With the fourth edition of the prestigious Menalac Awards approaching, Menalac has announced its panel of judges. 

 

Featuring heavyweights from industry-leading organisations, the judges have been carefully selected for their sharp expertise and second-to-none passion for the industry. 

 

The Menalac Awards 2022 will see 14 judges across 20 categories: 

 

Phil Taylor - Founder and Managing Director of Team-Leisure Consulting, Antonio Zamperla Junior - President of Antonio Zamperla, Scott Deisley - Managing Director at Safety Skills Training DMCC, Ernest Yale - President, CEO and Founder of TRIOTECH Amusement, Paul Chutter - President of Whitewater, Yannick Maes - CEO of KCC Entertainment Design,   Fred Pastuszak - Theme Park Creative, Art Director and Architect, Silvio Liedtke - CEO of Landmark Leisure, Shazad Ali Abdullah - CEO of Cheeky Monkeys Playland, Andrew Such - Interim CEO of AMC Cinemas KSA (SEVEN), Tim Batstone - Chairman of HB Leisure , Marcel Hendricks - GM at Doha Oasis Quest, Scott Wellington - General Manager of Desert Falls Water and Adventure Park, and Mark Tucker - General Manager of Adventureland, UAE and Morocco.

 

The two Health and Safety awards will be judged by 12 members of the Menalac Health and Safety Committee and the remaining 5 awards will be judged by the Menalac Board.

 

The Health and Safety jury comprises Peter Stubbs - Director – HSE at Majid Al Futtaim Majid Al Futtaim Leisure, Entertainment and Cinemas, Grahame Campbell - Group HSE Director at Jumeirah Group, Rahul Rahalkar - Technical Manager at Al Othaim Leisure and Tourism Co., Ralph Pesgens - Global Head of CC Amusement Parks and Leisure Industry at TUV NORD, Mohammed Ashraf - HSE Manager at Doha Oasis Quest, Shady Mohammed - Assistant Operations Manager at Adventureland, Alex Schrott - Head of Amusement Rides and Structures at TUV SUD ME, Pankaj Sharma - Health and Safety Manager at Landmark Leisure, Steven Putzeys - Operations Manager at MH Alshaya Leisure and Entertainment, Ben Clegg - General Manager of The Zone Amusement Arcade, Noel Deguzman - Department Head HSE at Motiongate Dubai, and Karl Rothenberg - Maintenance Director of Legoland Dubai.

 

Mike Rigby, Chairman of the Menalac Events Committee, says: “We have brainstormed putting together a multidisciplinary and - more importantly - an immensely experienced regional and international jury that is extremely knowledgeable about the Mena Leisure and Attractions Industry.”

 

He continues: “Collectively, they represent a diverse wealth of industry expertise, talent, and knowledge that will help benchmark, award, and honor excellence in the Mena Leisure and Attractions Industry while also setting the bar for the years to come. With an aim to make the judging more accurate this year, we have also instituted a separate Health and Safety Jury comprising Leisure Health and Safety experts across different disciplines to judge the two Health and Safety Awards.”

 

The Menalac Awards 2022 categories are:

 

*BEST THEME PARK

*BEST WATERPARK

*BEST FEC

*BEST UNIQUE VISITOR ATTRACTION

*BEST EDUTAINMENT / PLAYSCAPE

*BEST SPORT / ADVENTURE-BASED ENTERTAINMENT

*BEST NEW LEISURE/ ENTERTAINMENT CONCEPT

*BEST CINEMA EXPERIENCE

*BEST DAY OUT

*BEST SALES and MARKETING CAMPAIGN

*BEST CSR PROGRAMME

*BEST CUSTOMER LOYALTY PROGRAMME

*BEST EMPLOYEES ENGAGEMENT INITIATIVE

*MOST INNOVATIVE APPLICATION OF TECHNOLOGY

*BEST NEW CONCEPT / INTERIOR DESIGN FOR A LEISURE FACILITY

*BEST NEW PRODUCT FOR THEME PARKS

*BEST NEW PRODUCT FOR WATER PARKS

*BEST NEW PRODUCT FOR FECS

*BEST NEW CONCEPT

*SUPPLIER OF THE YEAR

*BEST INNOVATION IN HEALTH and SAFETY

*BEST INDIVIDUAL SAFETY ACHIEVEMENT

*BEST IMPACTFUL SUSTAINABILITY CAMPAIGN OF THE YEAR

*BEST ESTABLISHMENT MANAGER; BELOW 250000 VISITOR/TRANSACTION

*BEST ESTABLISHMENT MANAGER; ABOVE 250000 VISITOR/TRANSACTION

*LEISURE AND ENTERTAINMENT PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR

*Menalac HALL OF FAME 

 

 

The Menalac Awards aim to raise the benchmarking standards in the industry. With this in mind, the awards consistently attract top global and regional industry names, welcoming their rich experience and knowledge of the Mena Leisure and Attractions industry to judge the awards. 

 

Committed to maintaining equal representation in the jury, a balanced mix of experts representing various segments of the industry are selected to ensure fair and objective judging. The jurors represent businesses from several countries across the Mena region, as well as further afield.

 

Like in its previous editions, the nominations will be submitted and judged through an online awards portal. Each judge will vet and examine all aspects of an award entry, assessing them against the submission requirements and judging criteria.

 

The judges will evaluate the award entries individually via the online awards portal, and will complete their judging and scoring over a 14-day judging window.

 

Once the judging is complete, UHY James Awards Auditors will calculate the scores over 10 days and announce the finalists in the first week of March.

 

The winners will be announced at the Menalac Awards Gala on March 29, 2022.

 

The Menalac Awards are truly credible. They owe their distinct reputation to utmost confidentiality, which is maintained throughout the nomination and judging process. All stages of this process are overseen by UHY James - an independent audit firm. UHY James is the sole holder of the winners’ names until the awards ceremony.

 

Entries are welcome from Family Entertainment Centres (FECs), water park operators, visitor attractions, edutainment centres, sport and adventure-based operators, cinemas in the Mena region, and manufacturers, suppliers, and designers who service Mena-based Leisure and Attractions operators.

 

Entrants can nominate themselves across multiple categories. 

 

Entries must not exceed the specified word limit, and are to be submitted in English. 

 

To better illustrate their achievements, entrants are encouraged to use visual elements, client testimonials, and a video (not exceeding 90 seconds).

 

The nomination round will close on February 12, 2022.-- TradeArabia News Service