8/12/05 

AMUSEMENT INDUSTRY PARTNERSHIP SELECTS WINNERS OF “ACCESS TO FUN” COMPETITION

Alexandria, Virginia — The International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) and the US Access Board announced today the winners of the Access to Fun design project.  The Access to Fun contest asked participants to develop design concepts for a device that would facilitate access for persons with mobility impairments into and out of an amusement ride seat that is located below the surface of a loading platform, such as a water flume ride.

The three winning teams are from the University of Kansas School of Engineering.  Teams win a monetary award of $5000 for first place, $500 for second place and $200 for third place.  The first place team will also be provided with funding to construct a mock-up of its design that will be showcased at the IAAPA Attractions Expo 2005 Annual Conference and Trade Show being held at the Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta, Ga., November 14-19, 2005.

“While we do not endorse or approve these proposals as the only solution to disabled access to amusement park rides, we hope this exercise has stimulated a train of thought on a design to enable individuals with limitations to use more amusement park rides,” said J. Clark Robinson, IAAPA President and CEO.  “Each of these teams demonstrates great ingenuity.”

Entries from engineer and accessibility design professionals to college students were judged on criteria including cost efficiency, durability and reliability, operational systems, safety and more.  Each proposal was evaluated by a panel comprised of engineers and accessibility experts gathered by IAAPA and the U.S. Access Board.

The U.S. Access Board is the federal agency responsible for developing rules governing access to every sphere of American life. Over the past decade, provisions for access to amusement rides were written by the Access Board in close consultation with the industry, establishing minimum standards for accessibility to rides and attractions. 

"We commend the student design teams for the creativity they demonstrated in designing transfer devices to be used by persons with disabilities in gaining access to amusement rides,” said Jan Tuck, Chair of the Access Board.  “We look forward to continued innovation in the development of these important devices that enable individuals with disabilities to more fully enjoy all types of amusement rides."

The winners of the “Access to Fun” design project are as follows:

First place: University of Kansas School of Engineering, Tyler Docking, Matthew Hess, Carla Hines and Francis Hitschmann

Second place: University of Kansas School of Engineering, Chris Anderson, Jesse Burns, Chris Dorvak and Tanner Rinke

Third place: University of Kansas School of Engineering, Adrien Bender, Randy Clover, Paul Rankin, Mark Wolfe

For more information about IAAPA, please visit www.iaapa.org.

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