Nearly 800 aerial adventure operators, builders, experts, and vendors came together at the 33rd annual Association for Challenge Course Technology (ACCT) International Conference and Expo in Portland, Ore., Feb. 9-12, 2023.
Well-attended education sessions included Incident Trends & Benchmarking, Management of Tree Supported Structures, and the Open Discussion for Owners and Operators, with several sessions—like Zip Line Brake Systems and Landings—reaching capacity.
Sheri Collins and Rebecca Bleecker from Adventure Suppliers toast Dave Larson from High Life Adventure Park, Ore. as he collects his custom fire pit.
The Aerial Parks Crew, Mike Wake, Michael, Camille Picard, chat with Olivia Rowan, API Publisher, to learn about their NDT inspection service.
The ACCT General Meeting kicked off the conference sessions and was standing room only.
Scott Baker from Tree Solutions with Gerhard Komenda from Tree-Mendous stop by the API booth.
The API edit squad chats about the 2023-24 edit calendar over lunch. Left to right: Sharon Walsh, Keith Jacobs, Korey Hampton, Erik Marter, Katie Brinton, Bahman Azarm, Rohan Shahani, Lori Pingle, Jack Fagone.
Cameron Annas from Granite Insurance and Jim Wall from Challenge Design Innovations offering up free advice for tradeshow attendees.
Christopher Tamoney from Walltopia - USA chats with API's Jack Fagone on the tradeshow floor.
Brenna Hasty of the Flybook with Olivia Rowan at the API booth.
Mateo Mancas of Historic Banning Mills & American Adventure Park Systems with Dylan Burt, Owner and CEO of Applied Adventure, and Michael R. Smith, President of AdventureSmith.
API Senior Editor Katie Brinton with Henri De Rocca Serra from CLiC-iT.
Jack Fagone of API testing out Experiential Systems virtual reality sales program.
The API crew was excited to meet ACCT's new executive director Bill Zimmermann. Left to right: Katie Brinton, Bill Zimmermann, Jack Fagone, Olivia Rowan.
Carson Rivers chats with Rich Klanjscek, and Randy Smith over a bite to eat.
Things can get a little weird after a few hours in the tradeshow hall.
Bahman Azarm of Outdoor Venture Group poses with the group from Outward Bound Singapore.
The guys from CLIMB Works and Hackwell Innovations. Left to right:Jesse McVey, Nick Thompson, Ethan Ayers, Tommy Cooper.
Many of the ACCT sessions had facilitated group discussions. Here's a peek inside the Trainers Symposium led by Tom Leahy.
The Skyline team looking sharp! Left to right: Steve Poole, Isiah Smith, Shea Dacus, Noah Smith.
The ACCT show would not be complete without the ACCT Olympics!
Igor Stomp from Eyolf showing off one of their latest innovations, the P50 - Kar zip line trolley. More to come in the 2023 Spring issue of API.
John Hines of The Adventure Park at Sandy Springs "hanging" with one of Adventure Suppliers newest products.
Gerhard Komenda from Tree-Mendous demonstrates how his new Treerific tree mounting system works.
Prior to announcing the newest ACCT board members, the current board of directors was called to the stage. The new board members include Kennerly De Forest, Leslie Sohl, and Michael R. Smith.
Brenda Reed from Rope Works Inc. graciously accepts the 2023 ACCT Critical Link Award.
Brenda Reed earns a standing ovation while accepting the Critical Link Award.
The ACCT house band, The Rope Wranglers, close out the ACCT Conference and Tradeshow with a rock & roll show!
We can't wait to see everyone, same time next year in Oklahoma!
A number of trends and challenges emerged from the dozens of sessions held across the four-day show. Among them were continued concerns about staffing, wages, and workforce housing. With staffing challenges also came questions about how to optimize (and standardize) training and reduce incidents for both employees and guests.
Operator error remained the most commonly alleged cause in incident claims, according to the annual incident data report from Cameron Annas at Granite Insurance. Average claim payouts continue to rise rapidly as well, thanks to social inflation (juries awarding larger payouts) and real inflation. (We’ll take a closer look at the 2022 incident data in the spring issue of API.)
The general air at the conference was one of celebration and optimism, though. Participation in the ACCT Olympics was enthusiastic. ACCT members also came together to form a new house band—the Rope Wranglers.
Brenda Reed, director of training for Ropes Works Inc., was recognized with ACCT’s highest honor, the Critical Link award. Additionally, three new members were voted onto the ACCT board of directors: Kennerly De Forest of Experiential Resources, LLC; Michael R. Smith, principal of AdventureSmith, Inc.; and Leslie Sohl, a technical specialist for the State of Colorado.
The location of the 2024 conference was announced at the show: Oklahoma City, OK at the Omni Oklahoma City taking place from Feb. 22, 2024 – Feb. 25, 2024.
Katie Brinton is a PSIA-E Development Team member and a staff trainer at Okemo Mountain Resort, Vt., where she grew up. She was named to the 2017 “10 Under 30” class for Adventure Park Insider's sister publication SAM (Ski Area Management). She is a freelance writer, and has written frequently for Adventure Park Insider and sister publication, SAM. Katie is currently a Master’s student at Middlebury College’s Bread Loaf School of English.
