Adventure Park Insider Magazine—Natick, Mass., Feb. 6, 2025—The industry gathered last month at the 35th Annual Association for Challenge Course Technology (ACCT) International Conference and Expo Jan. 21-26, 2025, in Cleveland, Ohio. According to ACCT, 634 registered attendees took part in educational workshops, training sessions, networking events, and a trade show with 45 exhibitors.
The agenda during the week was chock full of workshops and sessions starting on pre-conference day-long sessions Tuesday through Thursday that provided certification and education. Friday and Saturday saw dozens of workshops ranging from risk management, operator best practices, inspections, facilitation, technology, trends and more. The full list of sessions and workshops can be found here as well as a call for presenters for the 2026 gathering. https://acctconference.com/schedule/workshops-sessions/
Attendance and exhibitors were both off a little off from the previous year and have been on a downward trajectory since before Covid. Looking back to the last show before Covid hit attendance was at 1,100 (https://adventureparkinsider.com/acct-conference-and-trade-show-2020/) Vendors in the trade show were disappointed by the shrinking attendance, which reflects the broader shrinking and consolidation in the adventure park business in North America.
ACCT executive director Melissa Webb said the organization is continuing to look at ways to rethink and reimagine the annual gathering to better fit the industry’s future needs and size. A member poll shared before and during the show dug into these questions (and more) about how to future proof the show and provide more transparency and value to both its members and supplier partners. Despite the contraction over the years, the show continues to provides an important foundation for the industry to gather, reflect, plan, collaborate, and address problems. The membership survey is still open and can be found here:
Voting for the Board of Directors ran from Jan. 9 through Jan. 24 and concluded at the show with the winners announced. JJ Stapleton was elected for the Accredited Operator Seat, Jason Ong was re-elected for the General Membership Seat and Erik Marter was re-elected for the Accredited Vendor Seat.
The event concluded with ACCT’s annual celebration of key contributors and outstanding individual listed below:
Critical Link Award: John Winter, Member of ACCT Technical Information, Research, & Education Committee. Former chair of Operations & Training Standards Writing Committee.
Volunteer of the Year: Alicia Bourke, Director of Inspection and Maintenance for Signature Research
Mover of Mountains: Rohan Shahani, Area Director, Galileo Learning
Innovator of the Year: Brycen Hale, President of Helix Construction
Community Service Awards: Alex Moore, Jason Marker, Dan Harbuck, Annika Spriggs, Lara Kreuter
New Branding for the Association
ACCT unveiled a name change and new logo: from Association for Challenge Course Technology (ACCT ) to ACCT INTERNATIONAL. “Our new brand name reflects our commitment to serving and supporting the global challenge course, aerial adventure park, and zip line industry,” ACCT said in a statement. “For many outside of our community, the name ‘Association for Challenge Course Technology’ can be misleading, often associated with the tech sector. The new name, ACCT International, aligns much more closely with our global mission.”
“Along with this name change, we’ve unveiled a bold new logo—a design that truly captures the essence of who we are and what we stand for. At the heart of the logo is the knot, a universal symbol of connection, trust, and resilience,” ACCT said, as well as being an emblem of the industry itself.
While the legal name of The Association of Challenge Course Technology will not change, the association will use the new branding name of ACCT International for most purposes.
The ACCT 36th annual gathering will return to Oklahoma City, Okla., Feb. 4-8, 2026.
