A Meeting Point for Passion and Innovation

This year, for the first time, participants from the USA and Italy joined the summit, highlighting the increasing internationalization of the river surfing community.

Day 1: Kick-off with a Night Surf Session

The first day began with an unforgettable night surf session on the Moldova River. The team led by Martin Leskovjan artistically illuminated the wave on Štvanice Island, creating a unique atmosphere. Surfers from eight nations took the opportunity to ride the waves under the starry sky.

Day 2: Lectures and Exchange of Experiences

The second day started with an early-bird surf session, followed by the official opening by the summit initiators, Martin Leskovjan and Janne Paul Schmidt. The subsequent lectures covered a wide range of topics:

• Martin Leskovjan (CZ) reported on the creation of the Prague wave, which was realized in record time and with a minimal budget despite numerous complications.
• Heiko Heybey (GER) from Leinewelle presented the current state of their open-source software for surf waves and provided an update on leash safety.
• Sandro Santschi (CH) from Switzerland explained the comprehensive Swiss concept for training river surfing instructors.
• Bogac Tur (GER) from the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg presented their groundbreaking study on safety.
• Paul Primus (Boise) and Ryan Richard (Bend) from the USA gave insights into the history of their waves and current developments in North America.

After the informative sessions, participants cooled off with another surf session in the waves of the Vltava River.

Day 3: Looking to the Future

On the third day, the surfers focused on the future of the international river wave network. In a constructive workshop, goals were defined, and the organization of the network was discussed to enable even closer collaboration.

The Role of IGSM

The Interest Group Surfing Munich (IGSM) also played an important role at the summit. For years, the IGSM has been committed to safety and the preservation and construction of waves in Munich. The mutual support through the newly founded international network is a great help in this regard.

“Collaboration on an international level gives us additional momentum for our projects in Munich,” said Moritz von Sivers, a representative of the IGSM.

A Unique Format and Growing Community

What made this summit unique was the gathering of river surfers from all over the world, who exchanged ideas between lectures and supported each other with knowledge and experiences. There is no comparable format worldwide in the field of river surfing. Every year, new nations join the community to discuss topics like wave construction, safety, and competitions.

Founding of the International River Surfing Network

Due to the rapid growth of the sport, the International River Surfing Network was founded last year as an informal alliance of river wave operators and initiatives in Europe. Initiated by Janne Paul Schmidt, the founder of the Gießen Lahn Wave, the network aims to foster collaboration and support within the river surfing community:

“Our gathering here in Prague showcases the immense potential we have when we unite as an international river surfing community. This collective support and shared vision are the cornerstone of our sport’s exciting future.”

Looking Ahead

The 2nd International River Surfing Summit in Prague was a great success and highlights the enormous potential and growing enthusiasm for river surfing worldwide. The increasingly close collaboration on an international level between river wave operators, projects, and engineers promotes greater safety awareness, enables the faster realization of additional waves in the future, and drives technical advancements. With the support of organizations like the IGSM and the International River Surfing Network, the exchange of knowledge and experiences is intensified, significantly contributing to the development of the sport.

Inspired and motivated, the participants returned to their home countries to actively shape the future of river surfing. The next summit promises to be even larger and to include more nations in the growing community.

Videos

Here are the videos of the River Surf Summit 2024.

Gallery

The post River Surf Summit 2024 – Shaping the Future of River Surfing appeared first on Riverbreak.

27.4. THE.RIVERWAVE Surf Open Ebensee (Austria)

https://www.theriverwave.com/trw-surf-open/

25.5. – 26.5. FINBREAKER Prague (Czech Republic)

https://www.prazskejserf.cz/finbreaker-2024

7.6. – 9.6. RSL Hannover (Germany)

https://rapidsurfleague.com/news/dextro-mode-on-fuer-rsl-2024/

7.9. RiverSurfJam Thun (Switzerland)

https://edelweisssurftour.ch/event/riversurfjam-thun-2024/

The post River Surf Events 2024 (Europe) appeared first on Riverbreak.

I’ve had the summit project in my head since I started running into misunderstandings with the vision of a complete rebuild of our venue with wild water and a wave that is not accessible from the shore, but needs to be swum to. For a challenging project that would involve two waves with different character and an upgraded wild water course underneath, it is necessary to get broad support from the municipality and the watershed management as well as funding to carry out the project. And for this it is good to listen to the advice of more experienced people.

How the Idea of a Summit Evolved

Fortunately, one day this summer Janne Paul Schmidt from Giessen (where he is trying to build a local river surf spot called Lahnwelle) appeared at the door of the Vlny Štvanice club.

Soon after our meeting, a Whatsapp group Network River Surfing was created, in which representatives of European riversurf projects started to join quickly. The idea of a summit caught on in the group and soon after we agreed on a date and venue on the island of Štvanice in Prague. Paul and I had a great understanding of the overall approach and composition of the program, and so the preparation went off without a hitch even though we both had many other projects on the table.

Brief Event Summary

The core of the event was a series of lectures and discussions on Saturday. In addition to all aspects of wave making and operation, there was also the topic of racing and cross-border cooperation. DreamWave, Surf Anywhere and Hydrostadium all sent representatives from companies involved in wave design and construction.

Above all, however, there was the first meeting of a group of river surf fanatics who create an environment for other surfers and share a passion for improving the conditions for inland surfing.

In addition to the lectures and discussions, our goal was for all guests to experience a new wave, so all the time outside of the summit itself was filled with sessions including two night rides with artificial lighting. Saturday evening was then devoted to discussions and the joy of meeting until the late hours of the morning.

Paul and I agreed on several goals for the summit that were met beyond expectations:

• to get to know and meet other wave operators and creators
• to gain from the lectures and discussions the basis for the creation of a “cookbook”, or guide to making waves, based on the experience and knowledge of the guests and network members
• to check whether the informal group Network River Surfing makes sense to others and to discuss its future activities.

Outlook

We are already working with Paul on the cookbook and recordings of the talks will soon be made available on the Network channel. We are also planning other activities – in addition to peer visits, online seminars on topics that didn’t fit into the program, and we hope to repeat the summit next year.

For me personally, it was a dream come true to see surfers returning from a wave with a happy smile on their face and praise for its shape and power.

Martin Leskovjan
Waves Štvanice founder
Canoeist and rapid surf greenhorn

Gallery

The post River Surfing where are you going? To Prague! River Surf Summit 2023 appeared first on Riverbreak.

Friday, Oct 20th 2023

Evening / Night Ride
Dinner
Party “soft version”

Saturday, Oct 21st

7:30 – 9:00 Morning surf session for summit participants

9:30 Intro:
Key note speech (Janne Paul Schmidt / Martin Leskovjan)

10:00 Laurent Sublet – Engineer and Epinal constructor, Hydrostadium
„Hydrostadium wave development and projects“

10:30 – Discussion:
Memberships, community, operating days per year, how to financially survive
Moderator: Julie Hučíková – showcase of our numbers at the beginning

11:00 Matyáš Menšík – Czech Leagues / cups
Discussion: Local / international competitions
“Future contests (e.g. club competition, european riversurfing championship)”

11:15 River surfing as professional sport
Moderator: Antonio Hybner

11:45 – 13:00 Lunch break

13:00 Prof. Dr.-Ing. Robert Meier-Staude
“Layout and design of River Waves”

13:30 Discussion
How to pick a spot for a wave and not annoy officials and the community?
River administration / municipality relationships
Moderator: Lenka Ptáčková

14:00 Diploma Engineer Josef Bauer – Engineer / Čunovo wave constructor
“Norms, liability and the hurdles of hydropower”

14:30 Discussion – Safety and legal responsibility
Moderator: Martin Leskovjan

15:00 Lasse Bauer – Engineer Dreamwave
“Flexibility, the key to Building waves in natural rivers“

15:30 Discussion – Technical possibilities, trends and costs of new waves (after Lasse – Dreamwave)
Moderator: Paul (How to remove debris/bed load, minimal invasive technologies)

16:00 Remotely Neil Egsgard – founder of Surfanywhere
„Simple waves and safe tailwater“

16:30 Final Discussion: Cookbook and examples (SurfAnywhere example) and future of the network.

17:30 Surf Session

19:00 Dinner

Night Ride Surfing

Party “strong version”

Sunday, Oct 22nd

9:30 – 11:00 Morning surf session for summit participants

The post 2023 River Surf Summit – The Official Program appeared first on Riverbreak.

River Surf League 2021 Tour
Colorado River Waves
May 14th – July 31st, 2021

Record yourself riding the waves and sending tricks. Upload videos via the Activity Feed (as many times as you like). Your best submissions will count towards awards. Also, when you submit a video, you’ll unlock cool perks from local retailers. Judges will review, score, and award prizes throughout the course of the competition.

What is the River Surf League 2021 Tour?

10 Barrel Brewing is proud to present the River Surf League 2021 Tour. River Surf League is a “virtual” river surfing competition where you compete against one another and raise the stoke of river surfing in Colorado. A portion of registration fees benefits the Colorado River Surfing Association a 501(c)3 non-profit.

How does it work?

• Enter any or all of the divisions you’d like to surf.
• Get out there and surf from May 14th through July 31st!
• Record yourself riding the waves and sending tricks.
• Upload videos via the Activity Feed (as many times as you like). Your best submissions will count towards awards
• Also, when you submit a video, you’ll unlock cool perks from local retailers.
• Judges will review, score, and award prizes throughout the course of the competition.

Video submissions

• Submit your videos as .mov files
• Please keep them to about 1 minute long
• Make sure they don’t include copyrighted music
• Please keep them socially acceptable (G-rated if at all possible for language)

Are you Judging me?

Yes. Judging will be based on the following categories:

• Best Wave – Girl Groms (<18 years old)
• Best Wave – Boy Groms (<18 years old)
• Best Wave – Women (18+ years old)
• Best Wave – Men (18+ years old)
• Longboard
• Bodyboard

Special Judging Categories

“KICKFLIP” – No one has pulled this off in the Colorado River Scene yet!!!

“BEST TRICK” – Sendy McSenderson #ftw

“BEST WILSON”- aka best fall (FYI: intentional endangerment/injury does not qualify)

“ROOKIE AWARD”- First timers only. Show us sticking your first full ride.

“BEST IMPROVED”- Surfer who submits several videos and gets better the best over the competition.

“OLD FARTS” (50+ Women & Men)

“MOST ARTISTIC VIDEO”- Most visually appealing to watch.

“WAVE HUNTER”- Person who got the best ride on an unknown wave.

“BEST FAN”- Person who cheered on other in video(s).

“BEST RIVER SURFING STEWARD”- People supporting the river surfing scene be it pickup trash, chase down a board, help someone out in need while in the river, etc.

The Small (but important) Print:

• Surf within ability
• Surf with safety gear
• Know before you go (check river flows and hazards)
• Surf with others
• Have fun & Send it!

Which Waves? Here you go!

METRO DIVISION

South Platte
Miracle Wave
Reynolds Landing
Union Chutes
River Run Park
Beaver Wave
16th Street Wave
Trestle Wave
Dave’s Wave

Clear Creek
Lawson
Golden

WEST BY SOUTH DIVISION

Arkansas River
1.5
Buena Vista Park
Canyon Doors
Salida Park
Florence River Park
Pueblo Park

Uncompahgre River
Montrose Park

Animas River
Durango Town Waves

WEST BY NORTH DIVISION

Eagle River
Eagle Whitewater Park

Colorado River
Pumphouse Wave
Glenwood Wave
Big Sur
Lucky 7
Las Colonias
5th St Wave (GJ)

Bonus points

Send us photos and videos of your kit and race attempts. Tag it #RiverSurfLeague and #10barrel on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook or whatever you use to communicate with those in the know. Or message us using the blue help bubble in the lower right corner on each page of this site. The coolest and most creative submissions will get bonus prizes.

Check out the link for more details: riversurfleague.me

The post River Surf League 2021 Tour appeared first on Riverbreak.

After the last speaker left the podium, the Summit organizers summarized and wrapped it up and there was a bolt to the door and the parking lot because Ryan’s tablet was plugged back into the main screen and it still showed decent surf breaking at the Bend Wave. That Surfer Optimism paid off!

Real time video from the Wave camera later showed us that those who bolted were ripping good surf on the big screen at the front of the room while we had music playing through the Riverbend Room’s pretty dang good sound system as a large delivery of extremely tasty and varied small pizzas came in the door with somebody. A number of the local Bend surfers and friends that had been invited to meet the people from out-of-town and out-of-country wandered through the lobby to find us. The gathering got bigger.

A tribe. One that shares the chores.

This is a tight crowd, more like family. Those than ran off earlier to surf came back grinning and wet and extremely hungry right about dark as more Bend brewery refreshments came in the door (there are a lot of breweries in Bend I was told). The rest of the evening was spent talking out and digesting the entire day’s list of information that was trying to assimilate into everyone’s brain. Chris from Spokane, a N/E Washington kyacker/surfer, and I talked a lot about the possibilities we had been presented with. Maybe we should start small, maybe an ‘Eisenbach’ style wave in the canals that are in Riverside Park? We agreed that more exploring of alternatives is needed. He knew of other potential sites and the waves that are produced depending on river flows in the Spokane area. That info will go into my article for OutThere.

By 9pm when the room was to close we had all pitched in folding and stacking the chairs, rolling the tables into the storeroom, emptying trashcans and wiping down counters and when we were done all that was needed was for the night crew to come vacuum the rug. Yep, a tribe. One that shares the chores.

We did have trouble with the big screen. It didn’t want to roll back up.

The Saturday Night Bar Scene Gathering

Again we really didn’t have enough room for everybody to fit into the cars, trucks, and SUVs that were in the parking lot but we managed to squish everyone in before we headed off to the big Cascade West Grub and Ale House that the local boys said (after quick checks of cell phone messages) was hopping. The Canadian board shaper guy ended up laying down between my congas and amp in the back of my truck to keep the local Bend traffic cops from pulling me over. Besides there not being enough seatbelts, there weren’t enough seats for all of us. A repeat of Friday night’s drive around Bend. Again, all I could do was follow where the lead cars were going. I was completely lost in the one-way streets and curvy roads.

The smell of good food, warm air, loud conversation, and music spilled through the doors as we all piled into the bar. Pool tables in the back two sections of the bar drew a couple Canadian guys and gals, a few others waved at the server immediately because they needed refreshments (really, just HOW many breweries does Bend have?), and the rest of us started looking for empty tables. There were all sorts of games and other machines lining walls, and the middle room had an actual NASCAR body cut in half and the driver’s side mounted to the far wall. Conversations buzzed in my ears from all directions as the riversurfers mingled with the crowd of local Bend folks that were already there.

Riversurfers mingled with the crowd of local Bend folks.

I’m used to bars, been playing music in them for four decades, but I don’t go to bars to socialize much if I’m not playing music. And that 30 years older thing was the same in that place, too, along with there being so many locals that all knew one another. I kind of kept in the background and listened and watched.

Interesting to be a spectator in another city in another state in a completely different social environment than what I am used to living as I have the last 13 years on mountain property in the Selkirk Range of Northern Washington State. In some ways bars are all the same but in others there are very noticeable differences in the social mores that are adapted from place to place.

Road Trip Rule #37: Never set your beer on the edge of a pool table. One of the Canadians spilled on the felt and got a lecture from the server. Oops.

The Punching Bag Machine

This is for the participants of the Punching Bag machine contest. You know who you are.

I found myself sitting at a table by the wall watching the pool game between the Canadian guys and gals (before the beer spilled) that was 12 feet away from this dollar bill-eating machine. I had never seen one before but maybe I had never paid attention in any of the bars I play music in and just didn’t notice. Being as … excitable as these river surfers all were, once they started the contest it quickly became too hilarious for words. If you know any of the Summit people who were there, ask THEM about it. I’m not going to name names.

Except Jacob. Who talked me the little old guy into trying three different strikes on the bag. He even put in the dollar bills. Jacob of Surf Anywhere is truly the guilty party here as he wheedled me into it. And no, I did NOT win the contest. That was one of the Canadian guys!

We started a jam session that lasted long into the night instead.

Next was a tweet that came in talking about a huge pre-Halloween costume party that was starting to rage at some friend’s house. This was somewhere between 11:30pm and midnight after far more excellent food and tasty brews had been consumed. Ryan had a few doubts about going to a local party where 20 male riversurfers and a couple of ladies would flood in through the door with him. Might be a wee bit of a pisser to the local guys that were already there. But it’s a party and we should go!

The Jam Session

There weren’t enough women at the party for all the unattached males to dance with. How sad. So we started a jam session that lasted long into the night instead. The Boise Wave Shaper pulled out a lead electric guitar, Ryan alternated with the mandolin and the banjo, another of the Summit guys had his acoustic guitar, the hand percussion from my bag came out, and everybody was singing-some rather badly, but it wasn’t half bad and making music is always enjoyable.

We all promised ourselves that we were going to get up and surf it early, that was the plan. I had my doubts because by the time we were again laying down our heads at Ryan’s it was well after 3am.

The Sunday Morning Surf Session

Yeah guys, right, we’re going to Dawn Patrol it. I opened my eyes a couple of times to crazy early bird types rummaging around for wetsuits and assorted gear but once that front door shut and they were gone I closed the eyelids for another few winks. I managed to do that a few times before it was obvious that it was time to get up because the rest of the surfers in the house were trying to get organized. I noticed they were moving even slower than the previous morning.

The trouble was that it was the only board that I knew I could surf on a river wave.

It was time to empty the air bed and pack up the truck for the trip home after the surf session. Instruments loaded first, and all the other gear was packed in around them. I was taking my Lunch Counter twinfin out the door when I was stopped and explicitly told that I would NOT be surfing on that board today. I was informed by the boyz that this old board was a piece of riversurfing history and didn’t deserve to get busted up. I never thought about it that way. It’s just always been my Magic Twinnie. The trouble was that it was the only board that I knew I could surf on a river wave. Ryan said there would be a board waiting for me from one of his friends that was already surfing this morning.

We didn’t arrive at the Bend Wave until 10:30am. Or later. Coffee, breakfasts, packing vehicles, this all took awhile in spite of the good intentions. I followed Ryan and company to the park and found a parking spot on the street, then walked over to the Parks & Rec building where Ryan has his office. He was on his cell phone trying to find out where the board I was to borrow had gone and came to find out the friend had already left for work with the board and couldn’t come back to drop it off. I didn’t have a board to ride until Ryan pulled out a 4′ 3” semi pig-shape Glide twinfin that was leaning against a wall in the back. A tiny little board about the same size as my wake board. Will this thing even float me? The guys said they’d meet me at the Wave and ran out the door.

In the line-up at Bend

Went back to the truck and started pulling on my mid-1990s Rip Curl Zipless Ultimate 3-4mm wetsuit that I hadn’t surfed in since the last surf camping trip on the Olympic Peninsula in Spring 2012. Oops. Gained a little weight as I’ve aged but it still fit well enough though the neoprene is getting a little stiff feeling to it from hanging on a closet dowel. Walked across the park and through the fence to the edge of the Deshutes River where you had to walk through the flow to get to the middle where the wave is. The water was REALLY cold compared to the lake, even being in a full-length wetsuit. I looked across at Ryan with no booties, no hood, no gloves and wondered to myself how he could surf so well without the added warmth factor.

How in the world do they flip their boards into the wave and jump on it?

There was a crowd of locals and Summit people waiting their turn on the Wave. I saw kids with belly boards, women in pink tennis shoes, a variety of helmets ranging from bike to climbing to kayak brands. Hoods and no hoods, gloves and no gloves, kyack life vests and rafter float vests, waterski and wake board safety vests with a scattering of the new high-tech PST inflatables down to just a guy in a wetsuit with a board under his arm. Jacob and I chatted as the line moved forward and everyone took a turn at slashing turns. I didn’t know the get-out downstream, what to watch for. Hell, I didn’t even know if I was going to be able to stand up on this tiny little board on a wave that looked far different than the Lunch Counter. How in the world do they flip their boards into the wave and jump on it?

Starting from a sitting down position, Jacob held my nose up as I tried to stand and find my balance in the little bit of flat water that exists along the edge of the concrete wall. As I stood up he let go and suddenly I found myself standing facing upriver riding the wave but unfortunately pointing straight ahead. I couldn’t get the board to turn which slowed me down as I slid into the pit before it sucked me under and backwards through the whitewater behind. But I did stand up for a few seconds. A minor triumph!

As I paddled myself out of the current below the wave and into the eddy flow that runs up the side back towards the wave I kept asking myself how do I turn this little fat board? I watched others who did the sit-down take-off and realized that as they stood up their boards were already starting to point in towards the middle of the wave. There’s the trick! My turn again and another surfer held the nose up for me as I stood up. This time I managed to wobble sideways and into the wave to surf it for a few seconds longer before it pulled the board up too high and sucked me over. Down the river I went again and back into line for the next attempt.

Paddling back up

There was one wave that I really found the balance on, near the last I caught that day. Alex Copp from Canada was taking the pictures and vid of me with my old camera. Alex couldn’t believe the camera actually had a viewfinder that you had to look through, but somehow he managed to catch my best and longest wave on video. And it was the one where I tried to throw a tiny cutback off the lip right in front of Ryan the Bend Wave Shaper. I made the move but didn’t make the wave as I found myself getting sucked into the top of the wave before it pulled me down and spit me out again.

Flashes of the old days. Body remembered how to do this. How cool is that?

The last wave was the worst. I didn’t even make it to standing up before the nose went underwater and I did an over-the-nose fall and completely separated from the board. I still had the leg leash attached to my bicep but it tangled me up for a few long seconds before I could get the board under me, and then the old wakesurfing vest rolled me off the deck before I could start paddling. I couldn’t get the board pulled back quickly enough to get out of the river’s flow so I ended up being dragged too far downstream before I was able to get myself in motion.

Too late. As I was trying for the corner and what I hoped was a little backwater the woman kayaker standing there looked down at me with the ‘Uh-Oh’ look clearly visible on her face. I was close enough to hear her say “You’re going over” just as I looked to the right and saw the edge of the drop-off that the current was inexorably dragging me to. There was no fighting it as the edge of the rock she was on passed by on my left, so I rolled off the board, let go, crossed my arms as I laid on my back, and pointed feet downstream. I went over the drop.

Jacob and me at the wave

Not too bad. Could have been worse. Two dunkings in 30 seconds certainly does pull a lot of heat out you wearing a mid-90s wetsuit, though. Yanked the leash and shoved the dinky little board beneath me and started paddling for the rocks. Found my footing close in and climbed out of the water. I was cold! I smiled at the young woman as I walked by, she smiled back before remarking that I had broken a fin off. I looked and she was correct, the fin was gone. Eaten by that second drop I’d imagine. Must have smacked a rock in there somewhere.

My heartfelt thanks to all that welcomed me into the Tribe.

My Summit surf-a-river day was over. The first one in 26 years. The Summit was done, I had plenty of notes to ponder and organize before sending the summary to Derrick at OutThere Magazine by Spring. And I had an 8-hour drive north facing my tired cold self for the rest of the day.

Jacob saw me walking back up the bank and came across to see what had happened. Showed him the board, said my good-byes, waved at the other surfers in the middle of the river that were looking with the tail of the board missing the fin up in the air which got a few knowing nods and smiles, and headed back to my truck to change and warm up and start the long drive home. It had been a very good weekend. My heartfelt thanks to all that welcomed me into the Tribe.

Part I: A Gathering of the Tribe: North America’s 1st River Surfing Summit

The post A Gathering of the Tribe: North America’s 1^st River Surfing Summit (Part II of II) appeared first on Riverbreak.

Everyone’s welcome to join the event to celebrate the stoke of river surfing. The river surf competition is hosted by Verein Flusssurfen Thun and these guys know how to put up an event that caters for every taste: Yoga sessions, a board market and live gigs will spice up the day! Be there or be square!

Programme

• 08:00 REGISTRATION
• 09:00 MORNING YOGA SESSION FOR SURFERS
• 10:00 RIDERS MEETING
• 10:00 SURFBÖRSE
• 11:00 ROUND 1 / 5x heats à 15 minutes
• 12:00 LUNCH BREAK YOGA SESSION
• 13:30 SIMON PAULI & SYN SCHÜTZ – LIVE KONZERT
• 14:30 ROUND 2 / 3x heats à 15 minutes
• 15:30 LUCKY WÜTHRICH – LIVE CONCERT
• 16:30 START SEMIFINALS / 2x heats, 15 minutes each
• 17:30 CLUB DE BOMBORDO – LIVE CONCERT
• 18:30 FINALS / 1x heat, 20 minutes
• 18:50 SHOWBLOCK / OPEN SESSION
• 19:15 PRICE CEREMONY
• 19:30 LOOSE CONNECTION – LIVE CONCERT

Mühleschleuse Wave, Thun

Photo: Verein Flusssurfen Thun

The post 2018 River Surf Jam Thun appeared first on Riverbreak.

Photo: Christian Scagliati

Photo: Christian Scagliati

Photo: Christian Scagliati

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And there is one thing that river surfing and ocean sufing have in common: There are strong forces in the surf industry striving to relocate surf competitions to artifical waves. This is little surprising, given that such events draw considerable attention to commercial surf pools, thereby attracting more customers. It’s all about the profit.

The idea of this year’s River Surf Jam was to offer an alternative to this development by setting a non-commercial example. One goal was to host this event without any sponsors. Why? Because contrary to a conventional contest, the organisers didn’t want to determine a winner. Instead, the event was built on the spirit to give something back to the community.

The contest was not about who is the best, but about fun and pushing each other to the best.

Participants were asked to donate for a wave project in a neighbouring city where a new river wave should be built in the next couple of years, provided that an agreement about the funding can be reached. In no time, the Flosslände crew collected more than 100 € from the surfers and managed to make a symbolic contribution to the wave project.

Despite the bad weather, the Riversurf Jam has attracted a record number of participants and spectators, with about 40 surfers competing in the Jam and the same number of people watching the event from the bridge or riverbank.

The riders Rufus and Patrick stroke me particularly. Rufus managed to launch huge air reverses on a small wave, Patrick’s drops are just radical: 5 meter approach, 2 meter drop, landing, deep bottom-turn followed by massive spray! With her clean 360s, Jasmin stood out from the other women, 11 year old Noah was the youngest participant.

It was not about who is the best, but about fun and pushing each other to the best. A big thank you to everyone who helped making this contest a success and the entire Flosslände family!

Gallery

Videos

The post Riversurf Jam 2018 at the Flosslände in Munich – Recap appeared first on Riverbreak.