Many of the surf parks scheduled to open soon have been in the works for nearly a decade or more. Their architects are the original crop of dreamers and doers – the devout wave poolers in a long-term relationship with artificial wave technology. Andy Hadden wed the wave pool dream back in 2013 and is now eyeing the completion of Lost Shore Surf Resort, a 52-module Wavegarden Cove near Edinburgh. Despite the global ebbs and flows experienced by everyone these past few years, the project is marching toward a completion date of September 2024.

“We were relying heavily on this becoming an Olympic sport,” said Andy. “I think that was something that most of us could see coming. But still, you know, it’s a bet. You could call it that. We had to go through two major planning applications, which is something that, you know, all the developers have to go through. So that meant knowing locally exactly how to navigate those choppy waters. And then fundamentally, you have to raise a heck of a lot of money and then you have to have the aptitude and desire to run one. So there’s definitely a reason that surf parks aren’t more numerous today. There are definitely going to be more later. You know everyone that’s built a wave pool is wanting to build another one – I think that speaks volumes.”