Five Things to Do Before You Travel to AB Show
You’ve registered for AB Show. Your flight is booked, your hotel is reserved and Orlando is on the calendar. Now what?
With so much happening at AB Show 2026, the attendees who arrive with a plan are likely to be the ones who get the most out of the experience. Whether you’re looking for new products, ideas for your facility, professional education, networking opportunities or simply inspiration, a little preparation before you leave home can make a big difference.
Here are five things I recommend doing before you travel to AB Show:
1. Build your personal show agenda
Don’t wait until you arrive to figure out what you want to see.
Take some time before the show to review the conference schedule, tours, special events and Expo Hall. Identify the sessions you absolutely don’t want to miss and put them on your calendar.
Then take a look at the Expo exhibitors. If you’re looking for a particular product, service or solution, identify the companies you want to visit ahead of time.
That said, don’t over plan every minute. Leave some room in your schedule to discover something unexpected. Some of the most valuable conversations at a trade show happen when you walk into a booth or session you weren’t originally planning to visit.
My advice: Have a plan, but leave room for spontaneity.
2. Make a list of your biggest challenges
Before you come to AB Show 2026, think about the challenges you’re facing right now at your facility.
Are you trying to improve staffing? Renovate a facility? Upgrade equipment? Increase participation? Improve safety? Find new programming ideas? Make better use of AI or other technologies?
Write down your top three to five challenges, then bring that list with you.
As you walk the Expo Hall, attend sessions and talk with other professionals, look for ideas that can help solve those specific problems. Instead of simply asking, “What’s new?” you can ask exhibitors, “How can this help me solve this problem?” or ask other attendees, “Are you also struggling with this challenge?”
This simple change in approach can make your time at AB Show 2026 much more productive.
3. Research the exhibitors you want to meet
The Expo Hall can be overwhelming — in a good way. There are hundreds of products, services and ideas competing for your attention.
Before you travel, identify the exhibitors you definitely want to visit and familiarize yourself with the show floor layout to make efficient use of your time once you’re there.
Take a few minutes to learn what they offer and, if appropriate, reach out to schedule a meeting. If you’re considering a significant purchase or project, let the exhibitor know what you’re looking for before you arrive. That gives them an opportunity to prepare information, samples, demonstrations or the right person to meet with you.
Remember: You don’t have to be ready to buy something to have a valuable conversation. Some of the best reasons to visit the Expo are to learn what’s available, compare options and discover what you might want to consider for your facility in the future.
4. Connect with people you want to see
AB Show isn’t just about products and education. It’s about people!
Think about the colleagues, industry contacts, vendors and professionals you’d like to reconnect with while you’re in Orlando. Reach out before the show and put a few meetings on your calendar.
You might also consider inviting a colleague from your organization to join you. Attending together gives you someone with whom you can compare notes, divvy up sessions and Expo Hall visits, and discuss action plans once you return to the office.
And don’t overlook the networking opportunities built into the event. Sometimes the most valuable conversation of the entire show happens over coffee, between sessions or at an evening social event.
5. Come ready to learn and take notes
AB Show brings together professionals from across the athletics, fitness, recreation, military, aquatics, and parks and recreation industries. Everyone arrives with different experiences and challenges, which is what makes the event so valuable.
Bring a notebook, use your phone or tablet, or find another way to capture the ideas that catch your attention. When you hear something that makes you think, “We should try that,” write it down. When you see a product that could solve a problem, take a photo and make a note about why it caught your attention.
When someone tells you about an idea that worked at their facility, send a note about it to your colleagues.
The goal isn’t to return home with a hundred pages of notes. It’s to return with a handful of ideas that can make a difference.
Why You Should Bring Your Team to AB Show 2026
1. Cover More Ground and Put Ideas Into Action
With 15% more educational sessions, there are more opportunities than ever to learn from industry experts and explore new ideas. Bringing your team allows you to divide and conquer, attend sessions happening at the same time and gain insights across a wider range of topics. Back home, your team can share what they learned and collaborate on how to put those ideas into action.
2. Double your networking opportunities
More team members mean more opportunities to connect with industry peers, experts and potential partners. Each person can bring their own perspective to conversations, helping your team build valuable relationships and uncover new ideas, resources and opportunities.
3. Find solutions for your facility
Explore the latest products, services, technologies and innovations from more than 200 exhibitors. With your team covering more of the expo floor, you can compare solutions, connect with vendors and find products and services that address your facility’s unique needs and challenges.
4. Invest in your team
Give your employees the opportunity to learn from industry leaders, expand their professional knowledge and develop new skills. Investing in their growth strengthens your team while bringing fresh perspectives, expertise and energy back to your organization.
More Than an Expo: Discover What’s Waiting on the AB Show Floor
When you walk onto the AB Show 2026 floor in Orlando this November, you’ll quickly realize that this isn’t your typical trade show.
Yes, you’ll find hundreds of exhibitors showcasing the products, services and technologies that help athletics, fitness, recreation and military professionals build, operate and improve their facilities. But the AB Show floor is also designed to be an experience — one where you can see products in action, try something new, meet industry experts and maybe even get a little competitive.
Start with the exhibitors
Whether you’re planning a new facility, renovating an existing space, looking for new equipment, exploring technology or searching for ideas to improve your programs, the Expo Hall is where you can have those conversations face to face.
One of the things generating particular excitement this year is the diversity of organizations represented on the floor. AB Show’s partnerships with NAYS, AORE, MFA and IAPPF bring even more exhibitors, resources and opportunities to connect with industry professionals.
Be sure to visit these partner booths and take some time to see what they have to offer. You may discover a new resource, make a valuable connection or find an idea that you can take back to your organization.
Pickleball and padel — see them in action
You’ve probably heard a lot about pickleball. But at AB Show 2026, you’ll actually be able to experience it.
The show floor will feature pickleball and padel courts, giving attendees the opportunity to see these increasingly popular sports and the facilities that support them up close.
Whether your organization is considering adding pickleball or padel, or you simply want to understand more about these growing sports, make sure you stop by.
And, yes, you’re encouraged to get out there and give it a try.
Everyone’s favorite: The free-throw area
Every year, there are certain things on the show floor that become part of the AB Show experience.
The free-throw area is one of them.
Stop by, pick up a basketball and show what you’ve got. It’s a fun way to take a break from walking the aisles, challenge a colleague or just see for yourself how many shots you can make.
Trade shows don’t have to be all business, all the time. Sometimes a little friendly competition is exactly what you need to recharge before resuming your research mission within the aisles.
Puppies!
If there’s one thing guaranteed to stop people in their tracks, it’s puppies.
This year, we’re bringing a puppy petting station to the AB Show floor.
After spending time talking equipment, technology, construction, programming and facility management, you’ll have the opportunity to take a few minutes, step away from the business of the show and spend some time with some four-legged friends.
Consider it your official AB Show 2026 stress reliever.
And don’t be surprised if the puppy station becomes one of the most popular stops on the show floor.
Come for the products, stay for the experience
The AB Show Expo is ultimately about finding solutions. It’s about meeting the companies that can help you accomplish your goals and discovering products and ideas you may not have known existed.
But the AB Show team also wants attendees to enjoy themselves.
Walk the aisles. Talk to exhibitors. Ask questions. Try something new. Meet someone you’ve only known through email. Play a little pickleball. Check out padel. Take your shot at the free-throw area. And, of course, stop by and visit the puppies.
The best trade shows give you something you can’t get from a website or a product brochure: the opportunity to experience things firsthand and connect with the people behind them.
That’s what we’re building on the AB Show 2026 floor in Orlando.
So, when you arrive at the Orange County Convention Center on Nov. 18, don’t just walk through the Expo Hall.
Explore it. Experience it. And have some fun along the way.
See you on the show floor!
Five Can’t-Miss Sessions at AB Show 2026
AB Show 2026 is packed with education across every corner of the industry, but if your schedule is already tight, these five sessions deliver outsized value for the time you’ll spend in the room. From AI adoption to project delivery methods, here’s where to be:
Implementing Successful Programming: From Idea to Impact
Nov. 17 | 3:15-4:15 p.m. ET | Parks & Recreation
Great programming doesn’t happen by accident. Caleb Burgard, deputy director of Dickinson Parks and Recreation in North Dakota, walks attendees through a practical framework for turning program ideas into consistent, well-attended reality — covering demand assessment, efficient launches, and the data-driven tweaks that keep participation climbing. Expect real-world examples pulled straight from parks and rec operations, not just theory.
Aquatics 2030: Innovation in Safety, Staffing and Facility Efficiency
Nov. 19 | 8:45-9:45 a.m. ET | Aquatic Programming & Management
Aquatics is changing fast, and Bonnie Booth, aquatics manager at The Rosen Aquatic & Fitness Center in Orlando, has a decade-out view worth hearing. This session covers AI-assisted drowning detection, automated chemical management, and energy-efficient facility design — plus the staffing crunch every aquatics director knows all too well, with recruitment, training and retention strategies that actually hold up. Leave with a strategic roadmap, not just a list of buzzwords.
AI at Work: Where Leaders Should Start
Nov. 18 | 9:15-10:15 a.m. ET | Emerging Leaders/New Managers
If you’ve been putting off an AI conversation with your team, this is the session to change that. Jordan Shenker, CEO of Peninsula Jewish Community Center in Foster City, Calif., cuts through the noise with a practical framework for responsible adoption, including how to build an AI usage policy that protects data and supports staff. Attendees walk away with specific use cases for marketing, programming and operations, plus action items they can implement the following week.
Delivery Methods: The Most Important Decision You’ll Make on Your Next Project
Nov. 17 | 3:15-4:15 p.m. ET | Facility Planning & Design
Choosing a project delivery method shapes everything that follows — cost control, schedule, design influence — yet it’s often chosen by default rather than strategy. Stephen Springs, president of Brinkley Sargent Wiginton Architects, breaks down design-bid-build, CMAR, construction manager as agent, and design-build in plain language, drawing on three decades of public-sector projects. If a facility build or renovation is anywhere on your horizon, this is required listening.
A Discussion on How to Handle Multiuser Groups in Your Facility
Nov. 18 | 8:00-9:00 a.m. ET | Fitness Center Management
Balancing competing user groups is one of the toughest daily challenges in facility management. David Galvin, membership facilities manager at Champaign Park District in Illinois, shares strategies for setting clear expectations, building adaptable schedules, and resolving the inevitable conflicts — all through real scenarios rather than abstract advice. A must for anyone juggling diverse populations under one roof.
