cannot accept
responsibility for claims made by manufacturers and
authors, nor do they accept responsibility for any errors
in the subject matter of this publication.
Robin Sutcliffe,
Founder Member and early Chairman of API
API Directory 2009/10 3
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