• last year
The former managing director of Blackpool's Sandcastle WAterpark has been inducted into the 2023 World Waterpark Association Hall of Fame.
Transcript
00:00 (upbeat music)
00:02 John was born in Bury, England to Edna and George Child
00:09 and moved to Blackpool at the age of five.
00:12 The only boy of five siblings,
00:14 Child loved water from an early age.
00:17 His first job came at age 12 in the Funhouse Cafe
00:20 at Blackpool Pleasure Beach,
00:23 a Coney Island type tourist attraction.
00:25 Child honed his service industry skills,
00:28 always wanting to have a positive impact
00:30 on the guests' experience.
00:32 Child then headed to Portsmouth, England to study geology,
00:36 which gave him the opportunity to travel throughout Europe.
00:40 During his time in Portsmouth,
00:42 Child became a member of Portsmouth
00:43 and South Sea Voluntary Lifeguards.
00:46 After earning his BSC honors degree in 1984,
00:50 he returned to tourism hotel management,
00:53 but felt other adventures lay ahead.
00:56 He watched the demolition of Blackpool's
00:58 old outdoor swimming baths,
01:00 which in 1923 had been the largest single pool in the world.
01:05 A new complex named Sandcastle, featuring leisure pools,
01:09 conference facilities, and a nightclub,
01:12 opened on the site in June, 1986.
01:15 Child, now a lifeguard, had just won
01:18 the Preston & Ribble Life-Saving Championships
01:21 and successfully applied as a lifeguard
01:23 and lifeguard supervisor at the new facility.
01:26 The water side of Sandcastle,
01:29 consisting of a wave pool, leisure pools,
01:32 two large water slides, and a small children's area,
01:35 attracted over a million guests
01:37 in its first year of operation.
01:39 In 1988, the park added two speed slides,
01:43 but with no further investment for the next 15 years,
01:46 guest numbers began to taper off.
01:49 Child, who had been promoted through water park manager
01:52 to operations manager, to general manager,
01:54 and then managing director,
01:56 focused on ensuring guest service and safety
01:59 were always a priority.
02:01 Having trained the largest lifeguard team in the UK,
02:04 which had won numerous honors,
02:06 Child himself was awarded
02:07 the Royal Life-Saving Society's President's Commendation
02:10 for voluntary work in life-saving teaching and examining.
02:15 In 2003, under Child's leadership,
02:18 Sandcastle began a 10-year, three-phase,
02:21 $20 million investment
02:23 that would transform the Sandcastle complex
02:25 into a globally renowned and profitable water park.
02:29 When phase two was complete,
02:31 Sandcastle was officially renamed Sandcastle Water Park
02:35 and recognized with a 2006 WWA Executive Board Award,
02:40 presented to John and his team by Roger Currie.
02:44 Sandcastle continued its growth in profits and reputation
02:48 through Child's departure in June 2022,
02:51 after 25 years as managing director
02:54 and 36 years in the water park industry.
02:57 Child's commitment to community work and fundraising
03:00 earned the park a Guinness World Record in 2016
03:04 and made giving back an important part
03:06 of the Sandcastle culture.
03:08 An accessibility champion,
03:10 Child works diligently to help organizations
03:12 improve guest and employee experiences.
03:15 He is particularly passionate
03:17 about ensuring disabled guests have a true park experience
03:21 and championed the installation
03:22 of an award-winning Changing Places restroom
03:25 with hoisting facilities at Sandcastle.
03:28 He strongly believes in the power
03:30 of employing people with disabilities
03:32 and feels any organization not doing so
03:35 is missing out on the potential of a skilled,
03:37 hardworking, and loyal workforce.
03:40 Child has been a trustee of many charities,
03:43 served on the WWA Board of Directors from 2010 to 2016,
03:48 and has extensively traveled across most continents,
03:50 mainly in search of water parks.
03:53 He also loves adventuring with his children,
03:55 Siobhan, Miles, and Harrison,
03:58 who share his love of exploring water parks
04:00 around the world.
04:02 Child's work in tourism, advocacy for the disabled,
04:06 and community service was recognized by King Charles in 2023
04:11 when John was awarded an MBE,
04:14 a member of the Order of the British Empire.
04:17 The WWA is proud to recognize and welcome John Child
04:22 to the World Water Park Association Hall of Fame.
04:25 (gentle music)
04:29 (silence)
04:31 (silence)
04:33 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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