Nominations for the 4th annual Association for Challenge Course Technology Awards program are now open. Operators, builders, and others are invited to apply in the following categories:
Bahman Azarm and John Hines from Ropes Park Equipment / Outdoor Ventures show off their ACCT Awards at the 2015 ACCT Conference and Expo.
Outstanding Structure Design
This award focuses on physical/built structures. Generally low or high challenge course elements—either singular element structures or the entire course. Or aerial park/zip line canopy tour elements—either singular element structures or the entire course. Structure design will be evaluated on creativity, design excellence, and for innovation beyond the current industry offerings. Structure design will be judged on more than just size and scale.
Outstanding Marketing/Promotional Video
This award focuses on video material. While this category certainly includes commercials for courses/programs, it may also include general promotional or informational videos from builders or owner/operators. This wide-open category is ripe for creative use of video to further a business, program, or the industry in general.
Outstanding Marketing Collateral (non-video)
This award focuses on the marketing collateral of builders/programs in non-video format. This could include brochures, rack cards, radio spots, billboards, signage, etc. Any type of non-video physical material would go in this category.
Outstanding Fund Raising Campaign
This award focuses on campaigns using challenge courses, aerial parks, and zip line/canopy tours to raise funds for a good cause. This could include such events as a “zip-a-thon” or other similar ideas. The industry has considerable creativity in organizing great fundraising events and this award is a way to honor those achievements.
Outstanding Special Event
This award focuses on special events held at a challenge course, aerial park, and/or zip line/canopy tour site. The focus of special events is to increase usage of the course and bring in more business. An example in this category may be as simple as a Halloween costume day. Additionally, this could include a special event that takes place away from the organization’s normal operating site.
Outstanding Website
This award focuses on the website design of a company or program related to the challenge course, aerial park, and/or zip line/canopy tour industry. While visual impact and design features are certainly important, judging will also take into account ease of navigation for a customer/user, the ability of the site to convey information (content), well designed integration of video, photos, reservations, or other connected content. Finally, the overall experience; sites are frequently more or less than the sum of their parts, the overall experience encompasses content, visual design, functionality, interactivity, and structure and navigation, but it also includes the intangibles that make a visitor stay on or leave the site beyond a mere transactional need. A link to the website should be included in the “Description of Project” section.
Outstanding Program Impact Award
This award focuses on the positive impact your program has made on a specific customer. This could be an individual person, a small group, or even a larger repeat group that visits your course regularly. No matter who it is, we are looking for a program that has made a notable positive impact for the customer. This is more than a mere great customer service experience; this award focuses on impacts such as helping a therapeutic customer have a major breakthrough, or perhaps customers with special needs be able to achieve access they once thought impossible. No matter what it is, tell the story of your program and how it had a positive impact!
Nominations will be open through Sunday, Jan. 8, 2017. Any works submitted for consideration must have been completed and operational between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2016. Built structures must meet ANSI/ACCT standards as appropriate. Winners will be announced at the 27th annual International ACCT Conference and Expo, Feb. 2-5, 2017, in Savannah, Ga.
For more information or to submit a nomination, visit: http://www.acctinfo.org/page/Awards/2016-ACCT-Awards.htm
The competition was fierce at the 2015 awards, see who won here: https://adventureparkinsider.com/industry-reports/
