On the heels of a promo clip released this week, one WavePoolMag staffer pointed out that 90% of the digital surf pool candy we consume is ultra-high performance. While we love viewing impossible airs (Thank you Stab High!) we often overlook these learner zones. To this point, do you personally know someone who can land a frontside stalefish?

In a recent press release, Wavegarden stated that it required almost as much effort to develop a good air section in its Cove design as it was to create its learner area, known as the Bays. 

“What initially seemed straightforward – creating a white water wave that rolls towards the shore – turned out to be quite complex,” the company said. “Our main challenges included obtaining the optimum size and power, and managing currents to ensure they move correctly without sweeping surfers away.”

The company pointed out Surfland Brasil in Garopaba, where the depth in the Bays varies between knee and waist-deep and the pool floor has a cushioned underlay, is the result of years of fine-tuning.

“The Bays of Surfland are… an achievement that has taken many years of testing”, explained Josema Odriozola, CEO and Founder of Wavegarden. “The challenge has been to tame the forces in the water, but I think now we have cracked the code.”

One of the greatest difficulties is making water “waist deep” when learners’ heights vary from child to full-grown adult. Wavegarden said the huge strides were made for the beginner zone in Garopaba when compared to the facility in Praia da Grama. The company attributes this to the work, much of it done through computer modeling, that their fluid dynamic experts put in.