Last week, the ultra-modern Seven Degrees event center in Laguna Canyon hosted the Surf Park Summit,

Another presented the idea of a perfect replica of Rights and Lefts at The Ranch, sponsored by the Hollister sportswear brand. Perhaps thinking that he had gone too far, the same speaker admitted the thought was "almost blasphemous." Still, the driving point of the introductory remarks was, as Scott Bass put it, that the surfing industry is at a tipping point: "We have the potential to bring surfing to the masses," he said.



But even if the promise of increased global happiness, or wave parks somehow continuing the Duke's role as surfing ambassador could've seemed optimistic to some, the core of the Summit was a gathering of designers and engineers who represent the best thinking to date on the complex problem of building wave machines. Dan Harmon presented his experience designing, building, and operating the wave pool in Al Ain, in the United Arab Emirates. 85 million dollars went into the construction of a facility called Waddi Adventures, which included the wave pool that produces a solid four-footer that allows three good turns and a bash off the inside closeout section.



"The broad trend in the leisure industry," Mr. Harmon explained, "is moving from passive to active participation." He presented two different models for wave parks: 1) surf pools as part of a larger entertainment complex, and 2) the sports facility model, like a gym or training center. Huge pumps are crucial to "tank style" wave pools like the one in Al Ain, and Maik Ulmschneider, Senior Manager of Sales and Engineering for the German pump manufacturer, KSB (sponsor of the Summit), gave a run-down of his firm's development process in producing optimal pumps for man-made waves.



Tom Lochtefeld, co-inventor of the Flow Rider, presented his latest wave machines, which incorporate curved and padded blades run through the water on a track. But his thoughts on energy use in regard to wave pool operations opened the door to the significant challenges facing anyone considering the building of a wave park.

"Kooks are the key to making [wave pools] financially viable." -- Peter 'PT' Townend

"It takes 64 pounds of force to move one gallon of water," Mr. Lochtefeld said. Without the development of clean energy strategies (none of which are currently sufficient to run a wave park), Lochtefeld said that building surf parks "is going to have global warming implications." He also said that there are "two ways to look at power: where to get power vs. how to use less power."A sustainability panel, moderated by Dr. Jess Ponting, included Chris Hines, founder of Surfers Against Sewage in the UK and current owner of A Grain of Sand, Derek Sabori, Director of Sustainability at Volcom, and Dr. Chad Nelson, Environmental Director of the Surfrider Foundation. "The most significant PR and political threat to the surf park industry lies in environmental backlash due to unsustainable practices and large physical and carbon footprints," the program for the Summit reads.When asked whether Surfrider Foundation would oppose or endorse wave parks, Dr. Nelson said, "Our focus is on protecting the natural environment. We neither endorse or oppose surf parks as long as they don't impact the coastal environment." Continuing, he pointed out three areas of potential concern: 1) Siting 2) Energy consumption, and 3) Site management (how the site is run). Dr. Nelson finished his comments by reminding the audience that of all the little things we might do in daily life to protect the environment (recycling, driving a fuel efficient car, turning off lights) these are eclipsed by the impact of air travel.The topic of "sustainability" had the most energy in the room during the first half of the Summit. Chris Hines said, "It is not cool to use carbon-based wave pools, and called on the surf park industry to function sustainably with three goals in mind: 1) Positive social/environmental outcomes 2) Ideally create renewable energy, and 3) Creating natural improvements (habitat restoration). Driving these concerns was not the impact to the environment itself, so much as the search for ways to implement wave parks with lower carbon outputs.As Doug Palladini, president of the Surf Industry Manufacturers Association and VP at Vans, said: "We want to represent surfing, and make it a bigger culture." Noting the "massive contraction" in the surf market over the past five to six years, Mr. Palladini suggested regional wave parks could spark the re-birth of independent wholesale shops. "People [would be] more interested in the culture around surfing," he said as a means of expanding the market for surfing related goods.Former World Champion, Peter Townend, spoke of his experience in wave pools dating from the first article he read as teenager about Big Surf in Arizona in 1968, and his own sessions at Cleveland's Geauga Lake in 1985. Perhaps the event's most telling comment was PT's assertion that "Kooks are the key to making [wave pools] financially viable."There is an inherent thrust to expand surf markets via wave parks, but beyond pure commercialism, there was a real spirit of innovation and looking for new possibilities in surfing at the Summit. Fernando Aguerre, fresh from a meeting with the International Olympic Committee in Argentina, spoke passionately about how the "pursuit of happiness is a compass in our life." In keeping with Glenn Henning's urge to "share the wonder of riding waves with the largest number of people possible," Mr. Aguerre has taken up the long-sought quest to have surfing included as an Olympic sport, with wave pools as the technology that would allow such an inclusion. The Olympics, Mr. Aguerre said, represent "the ultimate quest for wave sharing..." The stated goal of the Surf Park Summit was to: "Change surfing as we know it, embrace a future that breaks down geographical barriers and unlocks new markets, to propagate the stoke that surfers know, and to achieve all this while helping to conserve coastal and marine environments."The final speaker of the day was Jamie Meiselman of Solite Surf, who knows first-hand the pitfalls of the wave pool business. Having invested in collaboration with Ron Jon surf shop on a failed wave pool project in Orlando, Florida, Mr. Meiselman summed up his experience in the business as "Once bitten, twice shy..." Citing the numerous hidden costs in building and running a wave park, he offered a practical perspective for potential investors. While the Wave Garden in Spain, and Webber's top secret, ultra-patented (internationally) design in Australia, and Lochtefeld's inventions represent great strides in quality, nevertheless, man-made waves have yet to pass a crucial barrier to financial viability.And it turns out that the problem facing wave pools is one that has long vexed ocean surfers too: backwash. The relatively small space of a wave pool forces operators to wait up to 90-seconds between "runs" (if we can call them that) for the water to lay-down after the turbulence of the first wave. What it takes to be financially viable, Mr. Meiselman pointed out, is the ability of designers to create a machine that can consistently produce three-to-five waves a minute, eight-hours a day, everyday. Bottom line, Mr. Meiselman said, "we're not quite there."+++More info at www.SurfParkCentral.com