In this monthly Surf Planner installment we cover Korea, California, China, Japan and Norway…

We pride ourselves on keeping the WavePoolMag Surf Planner up-to-date. A lot of entries came in this month, with Seoul Korea, Palm Springs and Norway topping a list of nearly 50 projects worldwide.

We frequently have wave pool makers from Europe and the States reach out to us and ask to be included. To qualify for inclusion, a project must have someone on the other end of an email saying “yes, this is a legit project. We have investors and a location” etc.

There are also projects omitted due to the developers wanting to keep things hush-hush until everyone has signed on the dotted line (Palm Desert). And we totally respect that. A lot can happen between securing funding, passing environmental inspections and navigating a ganglia of red tape.

But once construction is finished and the doors are open, well, it’s a beautiful thing. Wave pools provide stoke for local residents and visitors alike, and can often revitalise a place.

Snowdonia Adventure Parc took a scrappy, abandoned, Aluminium plant and made it an attraction. Their hard work and “build it and they will come” ethos revamped a tiny slice of Northern Wales.

The Terre d’eaux project inn the Severn section of Paris seeks to revitalise a neglected urban area. The new space will provide jobs, parks and most of all a place for neighbourhood kids to use their resident passes to get good at wave pool surfing. Yes, a new crop of urban surfer grows is on the way.

While compiling the Surf Planner it occurred to us that anyone can claim they are building a wave pool. Not that the places listed here are more Ponzi than pool scheme, but it would be a pretty simple process. One just has to make a website and some computer animations, put on a suit, say “stoked” a few times at the investor meeting and then ask for cash. On this somber note, in the coming years there will be some terrible tales of failed pools.

But for now we celebrate the possible, the what can be, and the what will be. Remember you can check the full listing of wavepools worldwide at this link.

Project Surf Jord, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway

• The Lowdown: This project will be the first Surfing Wave Pool in Scandinavia. An Indoor facility that will allow year round access for surfing and other water activities. The project is also seeking to build one of the most Eco-friendly Sport Facilities in Scandinavia.
• WavePool Construction Progress: In 2019 Sunnfjord Waves launched sketches and basic design plans with major fund-raising launching in 2020
• Accessibility: The project wants to include surfing for all levels and ages as well as bodyboarding, Stand-Up paddling, Kayaking and Swimming
• Type of wave(s): Up to 2.4 meters. Smaller waves can be produced more quickly from about 10 seconds for wave height of 1meter 
• Wave Generating Technology: Sunnfjord Waves have been in contact with Murphy’s Waves, in Scotland. (The same tech behind Typhoon Lagoon, Wadi Wadi adventure, etc.)
• Hours of operation/Seasonal Hours:.The plan is to have it open the whole year round
• Pool Structure: Indoor pool
• Waves per hour: Murphy’s tech is boasting up to 350 waves per hour
• Price Breakdown: Not ready yet.
More info on the project here

Wavegarden Turtle Island Gyeonggi-do, South Korea

• The Lowdown: This is being claimed as the largest Wavegarden Cove project to date and is part of a multi-billion dollar resort development an hour outside of Seoul
• WavePool Construction Progress: Planning stages with high-end artist renderings
• Accessibility: Not yet built.
• Type of wave(s): The cove produces everything from gentle knee-high rollers to head-high slabs via their top-secret machinery.
• Wave Generating Technology: Wavegarden Cove Technology
• Wave’s Technical Information: Wave height: 2-7 ft, Both left and right breaks, length of wave: 30-100 yards/meters depending on the size of the Cove pool
• Hours of operation/Seasonal Hours: Unavailable, but we’ll keep you posted. Will most likely be year-round to accomodate the millions of tourists that frequent this part of South Korea
• Price Breakdown: None yet
• Waves per hour: 11-900 waves per hour
• Check here for more information on Wavegarden’s Cove technology

Wet ‘n’ Wild Palm Springs

• The Lowdown: Top secret and under wraps wave pool by Cheyne Magnusson. We will provide more details as information comes through.
• WavePool Construction Progress: Planning stages
• Accessibility: Not yet built or even open to the public.
• Type of wave(s): Knowing Cheyne’s penchant for ramps and wedges, expect something similar to the American Wave Machines’ technology in Waco.
• Wave Generating Technology: Totally new invention from Cheyne Magnusson
• Wave’s Technical Information: The pool is a tad smaller than the BSR Surf Ranch and will use the existing outline of the previous Riptide Reef pool at Wet’n’Wild
• Hours of operation/Seasonal Hours: Unavailable, but we’ll keep you posted
• Price Breakdown: None yet
• Waves per hour: unknown

The Ghost Ship, Anyang, Henan, China

• The Lowdown: Top secret wave pool debuted online late January of 2019 • WavePool Construction Progress: Looks almost done
• Accessibility: Unknown
• Type of wave(s): At this point it looks like small, Surf Snowdonia or NLand lefts and rights
• Wave Generating Technology: Totally new invention from China. Wavegarden Cove and Kelly Slater Wave Co style hull-drive. The locomotive on this is huge, but the wave is pretty small. Should increase in size with velocity of engine-driver
• Wave’s Technical Information: The lagoon and wave driver are both very large. No confirmed details on size yet.
• Hours of operation/Seasonal Hours: Unavailable, but we’ll keep you posted
• Price Breakdown: None yet
• Waves per hour: unknown

Surf Ranch Kisarazu, Chiba Prefecture, Japan

• The Lowdown: The Kelly Slater Wave Co and WSL are building a facility in Japan. It’s often said to be in Tokyo, but rumors point to Kisarazu in th Chiba Prefecture.
• WavePool Construction Progress: Footage shows a construction site with not much work being done
• Accessibility: Will it follow the Surf Ranch Lemoore model? Which is private, Professionals Only, Adults-only, Advanced Surfers, Donations for Surf Sessions, WSL Events, or paid ‘spectator’ admission to WSL events. High-season daily rental is around $55,000 while low-season costs are $33,000
• Type of wave(s): Lefts and Rights, hollow with no interrupting sections • Wave Generating Technology: Kelly Slater Systems
• Wave’s Technical Information: Wave height: 2-6 ft, Both Left and Right Breaks, Length of Wave: over 100 yards/meters, Hollow performance-oriented
• Hours of operation/Seasonal Hours: Unknown
• Pool Structure: KSWC facility could be like Lemoore, or concrete
• Waves per hour: KSWC tech produces 12-25 waves per hour
• Apparel: Wetsuits, Bikini, Boardshorts

More info at Kelly Slater Wave Co

Did we miss something? Let us know. [email protected]