Life Floor in the Caribbean

Tired of the snowy Minnesota winter, the Life Floor team kicked off annual planning meetings in the Caribbean at the start of the year. We were excited to celebrate a successful 2022 as we sailed to two islands in the Bahamas featuring award-winning Life Floor installations. As an added bonus, our team was able to observe Life Floor onboard the ship.

We invite you to escape to the tropics as you explore our team's adventures on Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas as well as our excursions to Perfect Day at CocoCay and Baha Bay at Baha Mar on Nassau!

One of the reasons why we chose this ship for our planning meetings is because it features Life Floor in the Adventure Ocean kids area. Several cruise lines have chosen our Slate tiles as their preferred surfacing for indoor kids play spaces given its cushioning, cleanability, and IMO certification.

Royal Caribbean’s Freedom of the Seas also features a FlowRider that uses Life Floor for slip-resistance along the ramps. Our first day on board the ship was the best opportunity to see this area in action since the following days were filled with meetings, excursions, and fun with team members at sea.

On our second day, the ship docked at Perfect Day at CocoCay, Royal Caribbean’s private island. Immediately after the team got onto the island, we were greeted by our themed installation at Captain Jill's Galleon. 

We met with the operators of the island who gave us a tour that eventually led to another installation of ours, Splashaway Bay. This particular splash pad has won Aquatics International's Dream Design award. This project was designed in collaboration with Martin Aquatic. 

For our day at sea, most of the team's time was spent in annual planning meetings. Afterwards and over the course of the sailing, the group thoroughly enjoyed the amenities on board the ship as well as the ability to spend quality time together. 

Our final day was spent at Nassau, where the team was able to visit and tour Baha Bay at Baha Mar. This waterpark has won Aquatics International's Dream Design award as well as a Leading Edge award from WWA. Life Floor is installed in four different areas around the property.

At Stingray Cove, Aqua and Aviator swirls surface a splash pad featuring a giant play structure. 

At Turtle Beach, Life Floor surfaces the walls, steps, floor, and landing pads of the main pool as well as an adjacent splash pad and zero depth entry pool. 

Hexagon Life Floor tiles can also be found along the ramps of the waterpark's FlowCurl. 

The most unexpected application of Life Floor we got to see was in the flamingo pool! Concrete is too abrasive for flamingo feet and can cause a condition called Bumblefoot. Thankfully, Life Floor's soft tiles provide the perfect solution. 

Overall, Life Floor’s time spent in the Caribbean provided us with a productive planning week filled with team bonding, opportunities to see award-winning projects, and time spent with operators at all of these beautiful tropical locations.

Inspired by the Life Floor applications above? Our team would love to learn more about your project and walk you through our complimentary design process. Contact our team today to start the conversation.

Life Floor is Now the Recommended Surface of Waterplay

Minneapolis, Minn., March 2, 2022

Life Floor, an innovative aquatic safety surfacing manufacturer, and Waterplay, the industry’s leading aquatic play manufacturer, today announce a strategic partnership to bring aquatic surfacing to the global splash pad market. Together, the companies are committed to making aquatic recreation completely immersive and connecting the world through play and social experiences. 

“We’re thrilled to bring Life Floor to our customers. It just makes sense for our companies to team up and create a playful experience together. Life Floor is really stunning in the aquatic space and a perfect complement to our products and, of course, for customers looking for strong theming. It’s also very fun in that kids play differently on a Life Floor aquatic surface, they’re able to crawl and roll without restriction, or make a game of jumping from tile to tile. With NSF certification, our partners and customers can trust they are investing in a surface that is both durable and safe.””

— Kerrin Smith, Waterplay Vice President

Waterplay’s commitment to bringing play and social experience to communities around the planet is evident in their inclusive designs, range of splash features, and global reach. The company is passionate about making play accessible for every ability with thousands of installations and a 35-year track record of happy customers. 

“We really couldn’t be happier to partner with Waterplay. They’re a leading manufacturer in splash pad design with a team who is incredibly passionate about play. Offering our products together brings the best of both worlds together for aquatic users—unique, imaginative play solutions paired with beautiful, safe surfacing.” ”

— Gwen Ruehle, Life Floor Vice President, Business Development

The Waterplay and Life Floor partnership includes the global splash pad market. Exclusivity will be given to Waterplay for all projects specified solely with Waterplay equipment and Life Floor products. Life Floor is committed to providing the best aquatic surfacing for all spray park end customers and will continue working directly with customers who choose alternative equipment providers. Life Floor will also continue working directly with spray feature manufacturers and their Registered Aquatic Partners where Waterplay and Life Floor are not exclusively specified.

---

Life Floor manufactures Life Floor tiles, a foam-rubber flooring system designed for use in wet areas with barefoot traffic. Created as an alternative to concrete and other conventional materials, Life Floor is the only safety surface specifically designed and engineered to perform in aquatic environments. Life Floor combines award-winning safety with unparalleled design capabilities, delivered by an expert team committed to a world-class experience for everyone who interacts with our products. To learn more, visit lifefloor.com.

Gwen Ruehle | Vice President, Business Development
+1.612.269.7919 | gwen.ruehle@lifefloor.com
lifefloor.com

Waterplay designs and manufactures play solutions for indoor and outdoor aquatic play spaces. Freestanding play features, playable fountains, elevated structures and water management solutions—we specialize in inclusive, high value, quality products that last. With aquatic play, water management, seating, shade, surfacing and toilet facility solutions, there’s no aquatic play project we can’t handle. Contact us today to start working with our experienced support teams positioned to help you every step of the way. building a splash pad is easy with Waterplay. Visit waterplay.com to learn more.

Shanley Hutchinson | Group Marketing Manager
+1.250.712.3393 | marketing@waterplay.com
waterplay.com

Promoting Play at Fun Spot America

Fun Spot is a vibrant family-owned theme park with a beautiful splash pad located in the heart of Orlando, FL. Just over one year ago, Fun Spot decided to expand on their mission of “Safe-Clean-Fun” and showcase their logo on a larger-than-life scale on the splash pad. Martin Aquatic Design and Engineering created a bright tile layout inspired by the logo colors and recommended Life Floor for the project. With Life Floor’s custom cutting capabilities, we were able to create a stunning representation that contributes to guest safety and overall experience. 

“We’ve had the floor for about a year now and we’re very happy with it. It’s held up very well. The logo, our company logo on the ground looked superb and still does. The installation on it was flawless. I mean they came in, they were in and out in like two days. And I mean that there’s absolutely no complaint on my end. We’re very happy with it, we’d suggest it to others. We think the product is very well built, it’s good materials. The kids love it, and now they’re playing on it. Yeah, there’s absolutely nothing I would say negative about the floor.”

— John Arie Jr, Fun Spot CEO

Safety and ease-of-maintenance were also important factors for Fun Spot’s choice of safety surfacing. Algae build-up and the issues associated with concrete are well known in the aquatics industry, so the staff at Fun Spot was thrilled to experience the easier maintenance Life Floor provided due to the product’s cleanable features since the tile does not support microbial growth in accordance with NSF/ANSI Standard 50 testing criteria.

“I would say to everybody in our industry that it’s a very well built floor. It’s safe for your guests. It’s very low maintenance. The appearance of it looks amazing. And I would definitely recommend anybody that has a splash pad or even water features in their park to use Life Floor. It’s been a great experience. The installation went very well just as it was described - there were no surprises and we’re very happy with the floor.”

— John Arie Jr, Fun Spot CEO

We are so thankful for the opportunity to increase safety and fun that will contribute to the lasting, positive memories that families make at Fun Spot America.

Flooring Design Themes for Aquatic Facilities

When designing with Life Floor, clients are often looking to create or enhance an existing theme at a facility. Since our tiles are specifically engineered for use in aquatic environments, these spaces are often themed around water; however, sometimes new themes are imagined as well! We love the creativity that goes into envisioning these spaces. Check out some of our favorites that have been installed as well as some ideas for themed splash pads that haven’t been built yet! 

---

Under the Sea 

Our blue tones and sea creature inlays are most often featured in spaces that have an underwater theme. Some spaces are more whimsical with octopus tentacles and others are more abstract using a triangle gradient or randomized squares. Curvy waves are also a popular choice for clients looking to emulate an under the sea look. 

Splash Pad at Westfield Memorial Pool

Cootamundra Splash Pad

Courtyard by Marriott Anaheim Splash Pad

Splash Pad at LEGOLAND California

---

Into the Wild 

Several facilities with Life Floor installations have a woodsy or wilderness theme. These spaces typically feature earth tones of tans, browns, and greens as well as thematic paw print inlays. The designs that we’ve proposed for these spaces have used a combination of our available shapes including triangles, rectangles, and hexagons.

Wilderness Resort Splash Pad

Concept for a Forest-Themed Splash Pad

Concept for a Hexagon River Design

Lilypad Landing Pad at Great Wolf Lodge

---

Sunny Beachscapes

Adding a beach element to a water-themed splash pad increases visual interest and the opportunity to feature different inlays across the sand and sea. One of our largest beach designs, pictured below at Atlantis the Palm Dubai, features a triangle gradient and a clear progression from land to water and back to land. Other projects with this theme feature a body of water surrounded by sand or, the opposite, an island surrounded by water. Some customers have even opted to add pirate treasure hunt themes to their tropical islands! 

Splash Pad at Atlantis the Palm Dubai

Pirate-Themed Splash Pad at Wyndham Bonnet Creek

Sunshine Leisure Centre Pool

The Beach Splash Pad in Dubai

---

Winter Wonderland 

While these wintery concepts have yet to be installed on a project, we love the idea of a unique frosty theme, especially on a hot summer day! 

Concept for a Winter-Themed Splash Pad

Concept for a Snowflake Splash Pad

---

Lily Pads 

Some customers have opted for lily pad inspired ideas. These curvy features add visual interest to the splash pads where they’re featured. At a smaller scale, they can inspire children to hop across individual lily pads in a game of leapfrog. 

Florida Aquarium Splash Pad

Lake George RV Park Splash Pad. Image Credit: Martin Aquatic

---

Bright & Tropical 

Several aquatic facilities have requested vibrant, tropics-inspired themes. Bright pops of color on a surface can dramatically enliven a space and complement surrounding designs and imagery! 

Vidanta Riviera Maya Splash Pad. Photo Credit: WhiteWater West

Concept for a Bright, Triangle Pattern on a Splash Pad

Splashaway Bay at CocoCay. Photo Credit: Royal Caribbean

Moon Palace Jamaica Splash Pad

---

Our in-house Studio Team and our design partners loved dreaming up ideas for these designs and themes featured in locations around the world. We welcome all the concepts and ideas our customers want - unique and familiar alike.

What new themes would you like to see featured at aquatic facilities that are surfaced with Life Floor? Let us know in the comments section below! 

5 Reasons Why Aquatic Facilities Choose Life Floor’s Predefined Themes and Patterns

While Life Floor can be used to create virtually any pattern or design on a flooring surface, we’ve created a catalog of Themes and Patterns as a starting point for customers looking for design inspiration. These options can match or complement a facility’s overall look while also providing the standard benefits that come with any Life Floor installation. Pairing the safety, comfort, and durability of our tiles with these aesthetically interesting designs has added play value and theming to aquatic facilities across the country and around the world. Here are some of the top reasons why customers have chosen to explore our Themes or Patterns for their projects!    

Multi-Color Designs

All of our Themes, or color palettes, are designed with three or more colors to optimize how Life Floor installations look over time. Our reason for favoring a multi-colored design approach is that monochromatic surfaces, much like single-color carpets, show regular wear or debris much more quickly. Since many of our projects are located outdoors where it’s not uncommon for occasional leaves, twigs, dirt, or grass to make their way onto splash pads, we’ve found that breaking up the field of color makes these surfaces look best for an extended period of time. As an added benefit, installations that use Life Floor Themes often enliven and complement surrounding parks and aquatic spaces with a visually interesting palette and design.

High Tide Theme and 301 Pattern at Synderville Basin Rec Center - Park City, UT

Considerable Cost Savings 

Our Themes showcase combinations of some of our most popular colors. Customers looking to add safety and design often opt to use these color families as starting points for their designs. 

High Tide: Ocean, Bluebird, Aviator [Note: Updated in 2021. See Update Here]

Montauk: Mojave, Gobi, Sandstone

Boulder: Boulevard, River Rock, Foghorn

Since Life Floor is manufactured as standard 24”x24” tiles, our Square Patterns (301, 401, 501) offer the greatest cost savings by maximizing the full use of the material. Installation time is lowest for these options as well. Our Triangle (302, 402, 502) and Rectangle (305, 405, 505) Patterns offer a combination of full and half tiles, providing an efficient use of material that minimizes waste. Installation time is slightly longer since these Patterns are a bit more complex; however, many of our budget-conscious customers still opt for these designs given the added visual interest they provide. 

Square Pattern (401)

Triangle Pattern (302)

Rectangle Pattern (505)

Overall, we’ve found that when municipalities are interested in adding a safety solution to their aquatic facilities or want to upgrade to meet the NSF/ANSI 50 standard for aquatic surfacing, they most commonly opt for the Theme and Pattern options described above. These designs provide all of the benefits of Life Floor at the best prices. 

Reduced Time to Receive a Quote 

Because our Themes and Patterns are pre-established, creating a rendering that fits within the boundaries of a specific project area is a fairly quick process. When compared to the time required to create fully custom designs, this approach fast-tracks the quoting process for customers looking to receive budgetary numbers in a shorter amount of time.

301 Pattern in tan tones (similar to Montauk Theme) at Shoreview Community Center - Shoreview, MN

Design Options that Eliminate the Guesswork 

For customers looking for a basic surfacing solution or who don’t have a specific design in mind, our pre-set Themes and Patterns have been created based on established best practices and provide a variety of looks to accommodate a range of facilities. These designs feature sets of colors that are proven to work well together and layouts that have been historically favored by our customers over time. Having the ability to pick and choose from this catalog of options eliminates most guesswork for many of our customers, especially those that are primarily focused on providing a safety solution at their facilities. 

Boulder Theme in rectangles at Pleasant Glade Pool & Locker Rooms - Grapevine, TX

An Affordable Starting Point for Custom Options

Many of our customers have asked for designs that begin with a Theme and/or Pattern, but are modified in some way to better suit their specific facility’s needs. For instance, some might swap out a color or two from a Theme to shift the color palette in a slightly different direction. Others might choose a preset Pattern, but pair it with a completely custom color palette. Some customers have opted to add inlays, like the ones shown below, to contribute to the play value and theming of their facilities. We’ve also found that some people go with an affordable Theme and Pattern to better balance the cost of a project that requires the addition of a specialty logo or play feature in the surface design. Anything can be customized as needed and our Themes and Patterns serve as a perfect starting point for the conversation! 

High Tide Theme and 302 Pattern with fish inlays at Cootamundra Splash Park - Cootamundra, Australia

---

Interested in specifying Life Floor on your next project? Check out our standard Themes and Patterns and reach out to us if you’d like to explore a custom design or to get started on your project. Our design services are complementary right now, so we’re happy to help meet the needs of your facility however we can. Thank you for considering Life Floor!

Including Play Elements in Splash Pad Surface Design

Splash pads have become a welcome addition to many communities, water parks, cruise ships, and resorts since they provide water play for guests of all ages. Typically, the main attractions of these areas have been spray features. Some splash pads also incorporate slides and multi-level play structures - essentially playgrounds with water added to them. While these elements offer many different ways to play on splash pads, these facilities become even more exciting when they offer an engaging flooring design. By adding a design or pattern to the surface of a splash pad, not only does the feature look better overall, but it also provides children with the opportunity to play and engage in more diverse ways. 

A simple way of designing the surface of a splash pad is to make it thematic. This allows the floor to match the look and feel of the features on site and become part of the attraction. For instance, a splash pad with aquatic or sea creature spray features could be designed with colors that mimic the ocean or the beach. To expand on this idea, sea creature shapes embedded throughout the floor can further enhance theming. Facilities can even use these sea creatures for search and find activities. They could invite guests to find all of the seahorses or count the number of starfish, for instance. 

Splash pads can also enhance guest experience by including games in the surface design. Hopscotch boards, four square configurations, and Twister-like layouts can all be used to add extra activities to the aquatic play area. Giant mazes could also engage guests in new ways. These flooring features can add play value to a surface that may have otherwise been left blank. 

Other designs can encourage guests to follow certain paths or hop across certain features. For instance, small lily pad inlays could encourage children to leapfrog across a “pond.” Likewise, winding paths could lead guests through and around spray features. A treasure hunt design could also provide a guided imaginative adventure. 

Splash pad flooring designs also have the potential to engage children with life-sized objects portrayed on the surface. True-to-life inlays of whales or dolphins can be designed into the splash pad as a fun, educational element. Flat shapes of surfboards or boats can encourage children to pretend that they’re exploring the sea. 

Beyond all of these ideas for thematic elements and games, splash pads can encourage creative free play with simple geometric designs. For a splash pad using a variety of colors, children can invent games out of stepping on tiles of certain colors. A similar idea can be applied to a splash pad that features different tile shapes. Concentric circles or bands of color also inspire engagement in new ways.

All of the designs shown above have been created using Life Floor tiles, which can be customized to any shape or size. Pairing an engaging surface design with our slip-resistant and cushioned tiles has the potential to enhance a simple splash pad with both safety and elements of fun — increasing play value and overall appeal. 

---

Have a unique idea you’d like to discuss with our team? Contact us at solutions@lifefloor.com. We’d love to help make it a reality!

Anaheim Courtyard by Marriott: Families Focused on Fun

“Before, it used to be concrete so there wasn’t a day that we wouldn’t get an injury. So when we’d get injuries we’d give our injury reports every day even if it’s a band-aid or something like that… ever since we had Life Floor we haven’t had one.”

— Ari Padila Waterpark Supervisor

Excited vacationers looking to experience the best of Southern California look to the Anaheim Courtyard by Marriott whether it’s an annual seasonal visit, or a once-in-a-lifetime trip. 

In addition to spacious accommodations and wonderful staff, the hotel is proud to offer guests their Surfside Waterpark, a 20,000 sq ft waterpark for families to bond and kids to play off a day of excited energy. They first approached Life Floor in 2017 for their kiddie pool and stairs, and after two years of reduced injuries, they came back with ideas to expand the surfacing. 

This 4,300 sq ft concrete splash park that sat underneath a WhiteWater West multi-level play structure had been a significant pain point and continued to stain and deteriorate. The splash park’s concrete surfacing got extremely hot in the Southern California sun and the kids would be so excited to play and get off the slides that they would slip and fall on the abrasive surface.

The WhiteWater design team wanted to create a surface that combined safety, comfort, and play elements, like hopscotch, surfboards, a Twister-like game, and inlaid sea creatures, in order to enhance the guest experience with both passive and active play value.

Going from daily injuries to injury-free days was a huge relief for the Courtyard by Marriott staff, and the guests immediately enjoyed the more comfortable flooring. While we were filming the splash pad, one guest remarked, “The colors are really vibrant. It’s not slippery at all. We’ve actually been to this hotel before, so it’s nice to see sort of the new, updated look and feel. And the kids really enjoyed it and had a lot of fun, and no one fell and everyone seemed to have a blast.”

The difference between concrete and Life Floor is more than just a reduction of injuries. The way families and kids played completely changed with the new surface. Parents started sitting down on the splash park with their kids, and toddlers flocked to this open and free play area without worry about bumps, bruises, or hot concrete.  

“The kids love it. The kids play differently out here with Life Floor. It’s a really funny thing - parents are out here sitting down with their kids. It’s hard to explain, but they play differently and they have more fun and it looks beautiful.”

— Brian Schinski, Operations Manager

NSF/ANSI 50 Passes Surfacing Standard for Interactive Waterplay Areas

This summer, after years of research, testing and careful evaluation, the Standard for Safety Surfacing in Interactive Water Play Areas has been added to NSF-50. And Life Floor is proud to be the first aquatic safety surface in the world certified to this standard. 

Looking Back Through History: Playground Safety Surfacing 

On October 17th, 1903 the first permanent municipal-built playground, Seward Park, was opened to a crowd of 20,000 children [x]). The adoption of these public play spaces was rapid. By 1907 there were 90 municipalities with playgrounds. In just three years that number grew to 531.[x] 

With this rapid growth of playgrounds, so too did the injury reports, emergency room visits, and critical head injuries. Parents and experts across the country recognized the growing injury trend, and worked to eliminate the largest and most prevalent hazards. 

In 1981, the Consumer Product Safety Commission published the Handbook for Public Playground Safety and parks were retrofitted to eliminate hard surfaces and high falls.

Splash Pads = Playgrounds + Water

Splash pads, like playgrounds, also have had a monumental and rapid adoption across the world. Splash pads were developed in response to providing kids with a play area to cool off without the drowning risk of pools or the sanitation problems associated with public fountains. In the rush to meet the demand, the role of finding safety solutions has been left to each individual operator, with mixed and inconsistent results. Every year, splash pads all over North America have closed to replace or retrofit their surfacing due to complaints, injuries and maintenance.  

Operators have especially struggled with surfacing options due to the playful and interactive nature of splash pads. Kids interact with each other by jumping and running from spray feature to spray feature without the protection of clothing or shoes. The combination of bare feet and concrete has left users with burned feet, bumps, bruises, broken bones and head injuries.  

To try to solve these issues, operators have been using playground safety surfaces like poured-in-place rubber. These surfaces, while great for dry applications, are simply not developed to interact with treated water. When the adhesive inevitably breaks down, particles clog filtration systems, patchy floors create tripping hazards and microbes grow inside trapped water.

For a lack of a functional surfacing system, many cities have resorted to hiring splash pad attendants to remind kids not to run. 

Unfortunately, these individual stop-gaps have not solved the world-wide problem facing splash pad operators. According to the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System database, in 2014 alone, there were an estimated 20,000 injuries on pool decks, splash pads and water parks resulting in an emergency room visit.  

The safety revolution that transformed dry playgrounds is long overdue for splash pads. With the new NSF/ANSI 50 standard in place, operators will be able to reduce injuries and keep splash pads open, providing fun for their communities all summer long. 

After nearly a decade of designing, testing, and building aquatic surfaces, we have been proud to contribute to the process of creating these new safety requirements. The surface is an indispensable part of the play value, and overall experience of the splash pad. And that’s why we’re committed to designing the safest, most beautiful splash pad surfaces using only products engineered exclusively for aquatic play. We believe the best surface allows kids to play just as they should. Together, we’re creating a safer future for aquatic recreation, for our families, and for our communities.

Our tiles meet six unique performance based standards to meet certification: slip-resistance, impact attenuation, chemical resistance, UV resistance, cleanability, and impermeability. To learn more about our tile’s performance results, visit our NSF/ANSI 50 page.