The Future of Aquatics: New Technologies Making Waves
Add Your Heading Text Here Rising utility costs, tighter budgets, aging infrastructure, staffing challenges and higher expectations for safety and user experience. New technology can assist operators in keeping up with the pressures by keeping water quality stable, reducing downtime, improving air quality and supporting lifeguards and supervisors with better information. Below are seven technology areas that are reshaping aquatic operations, with a focus on what matters at deck level and in the mechanical room. 1.) Smart Facilities & Connected Pool Systems From manual checks to continuous visibility Many facilities are moving toward “connected pool” operations: networks of sensors, controllers, and dashboards that provide real-time status of the pool and
Alberta’s Municipal AI Policy Reality Check
By: Toby Nwabuogor | CivicPlay.AI Across All over Alberta right now, staff are drafting a program description, rewriting a patron email, summarizing meeting notes, or cleaning up a policy paragraph with AI. They are doing it faster than they could have a year ago, because AI is already sitting inside the tools people use every day. This is the current landscape. The question for recreation and facility leaders is not whether AI will show up in operations. It already has. The question is whether it shows up with shared guardrails that protect privacy, trust, and accountability. That is why municipal AI policies matter even if you do not work in
Summertime Struggles at the Rink
By: Adrian Thibault | Arena Stream Representative Heat and Humidity: The Opponents That Never Leave the Ice In winter, your refrigeration system coasts. It’s in summer where it earns its keep. Maintaining ice surface temperatures when outdoor air is pushing 30°C means your plant is running near peak load every single day, with limited margin for anything to go wrong. And something always goes wrong. But temperature is only half the fight. Humidity, that warm, moisture-laden air condenses on a cold ice surface turning your sheet into something closer to a Slurpee. Dew point management becomes as important as refrigeration setpoints. Push the conditions far enough and you get fog.
When the Building Fails, Recreation Fails
Add Your Heading Text Here Behind every game, swim, workout, public event, and community gathering is a facility that must quietly do its job every day. Recreation facilities are often judged by what people see first: a sheet of ice, a pool, a running track, a field house, or a weight room. These are the spaces that bring people through the doors. They are where children learn new skills, adults stay active, teams compete, and communities come together. But long before a puck drops, a lane rope is tightened, or a fitness class begins, the success of that facility depends on something less visible: maintenance. A recreation facility is not
Spring Leisure Lines
Bridging Generations in Recreation: Inside the Spring 2026 Leisure Lines If there’s one thing the recreation industry knows, it’s that change never stands still. The Spring 2026 edition of Leisure Lines dives headfirst into one of the biggest challenges and opportunities facing our sector today: how we balance ageing infrastructure, evolving technology, and the people who keep it all running. This issue, Bridging Generations: Infrastructure, Innovation & the People Who Power It, captures a reality many operators are already experiencing. Across Alberta and beyond, facilities are aging, systems are being pushed to their limits, and experienced professionals are beginning to retire taking decades of unwritten-knowledge with them. So, what can
You Belong Here. And You Showed Up
AARFP Conference & Trade Show What a week. The People Made ItWith over 200+ delegates in attendance, the energy was undeniable. From first-time attendees to seasoned operators, the conversations, laughter, and connections carried through every session, hallway chat, and evening event. This is what “You Belong Here” looks like. Learning That MattersAttendees took part in sessions that tackled real challenges and real solutions from technical skills and facility operations to leadership, innovation, and emerging trends. The goal was simple: send people home with ideas they can actually use. And judging by the conversations happening throughout the week, mission accomplished. A Trade Show That DeliveredThe Trade Show at Keyera Place brought
2026 Alberta Ammonia Days
Who Should Attend? Concept Control is proud to host the 2026 Ammonia Safety Days across Alberta, in partnership with the Ammonia Safety Training Institute (ASTI) and co-sponsored by Startec. These in-person events are designed for professionals who work with or around ammonia systems and want to strengthen their understanding of safety, preparedness, and best practices. Whether you’re responsible for operations, safety, or emergency planning, Ammonia Safety Days offer valuable insight from experienced industry leaders. The sessions will be led by Scott Silva, Director of Technical Services at ASTI, who brings extensive experience in ammonia safety and industrial emergency planning. Click Here To Register Edmonton, AB April 20th 8:00 AM – 3:30 PM Edmonton
That Rink Spa Feeling
That Rink Spa Feeling By: Adrian Thibault | Arena Stream Rep Weekly ice maintenance is a bit like giving the sheet a spa day: a trim, a scrub, and a soothing hot soak so it can face another seven days of hard stops, snow showers, and slapshots. Below is a practical, professional routine with just enough fun to make the work feel like craft, because it is. Start with the edges. They are where trouble quietly accumulates. Snow and frost kicked up by practices cling to the kick plate; the resurfacer cannot quite reach the last sliver next to the boards; operators (wisely) avoid “riding” the wall. Left alone, those