Hydrostadium teamed up with the City of Metz and FFCK (French Federation of Canoe Kayak and Paddle Sports) to build a prototype of a river wave at the La Pucelle dam. The wave was put in the river in only a few days, back in December 2019. The 5 meter wide prototype demonstrates the technical feasibility to build a fully fledged river wave at this location. Metz has enormous potential: The aim is to build a wave 10 meter wide and up to 1.3 m high, transforming city into one of the best river surf spots in European river.

Help spread the stoke for this project and transform Metz into a world class river surf spot by sharing their petition:

https://www.change.org/p/mairie-de-metz-cr%C3%A9er-une-vague-de-surf-naturelle-%C3%A0-metz

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Our goal is to build one (or more) river waves in the city of Steyr. In the first feasibility study, our engineer looked at 12 potential spots in the city, of which 8 are located in the city center. In the past decades, the city of Steyr used the water of the river Steyr for industrial purpose (Steyrs’ economic history started with the production of rifles by the force of water). This led to the construction of dams and floodgates creating the drops that we need for a river wave to function. These dams and floodgates actually create plenty of possibilities for river waves in our area.

Kruglwehr in Steyr

After the first study was completed, we looked at the pros and cons of each spot and identified the most promising locations. Unfortunately, the most attractive spots in the city center turned out to be not ideal for a river wave (canalisation, too expensive, too dangerous to surf). We also wanted to create a new spot and didn’t want to rebuild an existing one.

The team behind Flusswelle Steyr

Right now our favourite is  the “Kruglwehr”, located in the “Unterhimmler Au” (the meadow and recreation area of Steyr). At this spot, we can use almost the whole water of the river, there is a substantial drop, the spot is considered safe, there is existing infrastructure (a buffet, toilets, parking area), space for construction machines and an existing building in the river (a slide for boats).

The potential spot at the Kruglwehr

It is also a nature reserve area, reaching up into the city. Currently, our engineer is in touch with the responsible persons. Fortunately, the local politicians and the mayor are supportive about our wave project. So far, we spent 5,000 € (with the financial support of the “Regionalforum”) for the first study. With the support of “FAZAT” (a club for the development of Steyr), we were able to organise sufficient funding for a second study, which will focus on the potential spot at the “Kruglwehr”.

We hope that this is just the first wave project in Steyr – there is enormous potential in our city for more than one river wave!

Spot Details

Latitude: 48.0439644
Longitude: 14.3774843

Spot Location

You know more about Flusswelle Steyr?

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Name of wave project: Blackforestwave
Country: Germany
City: Pforzheim
River: Enz

We’re always stoked to learn about new wave projects and curious to hear who’s behind Blackforestwave?

Late summer day in 2014, Steffen Rose was paddling in the river. The next surf trip was already planned and there were only a few weeks left to get ready for the trip. While walking along the river, Steffen discovered a small river wave. “Surfing in here would be great!” The idea was born. Just a few weeks later he came back to this spot and brought a rope. He fixed the rope to the bridge and tried to surf. It worked – but not exactly well. After this frustration he went back home with the idea to build a surfable river wave.

The council was positively surprised about the wave concept.

As a mechanical engineering student at the Pforzheim University, Steffen had the right skills to start the project “Blackforestwave” with two other classmates. Their goal: to make the river in Pforzheim more attractive. After an analysis of different locations they identified 8 potential spots and checked the technical details of them. One of these spots seemed particularly suited for a stationary wave. They made some drawings and worked out different concepts to integrate a wave in the river. After that, they presented the idea to the municipal council. They were positively surprised about the wave concept and decided to search for additional people to continue working on the idea.

Only a few months later, “blackforestwave e.V. (association)” was born. Today, about 30 people are all working together on different aspects of the wave project. We are students and young people who want to surf and bring an innovative attraction to the city.

The river surfing scene is exploding around the world … what do you think makes river surfing so special?

A river surf spot is like a skate pool … just better. It’s urban, cool and it’s a sport. River surfing is available for everybody who has access to a river. Even old people love to watch river surfers. River surfing is also innovative. A stationary wave can be created by manipulating the current and adding a few specific changes.

Photo: Blackforestwave

What is your personal connection to river surfing?

Since I’m 16, I love to surf in the ocean. But usually, I can only make it 2-3 weeks to the ocean during an entire year. It’s difficult to progress in such a short time. During the year, I need something similar to train my balance, to stay fit, just to be in water and feel a board on my feet.

What exactly is “Blackforestwave” and why the name?

The City Pforzheim is also called “gate of the black forest”. If you leave the city, you can reach the black forest in just a few minutes. The black forest is a famous place which is know all over the world. The black forest is international. We also want to be international. That’s why we called our project “Blackforestwave”.

What inspired you to start this project? What is your main motivation and what is your ultimate goal?

Our main motivation is to be innovative and get some young people working together and have fun. Our ultimate goal is to build a flexible structure that we can assemble to create a river wave anywhere.

Tell us about the current status of the project. Where are you standing right now?

We want to surf and bring an innovative attraction to the city.

At the moment we’re working on different concepts to create a wave for only a specific period. That means we need to change something in the river but we need to be able to undo it after the surfing period. We just started a cooperation with two Universities to run current simulations based on different methods. We are also talking to different people in the city and reach out to important people in politics. We plan a complete marketing strategy to find sufficient sponsors and supporter when we go public with out project in Pforzheim (at the moment there are only a few hundred people who know about the project). And there are also the ecology, safety, law and finance parts that we are currently working on.

Photo: Blackforestwave

Let’s talk about the location of the wave … have you already figured out a suitable spot?

One spot is definitely attractive. But we are also checking out alternatives.

Have you already conducted a feasibility study? If so, what are the results?

Yes, we did a feasibility study at the Pforzheim University. This was actually the first part of the project. The result show that there is potential to create a wave in the river.

Any plans to cooperate with local institutions or associations?

At the moment we cooperate with the Universitys Stuttgart, Kalrsuhe and Pforzheim. We cooperate with RESTUBE, which is a great and innovative company for inflatables. We also cooperate with other small companies and there will be more cooperations in the next months.

Building river waves is usually a costly venture. How do you guys fund such a huge project?

1. Find some great sponsors (we have already first offers)
2. Reduce the costs as much we can. We want to create a wave with minimum of changes in the river. We are going to work together with companies that sponsor their expertise and material.
3. We might start a crowd-funding campaign.

What do you think will be the biggest challenges in this project and how will you tackle them?

We need to challenge all kinds of shareholders at this project. For example there are the fishers and the “owner” (state) of the river. If you tell them, that you change the current of a river and there will be people surfing every day, they may start to work against you. In the first step, our wave will only be temporary. All changes in the river will be made in such a way, that they will be removable. After a big river surfing event for instance, everything will be removed and the river will be back to normal. If such an event is successful, we hope that people want the wave to be permanent. After this, we will try to find a solution for a permanent construction in the river.

Photo: Blackforestwave

How does your current time schedule look like … when do you think will you be surfing on Blackforestwave ultimately?

We think, that we will be able to surf in spring 2017. So we have one year left to build the wave. The responsible person from Pforzheim City thinks, that this is a realistic plan. We are not on at beginning anymore. We are working since two years on the project and we have already acquired specific knowledge in various fields.

What has been the most interesting “lesson learned” so far? What would you recommend future wave projects to do / not to do?

We hope that we will be able to surf in spring 2017.

Be careful when going public with your project. If you have an idea you don’t need to share it with the world over night. We are working since two years on the project and I guess no more than 300 people know about our project. We are working with a private Facebook group to communicate the idea only to people we want to. We will feel ready to publish the project in our area (newspaper, public Facebook page, website, poster etc.) when we finished the whole concept and when we are able to answer all critical questions.

Anything else you would like to pass on to our readers?

Believe in your ideas, be careful when going public and involve all stakeholders from the beginning. If you want to get in touch with us, simply pop us a message at steffen@blackforestwave.de.

Fill in the blanks

We’d love to see ___Sebastian Steudtner (big wave surfer, RESTUBE ambassador)___ shredding Blackforestwave one day.
We’ve always wanted to ___make Pforzheim as a city more attractive.
You’re not really a river surfer unless ___you understand the physics behind it.
Our favourite river surfer is ___a surfer who shares his wave with everybody.

Thanks for sharing your passion and time with us — all the best for your project and hope to see you guys shredding on this wave soon!

Photo: Blackforestwave

The post Blackforestwave appeared first on Riverbreak.

Landlocked surfing isn’t really known in Chiemgau yet, but the local river surfing community has been growing since 2013, when a group of winter sport enthusiasts were looking for a way to have fun in summer. The search was successful, but one single surf session meant alot of kilometres of travel. Not having to drive all the way to Munich, or even more remote standing waves, would mean less time wasted, and more importantly less fuel wasted. We started with a core group of 5 people and began to search our homelands for spots where a standing wave could be build. Soon we found a already existing wave and the word began to spread. For our first official meeting we expected 10 people to come, in the end 30 people attended and the fire was started.

With the help of Crowdsourcing we collected information on potential river surf spots and now we’re now examining these spots in more detail. One of the most promising spots lays directly in the city of Traunstein, in a water level controlled canal. Right now we’re working on the technical details of this spot and three surrounding spots in the same canal. We already had our first meetings with the city officials. And you know what? They love the idea of surfing in a city!

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“We started with the idea to build a river wave earlier this year. Due to the Lippe River flowing right through the city, Lippstadt is also known as the Venice of Westphalia. With the approval of the project we can turn it into the ‘Venice beach’ of Westphalia” says Alexander Lempke, on of the four founders of the Make it Happen Association. “To be honest, we actually started the project for fun and were not expecting to receive such a wide support from surfers around and outside Westphalia. This support encouraged us to found the ‘Make it Happen’ association and take the project to the next level.”

With the approval of the project we can turn it into the ‘Venice beach’ of Westphalia.

At the moment the association is working on a detailed implementation plan to convince the council of Lippstadt that this wave can no longer stay unridden. “Getting this river wave approved, will be another great step for the river surf community in Europe” according to Lempke.

A Call to All River Surfers

To all surfers who are already lucky enough to have their own river waves in town: think about your fellow surfers in Lippstadt, Germany and support the cause! Their chance of having their own wave increases with your support. Like their Facebook page or visit their Website “Venice Beach of Germany”.

Make it Happen

Facebook: www.facebook.com/Lippstädter-Welle-773131649423315/timeline/
Website: www.lippstaedterwelle.com

Spot Details

Latitude: 51.676153
Longitude: 8.338022

Spot Location

You know more about Lippstadt the “Venice Beach” of Germany?

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Spot Details

Country: Germany
Nearest town/city: Göppingen
River: Fils River
Latitude: 48.7020340
Longitude: 9.6428728

Weather in Göppingen

Today 09/02 High 19° / Low 14°

Tomorrow 09/03 High 20° / Low 14°

Tuesday 09/04 High 24° / Low 14°

Spot Location

More on Fils Wave

Media Reports

• http://www.stuttgarter-zeitung.de/inhalt.trendsport-in-goeppingen-taugt-die-fils-fuer-die-perfekte-welle.85f1cd96-7d1d-41bf-aae0-42b9d95f9de6.html
• https://www.swp.de/goeppingen/lokales/goeppingen/Surferszene-begeistert-von-Goeppinger-Fils-Plaenen;art1158499,3300927

You know more about Fils Wave?

The post Fils Wave appeared first on Riverbreak.

Vote for the project at:

http://sherbrooke.carticipe.com/#vague-a-surf-au-centre-ville

The project team underscores that they have full control on the river, having 3 dams upstream in less than a km, they can create a river wave during the summer when the water is warm and there is nothing exciting on the oceans and the rivers. With Red Bull, Oakley, Go Pro, Billabong and Wave Sports everything is possible in river surfing.

Call for Support

The post Sherbrooke River Wave appeared first on Riverbreak.

Support the Project on Facebook

Check the Facebook Page Die Saalachwelle in Bad Reichenhall for more details on the project.

More About the Wave in Bad Reichenhall

BGLand24.de

Spot Details

Latitude: 47.72347132
Longitude: 12.86532667

Spot Location

You know more about Saalach Wave?

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