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SPN APR 2011 WorldNews
www.swimmingpoolnews.co.uk worldnews
ALL WORK AND NO PLAY FOR TIGER WOODS AND HIS SIGNATURE SWIMMING POOL
This Florida pool can make an excellent case for being the most famous swimming pool in the world. The pool extends the whole length of the new US$50m Jupiter Island home of golfer Tiger Woods. Unlike many other pools on this billionaire’s paradise Florida island, there is no waterfall resort-type stone pool with lots of space for lounge chairs and entertaining. This is a pool built almost exclusively for professional training – not lounging in the sunshine by the pool. The pool has been built as one
expert said for doing lap after lap of fitness training.
The 10,000 sq ft, two-storey home is on a 12 acre parcel of land Woods kept as part of his high profile divorce with ex-wife Elin Nordegren last August.
Jeff Lichtenstein, a luxury real estate broker from Palm Beach Gardens, was struck by the practice amenities.
“It’s all golf course and swimming pools,” Lichtenstein said.
The pool faces the golf course not the Atlantic ocean front of the house.
NEW ENERGY LAWS FOR PORTABLE SPAS
A new energy efficiency standard has been agreed in the United States for portable spas. The American National Standards Institute’s new regulations cover the test procedures and methodology for assessing how much energy is being used by portable spas. The pool and spa industry’s interest in energy standards dates back several years when the Californian Energy Commission adopted new standards about how much power was used to heat hot tubs. At that stage portable spas
failed to meet the standards and manufacturers were sent away to find a method of properly assessing the energy used. A committee was formed which found flaws in the ways the portable spas used energy – from water volume, controls and ambient temperatures. The committee worked with the commission and has now agreed standards which will be applied and will run alongside the normal hot tub controls of restricting energy usage to a minimum.
FLOOD DEVASTATION PROVIDES LONG TERM WORK FOR POOL BUILDERS
The devastation that tore through Queensland earlier this year may have some positive outcomes for the Australian swimming pool industry – as well as the obvious negative ones.
The floods, rains and cyclone brought a sad loss of life and property.
It has been estimated more than 11,000 Queensland swimming pools went underwater, while many times that number were affected to a lesser extent. Victoria also suffered from a series of floods, but the greatest damage and loss of life occurred in Queensland.
While the 2011 summer season will be a washout, it’s anticipated there should be plenty of future work in renovation and restoration; and while many Queensland customers obviously weren’t swimming in their pools, the flooded backyards and infected water will require a lot of help from pool shops, and the purchase of chemicals. “The industry had not had their normal run up
to the summer season anyway,” says David Close, Chief Executive of Swimming Pool and Spa Association of Queensland.
“There was no hot weather driving demand – instead there was wet weather for several months. “Effectively we haven’t had the traditional seasonal demand for new pools at all in 2010, with 2011 now starting off with very low demand. However, pool shops and service techs are flat out doing what they can with cleaning, hygiene and health – pending the ground water subsidence,” he says.
However, Close predicts that refurbishment and renovation of swimming pools will be in big demand over the next few months.
“We estimate up to some 300,000 existing pools may have been affected by the flood waters in the Brisbane/Ipswich area. Not only domestic pools, but also major public and water facilities have been affected.”
He said many elements of the pool structures need to be checked, including the structural integrity of the shells, the supporting ground, the ground water drainage as well as all equipment. Additionally, he believes there will be a need to replace pool coping and internal linings. “I expect there will be a big demand for sub- contractors by the builders in the next few months,” he says.
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