The line-up saw some of the most talented river surfers fighting for the title for more than 4 hours, sometimes accompanied by heavy rainfall. After all, Lukas Haigermoser came out first in the men’s and Christina Minimayr in the women’s final. The contest was held on 23 May 2015 and organised by the local river surf association Rivermates (Salzkammergut) and supported by the Austrian Water Rescue Federation (ÖWR).

Contest Impressions

All Results

Here is the complete list of winners of the 2015 CROWN OF THE TRAUN contest. Huge congrats to everyone who participated in this competition and to the organisers for putting up such an awesome event.

Men Finals

1. Lukas Haigermoser 11.80
2. Daniel Schur 11.68
3. Manuel Burger 9.98
4. Steve Ratzisberger 9.54
5. Kevin Smolle 8.06

Men Qualification

1. Vincent Loidl 8.26
2. Vincent Gecmen-Waldek 7.44
3. Forian Meunier 6.82
4. Johannes Peter 5.66
5. Sebastian Fischer 5.36
6. Andreas Krüger 5.06
7. Michael Steinlesberger 4.92
8. Daniel Pichlmüller 4.44
9. Thomas Schmidsberger 4.26
10. Mario Hornung 4.16
11. Fabian Jesacher 3.34
12. Martin Bruch 2.96
13. Martin Oberleitner 1.64
14. Brad Phelan 1.22
15. Christoph Fessl 0.14
16. Stefan Gennuso 0.14

Women Finals

1. Christina Minimayr 7.44
2. Eva Loach 4.18
3. Katja Rittmann 3.02
4. Meli Höcketstaller 2.82
5. Lena Ramsauer 2.12

Specials

Shortest Ride: Chris Fessl
Worst Wipe-Out: Lena Ramsauer
Best Trick: Vincent Loidl

Photos: Max Eisl/markt36.at

More Photos

Contest Video

The post 2015 Crown of the Traun: Contest Results appeared first on Riverbreak.

In his presentation, Ben talked about river surfing’s history, status quo, a future outlook and the need for special river surfing gear. This was the first time that the interested public and major players in the surf industry (Rip Curl, Xcel and others) received an official presentation on the potential of our sport. The growing recognition of river surfing by the surf industry is a big step for our community. A huge shout out to everyone involved in preparing and giving this presentation in Munich.

More on Cold Water Surfing at the ISPO 2015

At the ISPO MUNICH 2015 International Sports trade show, EuroSIMA and Ispo have teamed up to offer the very first B2B platform dedicated to Cold Water Surfing. Billabong, EuroSIMA, Finisterre, Fomento, Holysport, O’Neill Wetsuits, Patagonia, Restube, Rip Curl, Xcel all presented their latest innovations. More on the platform and the topics at the official site on Cold Water Surfing at the ISPO 2015.

The post River Surfing at the ISPO 2015 appeared first on Riverbreak.

The qualifying was organised in several heats of six surfers and only the very best of all heats got the chance to compete tomorrow, Saturday. Tomorrow heats will start at 7:30 am. As soon as the heat list are out, you will find them in our Live Ticker.

This is the list of all qualified surfers:

Enjoy this Clip of Day 2

The post Surf & Style — Qualifying appeared first on Riverbreak.

After our arrival in Silz we got a first glimpse of the wave and couldn’t wait to get our feet on our boards. Well, after our first run, the wave turned out to be somewhat sobering: the wave that looked so amazing from the bridge turned out to be relatively flat on the right and pretty messy on the left end.

Let’s Do It Again

Aware of the fact that the very first attempt to ride a new wave is often doomed to fail, we thought to give it another go. Queueing up along the bank, grabbing the rope, pulling in … taking-off and voilà — finally getting a good ride on the wave. The secret is not to drift too far to the right, where the wave is rather flat. It is easier to stay in the wave at the left end, which is more like a huge bowl section. The face is great too: there are roughly three to four meters to cruise from one end to the other and to throw a few buckets of spray.

The highlight is definitely the “hump section” in the middle of the wave. A frontside turn, a few pumps to pick up speed and the hump acts like a small kicker allowing you to get some airtime and off the ground.

The Grand Opening

After a few rides in the new wave, we had some time to look around: does the opening event live up to its expectations? Ibiza sound, a few riders and € 4.10 beer — it is already 2pm and we are still waiting for the event to actually take off. The location, however, is fantastic — situated directly at the river banks, the easy access and a small bay make the Crazy Eddy area a great place to chill and surf.

Fear of Crowds or Bad Reputation?

We were still wondering why there was so little talk about the (quality of) the wave prior the event? One reason might be risk of (over-) popularity of the spot. The better the wave, the more river surfers will head to Silz, thereby risking the cultivation of a local/hater attitude and a negative atmosphere at the spot.

Besides the potential risk of attracting massive crowds of river surfers, another reason for not promoting the wave too much might have to do with the 3-year development plan proposed by Area 47: in its first stage, the guys from Area 47 have built a smaller wave at the left end of the river, while in the next winters, the right end will be developed. It is well known that throwing 20 truck loads of rocks into a river may not always produce a great wave — and if the “grand opening” of a new wave does not live up to its expectations, it is hard to shake off the bad reputation. But we can put your mind at ease: the guys from Area 47 did a great job.

Infrastructure, Café and Gear

We were also wondering what kind of infrastructure Area 47 has planned for the spot. The former Crazy Eddy building is supposed to be transformed into a small café. However, chances for party are low as the café has to shut its doors at 7pm. Next to the café, there are plans to build a small skate park and a surf shop, where surfers can buy basic surf gear and rent boards.

The Bottom Line

Our conclusion: the wave is great, the location is stunning! It is worth a weekend trip to check out the new wave, so if you have a car, pack your stuff and head to Silz. The guys from Area 47 have definitely put the 20 truck loads of rocks at the right spot.

More About the Trip

This article is based on the original German version kindly provided by NU.ART surfstuff. Read the German version here: Ja, es war die Reise wert

The post The First Crazy Eddy Review: Is the New Wave Worth a Trip? appeared first on Riverbreak.