January 21, 2021  |  Latest, Podcasts

Podcast: Episode 7 Season 2 with Ryder Thomas and his Caribbean project

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Pegasus Lodges, Punta Cana, and Swell International form the basis of this chat with Ryder Thomas Ryder Thomas is a fun, engaging character, and while he was spending a cold grey day in New York, I jumped on a call with him from my base down here in Portugal. We had a long and super interesting conversation all about the

Pegasus Lodges, Punta Cana, and Swell International form the basis of this chat with Ryder Thomas Ryder Thomas is a ...Continue ›

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January 21, 2021  |  Latest, News

Unfiltered: What I learned on my visit to Wavegarden headquarters

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The unlikely location for the next chapter in surfing is near the town of Zaurutz in the Basque Country of Spain. The medieval beach town is home to a thriving surf scene complete with surfboard factory, luxury surf boutiques and an annual WSL event. Game of Thrones fans can thank the area for Gaztelugatxe, the isthmus setting for Queen Daenerys Targaryen’s

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January 11, 2021  |  Latest, News

World’s largest deep-water standing wave breaks ground on Oahu

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Developers announced today that construction is underway on The LineUp, the anchor attraction to the Wai Kai waterfront facility at Hoakalei Resort in Ewa Beach in West Oahu. Wai Kai will feature what’s labeled by developers as “the world’s largest deep-water standing wave.” Built by CityWave, the 100-feet-across structure will host three surf areas sitting side-by-side. Citywave machines run between

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January 9, 2021  |  Latest, News, Television

Battle those Bots! Captivating wave pool videos recommended by flawed humans

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What’s appearing on your social media feed? Did your House Hunters International YouTube binge kick the surf clips off your suggested list? Did you inadvertently create a vortex of paint-choice tutorials pockmarked with Bed, Bath and Beyond adverts and nary a Ben Gravy suggestion? Blame the YouTube algorithm. “But algorithms and their bots are wonderful,” you say. The one on

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January 7, 2021  |  Latest, News

Surf Planner Update: The world’s latest wave pools – Is your town on the list?

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Welcome to our latest edition of the Surf Planner update. This month saw a flurry of activity globally with more wave pools planned for Europe, South America, Australasia and the USA. The WavePoolMag Surf Planner is currently up-to-date with nearly 95 projects worldwide. How do we do it? How do we track down all the developing projects in the world?

Welcome to our latest edition of the Surf Planner update. This month saw a flurry of activity globally with more ...Continue ›

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January 4, 2021  |  Latest, News

Wave pool plans for West Oz reignited with new location

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Hot on the heels of the announcement that Sydney would be moving ahead quickly with a proposed Wavegarden Cove as done by Urbnsurf, the group is now sighting on the Cockburn section of Perth. Urbnsurf is hoping to begin construction on the $40-million project in 2022. The new location follows a disappointing run at making waves in nearby Melville. In

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December 29, 2020  |  Latest

2020 in the Rearview: Here are the stories that mattered for one reason or another

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In a year ruled by a pandemic, a common theme was finding escape. With our usual social and work outlets twisted and restricted, many of us searched for a new happy place. We learned to cook. We Zoomed. We binge-watched Tiger King. Many of us simply curled up and cried in the corner while out in the world wave parks

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December 28, 2020  |  Latest, News

Where will the next Urbnsurf be?

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Urbnsurf announced today that it has welcomed more than 100,000 guests in 2020 despite only being open for six months of the year due to COVID-19. The park opened on January 6th, then closed twice before re-opening in mid-October, and is now experiencing strong demand in the lead up to the New Year. “Despite a challenging 2020, we’re thrilled to

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December 22, 2020  |  Latest, News

Arizona could rival Palm Desert with this latest wave pool addition

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Surf Town Arizona adds weight the "desert-as-surf-spot" trend popping up in The West. If all goes according to plan the development will bring the number of Arizona wave pools to four - an even tie with the Coachella Valley. The new park will join Big Surf in Tempe as well as Gilbert and Mesa as Arizona’s latest surf spots. Surf

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December 21, 2020  |  Latest, Television

Solstice celebration on both sides of the equator

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As the northern hemisphere celebrates the longest night of the year, we venture way south of the equator for a night surf with Noa Deane, Creed McTaggart, Shaun Manners and Thom Pringle at Urbnsurf. Australia is on their longest day of the year and it's nice to know we'll be doing the same in six months. Hey, solstices are special

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December 21, 2020  |  Latest, News

Total Cost of Ownership: Things to consider when considering building a surf park

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On the theme of Total Cost of Ownership, guest contributor Tanner Wilson brings up several key components to consider when constructing and running a wave pool attraction. About Total Cost of Ownership: TCO can be summarized as the purchase price of the pool and its technology, plus the costs incurred to construct and continually operate the pool over time. Within

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December 18, 2020  |  Latest, News

Landlocked and Lovin’ It: Valeska Schneider heralds the rise of a new kind of surfer

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“Multi-wave surfer” is an emerging term. What Kai Lenny is to “multiple-craft surfing” (SUP, kite, wind, tow) Valeska Schneider is to riding different types of waves (river, wave pool, artificial standing wave, ocean). In surf-less countries throughout Europe and beyond riders are learning to surf in standing waves and then transitioning to the ocean with some wave pool sessions thrown

“Multi-wave surfer” is an emerging term. What Kai Lenny is to “multiple-craft surfing” (SUP, kite, wind, tow) Valeska Schneider is ...Continue ›

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December 9, 2020  |  Latest, News

Solving surfing’s geography problem with wave pools

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The benefits of surfing are widely known, but for years they’ve only been accessible to those near the coast. Wave pools will change this.  The philosophic thread that “surfing makes you a better person” often misses the fact that exercise and water activity and being in the sun generally make people happy. But can it make you a happier, more

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December 9, 2020  |  Latest, News, User Guide

First Person: Waco, think Tiger King meets Endless Summer

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My name is Max Emerson and I’m a mid-level surfer whose been lucky enough to cobble a career out of making my internet life look more glamorous than it really is. About a million Instagram followers is plenty to support a chronic travel (and surfing) addiction. As a result, I’ve been fortunate enough to paddle out in places like Hawaii,

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December 9, 2020  |  Latest, News

Massive Manchester musical heritage will now have to shoulder up against surfing

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Manchester has given the world New Order, The Smiths, Oasis and possibly more chart-topping musical acts than any other city in the world. And now, the next major export (after songs whinging about love and death) could very well be surfing. Manchester news outlets announced this week a £60m outdoor wave pool planned for a plot of land near the

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December 8, 2020  |  Latest, News

California desert updates: Wave pools still target 2022-23 launch

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Although the pandemic has slowed progress on the four surf parks currently under development in the Coachella Valley it hasn’t changed plans to move ahead on the projects. Completion times for the developments are expected to be during 2022-23. Tom Lochtefeld's wave technology in Palm Springs The Palm Springs Surf Club is moving forward on a 50 million dollar project

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December 5, 2020  |  Latest, Television

First Person: Follow a child’s surf lesson at Wave Park

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Let's step back from the all-glory-all-action momentum of wave pool performance and dial it back to the basics. We found this cool clip narrated by a kid who recently learned to surf at Wave Park. The unnamed narrator in this quick video walks us through the whole process of learning to surf in the world’s largest and newest public wave

Let's step back from the all-glory-all-action momentum of wave pool performance and dial it back to the basics. We found ...Continue ›

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December 2, 2020  |  Latest, News

Latest Surf Lakes footage wrapped into mini surf movie

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A new mini-documentary peeks into the brief history of Surf Lakes with updates on Yeppoon’s favorite wave. Occy, Dean Morrison, Mark Mathews, Luke Hynd and others guide viewers through the tweaks, updates, and changes founder Aaron Trevis, engineer Kit Sidwell and crew have made to the pool. None of the information is stop-the-presses earth-shattering, but the whole 13-minute affair is

A new mini-documentary peeks into the brief history of Surf Lakes with updates on Yeppoon’s favorite wave. Occy, Dean Morrison, ...Continue ›

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November 27, 2020  |  Latest, News

Time to fill that wave pool in the Swiss Alps!

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Alaïa Bay in the Swiss Alps announced they are nearing completion of their 8500m2 Wavegarden Cove surfing lagoon. The wave pool will be filled in December, concluding a five-year project to open the first commercial surf-focused wave pool in mainland Europe. The first tests of the wave generating machinery will begin in January. During this phase, the settings will be fine-tuned

Alaïa Bay in the Swiss Alps announced they are nearing completion of their 8500m2 Wavegarden Cove surfing lagoon. The wave pool ...Continue ›

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November 26, 2020  |  Latest, News

Hills Shire Council green lights Wisemans Surf Lodge

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The Wisemans Surf Lodge project took a major step forward this week when the local council approved the development of a Surf Loch wave pool. Ace Chief Group paid $7.25 million for 18 hectares in 2016, partnering with John Du Vernet to develop a surf spot away from the ocean. “What we’ll create at Wisemans is a solution to access

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November 24, 2020  |  Latest, News

Florida to get PerfectSwell as SoCal desert gets more legit

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Two American Wave Machine projects received approval this week, one in New Smyrna, Florida and the other in Thermal, California. The company that makes PerfectSwell wave technology, the famed system used at BSR in Texas and at the American Dream Mall in New Jersey, now claims six upcoming projects including Japan, Brazil, Virginia and Australia. New SmyrnaNew Smyrna Beach Commissioners

Two American Wave Machine projects received approval this week, one in New Smyrna, Florida and the other in Thermal, California. ...Continue ›

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November 21, 2020  |  Latest, News

Your perfect COVID-era surf trip is to a wave pool

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Planning a surf trip is difficult. Do you go big and cross the equator or do you stay domestic? To find that rare sweet spot between raw adventure and a sure thing is daunting. Of course, after all that research and planning the waves can go completely flat during your visit. Compound that with a global pandemic and the search

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November 19, 2020  |  Latest, News

Wave pools emerge as community event & health hubs

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By now many of us are aware of the pluses of surfing to one's health and well-being. Today wave pools are providing access to these benefits for people living in areas where, only a few short years ago, surfing wasn't a feasible option. As these new, non-coastal demographics jump into the pool we are seeing surfing through a new lens

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November 16, 2020  |  Latest, News, User Guide

“One of Us!” Wave pool surfer launches board review channel

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Unsalted, Sasha Becejac is unique in the digital world of surfboard reviews, he’s wave pool-centric for most of his testing. To further his separation from the pack he’s also “un-YouTubed” (yes, we just invented that term) as his content can only be found on Instagram. The surfboard review space is populated by either surf shops slinging the latest model from

Unsalted, Sasha Becejac is unique in the digital world of surfboard reviews, he’s wave pool-centric for most of his testing. ...Continue ›

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November 3, 2020  |  Latest, News, Television

Wavegarden’s air section fully blooms in South Korea

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Earlier this year Wavegarden experimented with a new air section at their R&D facility in the Basque Country. At the time citizen-of-the-world but currently residing in Portugal CT surfer Kanoa Igarashi tested, tweaked, and gave feedback on the new prototype. The system looks like a submerged obstacle that creates different sections depending on the wave setting. The R&D development process

Earlier this year Wavegarden experimented with a new air section at their R&D facility in the Basque Country. At the ...Continue ›

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