Hi Ben, magst du dich unseren Lesern kurz vorstellen?

Ich bin der Ben Neumann. Mitte Mai hatte ich meinen 15. Geburtstag. Geboren bin ich zwar in Neumarkt i.d.O. aber eigentlich bin ich Garmischer und lebe dort seitdem ich in die Schule gekommen bin. Gegen Ende der ersten Klasse bin ich routinemäßig zu einem Sehtest und der Arzt hat festgestellt, dass ich nur noch ca. 35 % Sehkraft habe. Nach monatelangen Untersuchungen in verschiedenen Augenkliniken kam man zu dem Entschluss, dass man leider nichts für mich tun könne und ich den Rest meiner Sehfähigkeit auch noch verlieren werde. Das ging dann alles viel schneller als erwartet und somit bin ich dann in der 2. Klasse in eine Inklusionsschule nach Oberau gewechselt. Ab der 3. Klasse hatte ich zusätzlich eine Schulbegleiterin. Nachdem Inklusion in vieler Hinsicht noch ein Papiertiger ist in Deutschland werde ich seit Dezember 2018 über die Web Individualschule Bochum zu Hause unterrichtet. Das funktioniert super und ist perfekt auf mich abgestimmt.

Natürlich bin ich in vielen Dingen eingeschränkt, aber wo ein Wille da ein Weg. In meiner Freizeit spiele ich gerne Schlagzeug (suche übrigens immer noch Gitarristen für Jam Sessions), bin oft mit meinem Begleithund Quest unterwegs und mache viel Sport. Im Winter gehe ich wann immer möglich Skifahren. Das funktioniert mit Funk. Wenn auf den Pisten zu viel los ist gehen wir mit den Tourenski. Im Sommer bin ich eine Wasserratte, fahre Wakeboard und seit 2 Jahren kam dann natürlich noch das Surfen dazu. Mein Skateboard findet seit ich einen Surfskate habe nicht mehr ganz so viel Beachtung.

Wie bist du zum Flusssurfen gekommen?

Zu meinem 13. Geburtstag habe ich in der Jochen Schweizer Arena einen Surfkurs und ein paar Flugminuten geschenkt bekommen. Beides klappte auf Anhieb recht gut. Am Ende des Tages durfte ich auswählen, welche Aktivität ich in Zukunft gern öfter machen würde. Als Wassersportler viel die Wahl nicht schwer. Seither versuche ich einmal pro Woche in der Arena zu surfen und da ich schnell Fortschritte gemacht habe, konnte ich im August 2013 bereits ein Buster 5/0er Surfboard mein Eigen nennen. Als dann die Skisaison am 30. April 2019 auf der Zugspitze zu Ende war bin ich am 1. Mai zur Saisoneröffnung an die Floßlände. Das war mir irgendwie zu wenig Wasserdruck und ich hab keinen einzigen Turn geschafft. Nachdem mein Vater mich nicht vollständig entmutigt nach hause bringen wollte, sind wir direkt zur Eisbach Welle E1 gefahren. Weil ja erstmal immer keiner direkt sieht, dass ich blind bin, wollte mich da auch gleich jemand vertreiben. Da mein Papa aber hartnäckig war, hab ich tatsächlich noch am 1. Mai ein/zwei Turns auf der E1 hinbekommen und auch gleich ein paar Freunde gewonnen.

Kannst du mir dein aktuelles Sehvermögen beschreiben? Was siehst du am Eisbach? 

Blind ist man offiziell wenn man kleiner 2% Restvisus hat und zusätzlich ein sehr eingeschränktes Sehfeld (ist bei mir seit ich 8 oder 9 war der Fall). Am besten kann ich noch starke Kontraste wahrnehmen. Wie weit, hängt stark von der Umgebung und der Helligkeit ab. Wenn es gegen Abend dämmert wird es bei mir komplett schwarz. Auch im Winter wenn alles weiß ist und blendet, kann ich überhaupt keine Struktur mehr erkennen. Den Umriss eines Menschen sehe ich auf eine Entfernung von circa einem Meter bei entsprechender Beleuchtung. Außerdem habe ich nur noch ein ziemlich kleines Sichtfeld auf meinem linken Auge außen. Deshalb halte ich immer den Kopf seitlich und mein Gegenüber wundert sich warum ich ihn nicht direkt anschaue. Auf meinem rechten Auge sehe ich so gut wie gar nichts mehr, deshalb blendet mein Gehirn das rechte Auge aus.

Am Eisbach ist das Surfern für mich schon deutlich schwieriger als auf der gleichmäßigen Arena-Welle. Ich sehe zwar in etwa das Wasser unter mir, kann  aber nicht erkennen, wie hoch ich auf der Welle bin. Das zu Fühlen ist aufgrund der Unregelmäßigkeit der Welle auch recht tricky. Oft merke ich erst wie hoch ich auf der Welle bin wenn es schon zu spät ist und es mich oben darüber schwappt oder ich unten mit der Spitze abtauche. Den Rand kann ich ab einer Entfernung von circa anderthalb Metern als dunklen Streifen erkennen, allerdings orientiere ich mich am Eisbach eher an den „Hügeln“. Manchmal ist es sogar so, dass das was ich noch sehe, mich beim Surfen eher irritiert und meine besten Runs bisher im Dunkeln hatte.

Dein Dad begleitet dich immer zum Eisbach. Wie sieht seine Unterstützung am Einstieg der Welle  für dich konkret aus?

Mein Papa stellt mich einfach immer nur auf die exakt richtige Stelle. Den Rest kriege ich dann ganz gut allein hin. Viel wichtiger ist aber, dass er sagt, wann ich losfahren kann, da ich ja nicht weiß, wann frei ist bzw. ob vielleicht doch noch einer von der Gegenseite startet. Wir haben auch überlegt, ob das vielleicht auch über Funk – wie beim Skifahren – funktionieren könnte. Dort hat mein Papa ein Headset auf und ich einen Kopfhörer im Ohr. Ich fahre voraus und mein Papa sagt mir die Schwünge an. Das geht beim Surfen wegen dem Wasser mit der Technik natürlich nicht so einfach und wäre sicher sehr kostspielig. Somit halten die meisten Zuschauer am Eisbach meinen Dad halt für einen völlig übereifrigen Vater/Trainer.

Ich hab jetzt ein Video von dir gesehen, wo du per Sprungstart beginnst. Wie viel Versuche hast du gebraucht? Was ist dein Trick um die Welle und dein Brett zu treffen?

Hier ist es natürlich noch wichtiger dass mich jemand (in der Arena ist es meistens meine Mama) an die exakt richtige Stelle stellt. Dann habe ich mich immer zuerst einmal runter gebeugt und das Brett leicht in die Welle gehalten, um zu fühlen, auf welcher Höhe sie gerade ist. Dann habe ich das Brett in die Welle geklappt und versucht an genau der selben Stelle hinterher zu springen. Das hat in der Jochen Schweizer Arena mit einem Softboard etwa beim vierten Versuch auch schon geklappt. Inzwischen geht es hin und wieder auch schon mit meinem 5/2er Indiana Board.

Deutschland und die Stadt München hat sich Inklusion auf die Fahne geschrieben. Was hieße dies konkret, was sie für andere blinde Flusssurfer machen müssten?

Ich glaube das einzige was München tun könnte, wäre Projekte mit kontrollierbaren Wellen wie bei The Riverwave in Ebensee zu fördern. Ich hoffe ja immer noch sehr stark, dass das mit der Surfwelle Wolfratshausen endlich klappt. Seheingeschränkte und Blinde tun sich halt auf gleichmäßigen Wellen deutlich einfacher. Am Ende muss man sich einfach trauen und am Ball bleiben.

Lass uns mal die anderen Münchner Flusswellen durchgehen ob du eine Chance hast dort zu surfen. Wie schaut es mit der E2, der zweiten Welle am Eisbach aus? Wie wäre dort der Ein- und Ausstieg für dich machbar?

Zur E2 kann ich eigentlich nicht viel sagen. Mein Vater hat mir das Terrain beschrieben und ich denke der Einstieg ist für mich einfach mega ungünstig. Wenn, dann klappt das entweder wenn ich den Sprungstart sicherer beherrsche, oder wenn ich zunächst liegend aufs Brett springe und dann einen Take Off versuche.

Wie schaut es mit der Floßlände-Welle aus? Dort ist der Einstieg höher als am Eisbach. Wie wäre dies für dich machbar?

Mein Debüt auf der Floßlände war ja wie gesagt eher ein Reinfall. Der Start ist allerdings kein Problem. Vermutlich würde es mit dem richtigen Brett schon irgendwann klappen. Da ist allerdings immer noch mehr Andrang als am Eisbach.

Die Eisbachwelle (E1) ist Münchens gefährlichste Welle, aber auch die einzige in die du gut hineinkommst. Eigentlich paradox, oder?

Das stimmt schon, der Einstieg ist prima. Natürlich ist auch die Verletzungsgefahr nicht zu unterschätzen. Darum habe ich mich auch freiwillig für Helm und Neoprenanzug samt Füsslingen entschieden. Bisher habe ich die Steinquader nur leicht zu spüren bekommen und meine Booties schützen mich vor Glasscherben rund um den Bach.

Möchtest du eines Tages Hochwasser-Wellen surfen? Wie könnte dies ermöglicht werden? Was sind deine Vorstellungen?

Am ehesten geht das glaube ich mit Seilzug. Da Hochwasser-Wellen aber schwer kalkulierbar sind und ich sie ja gar nicht einschätzen kann, müsste ich da einen erfahrenen Surfer dabei haben. Andererseits muss man ja das Schicksal auch nicht unnötig herausfordern. Auf meiner To-Do-Liste steht eher für dieses Jahr das Wake-Surfen hinterm Boot und vor allem wenn möglich mit einem Foilboard.

Du warst letztes Jahr zum ersten Mal am Meer surfen? Wie hat das geklappt?

Das hat eigentlich auch gleich recht gut geklappt. Ich bin allerdings immer nur die Welle in Strandnähe gesurft, weil ziemlich viel los war und ich ja auch niemand über den Haufen fahren möchte. Eigentlich war für dieses Jahr wieder der kanadische Atlantik geplant, aber momentan gilt ja noch Reise-Stopp und Corona-Quarantäne.

Welche Flusswellen möchtest du in der Zukunft noch gerne surfen?

In kürze steht The Riverwave in Ebensee auf dem Programm und eigentlich möchte ich auch gern mal die Anlage in Langenfeld testen. Ein Traum wäre es natürlich mal in der Anlage von Kelly Slater einen Versuch zu wagen. Das hat glaube ich sogar schon jemand mit schwacher Sehkraft gemacht.

Welche Tricks würdest du gerne lernen?

Der 360 geht in der Arena zunehmend besser und ich hoffe, den Sprungstart kriege ich irgendwann auch so hin, dass es cool und lässig ausschaut.

Wie fühlt es sich an, unten im Eisbach-Becken zu stehen? Welche Vibes spürst du?

Das Spiel mit den Elementen, allen voran die Kraft des Wassers haben einfach etwas Magisches. Wie schon erwähnt, ist das für mich nachts wenn gar kein visueller Input mehr da ist, noch beeindruckender. Da höre ich nur das Tosen des Wassers und bin völlig allein mit der Welle.

Magst du es von anderen Surfern gelobt zu werden, wenn du mit deinem Run nicht zufrieden warst?

Ernst gemeintes Lob freut mich immer sehr. Andererseits glaube ich kämpft jeder ehrgeizige Mensch mit dem eigenen Unvermögen, da hilft dann auch kein Lob. Umso mehr freut man sich über anerkennendes „Klopfen“ wenn der Run gut war.

Du hast auf Citywaves das Surfen gelernt. Diese Wellen sind wegen ihres hohen Stromverbrauchs umstritten. Was ist deine Meinung dazu?

Natürlich wäre es prima, wenn es zukünftig mehr kontrollierte Flusswellen mit natürlicher Wasserkraft gäbe. Für Ballungsräume sind Citywaves schon in Ordnung. Wenn der Strommix irgendwann mehr aus erneuerbaren Energien besteht, ist das allemal besser, als wenn alle auf der Suche nach der perfekten Welle weit mit dem Flieger um die Welt jetten.

“No Limits” steckt in deinem Instagram-Namen (Ben Neumann, @ben.no_limits). Welche Limits wirst du als Riversurfer noch überwinden?

Ich bin froh, dass meine Eltern mich Grenzen austesten und zur Not auch mal überschreiten lassen. Die Tatsache, dass ich mir die E1 zugetraut habe, hilft mir auch alltägliche Hürden besser zu überwinden.

Ben in 10 Jahren – Wie wirst du dich als Riversurfer entwickelt haben?

Mein Werdegang hat mich ja in allerlei Hinsicht eingebremst. Somit mache ich keine langfristigen Planungen, sondern das Beste aus jedem Tag. Mal schauen was der 3,650. Tag so für mich „in petto“ hat.

Irgendwas, was du noch sagen willst?

Hang Loose!

The post Inspirational Story of Blind River Surfer Ben appeared first on Riverbreak.

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The post Mingagarafälle appeared first on Riverbreak.

The idea is that every rider is going to spare a Euro for each trick landed. Spectators can contribute too by nominating a specific rider to land a certain trick. If the trick is landed, spectators are throwing in some money (the amount is up to them). The Floßlände Riversurf Jam is hosted by Riversurf Revival, all details about the comp can be found at the event site.

Riversurf Jam Event Details

Date: 21 July 2018, 20:00–23:00
Spot: Floßlände Wave, Munich

The post Riversurf Jam 089 appeared first on Riverbreak.

The post THE FLOW – An Eisbach Story appeared first on Riverbreak.

A guy who is running a surf business in Munich mentioned that it depends on the industry if our sport will grow or decline. I was surprised by his honesty, claiming that the future of river surfing lies in the hands of the industry, rather than in the hands of the surfers. I got mad about this statement and thought about what has been happening in the last couple of years: “Where was the surf industry when we needed a sponsor to build Tube6 (a barrelling river wave in the inner city of Munich)? Why was the spoiler in the Eisbach wave not being payed by a nearby surf shop? Where was the industry when we would have needed their support?”

And what do we surfers really want? Ingo has stopped surfing a decade ago because he didn’t want to wait in line with five other surfers. Things have changed. Today, five surfers is not even considered a queue. The only time when I would just meet five surfers at the wave is probably at midnight during winter. The last straw was when a group of Eisbach surfers wanted to provide river surfing lessons for beginners. At a closer look it turned out that these courses were meant to be for young people who are socially disadvantaged, however, they were supposed to pay 50 Euros per day for these lessons. One of the local surf shops were already ready to promote this idea.

A 360 doesn’t impress anyone anymore.

How did this come about? In a city known for one of the most committed and tightly-knit river surfing communities in the world? A decade ago, journalists would have been expelled from the wave. What has happened to all the pioneers who only surfed for the sole joy of surfing, not for looking good in the media or attracting sponsors? Did these pioneers resign quietly, accepting that our sport has been flooded with surf contests and media productions?

Throwback: A weekend in July, 2009. In one week, the annual river surfing competition will be held at the Floßlände Wave in Munich. Crowded, about 50 river surfers are already in the line-up. Everyone’s waiting about 15 minutes for their turn. This isn’t very exciting for beginners with their six seconds rides before they fall and need to queue for another 15 minutes to get their next chance. I bump into a comp veteran, he doesn’t even bother to queue on such a crowded day. He stopped bringing his surfboard on the weekends and he didn’t sign up for any competition in the past three years. He can’t be bothered to wait in such a crowded line-up, it’s just not fun anymore! He loves to think back to the good old days, when comp riders dressed up in a costume and being able to stick a 360 was all you needed to qualify for the finals.

Photo: Selena Fletscher

What has happened to all the pioneers who only surfed for the sole joy of surfing?

Today, the organisers are still trying hard to sell the comp as a fun event, but a 360 doesn’t impress anyone anymore. The level of tricks has increased enormously in the last couple of years. However, I’m pretty surprised about the current hype for tricks, considering that river surfers are far behind of the tricks skateboarders can pull off! Essentially, there are only two river surfers who have been able to really raise the bar in the last five years in Munich. If you see these two guys surfing, you don’t need to see anyone else surfing. All of us are basically just reproducing their tricks.

Another aspect that had a massive impact on surfing is social media. Cameras and phones have become indispensable to capture that perfect surf moment. This amazing trip, that stunning trick – there is this strong desire to capture and share these moments with the world. A tip for all beginners who are lucky enough to discover a river wave: “Found an association or a crew and publish a website. Upload the best photos and videos from yourself and the wave. It won’t be long and you’re famous, become a sponsored surfer and have the same fun as we’re having here in Munich!” These days there are online surf websites that focus exclusively on river surfing. The interest around river surfing has grown so much that its sister sport ocean surfing does not seem to be exciting enough anymore. I am curious about the day when the first print river surf mag will come out.

We have reached the point where industry needs to invest in surfable waves from which both surfers and the industry benefit long-term.

Overall, Munich reminds me of the crowded surf spots in California, known from the classic surf movie Crystal Voyager. Maybe I should do what the main character in this movie did: Build a boat and hit the ocean in the search for new spots. Rather than in the ocean however, I would head the Isar river downstream until the Danube, chasing the rain and the snow run-offs. Maybe my ship will head towards Switzerland, who knows! Recently, Claudio and his friends achieved something ground breaking in Switzerland. They threw a spoiler into their local river to create a DIY river wave. And in fact, it worked and a clean river wave started to form just behind the spoiler. Check this video on YouTube for the evidence! Of course, the wave wasn’t as big and fast as the Eisbach Wave, but our friends from Switzerland demonstrated that their self-made wave is surfable!

Developments like this one should be supported by the industry if they are to truly push our sport rather than exploiting it. Supporting contests and projects that directly benefit the industry is not enough. We have reached the point where industry needs to invest in surfable waves from which both surfers and the industry benefit long-term. But what can we as surfers contribute? We should not sell out ourselves and our sport. If I would organise a river surfing contest, I would at least want to see 5.000 EUR from the sponsors. This money should be invested in a river surfing fund to help financing new wave projects. Also, I’d love to see the industry depositing money in this fund as an appreciation for the Eisbach movie. But what’s even more important is that we as surfers should start taking responsibility and act in the interest of our sport, nothing is lost yet! Of course, we cannot fully stay out of (social) media, but we should ask ourselves the question: Who will benefit most from what we do? And this answer to this question should always guide our actions.

The post A Throwback to the Golden Days: Munich 2000–2010 appeared first on Riverbreak.

Silvia, are you already planning to participate in the Olympics in six years?

Wait a sec? China winter Olympics is in 4 years! Or … are you really asking me about in 6 years? You mean … SUMMER Olympics? Holy shit!! What an epic thought. To be honest it hasn’t crossed my mind but the thought is so wild and beautiful that I’ll keep it in my head to cheer me up through this current Olympic’s knee injury recovery period.

Let’s imagine, for a moment, river surfing is an official discipline at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics. Would you swap your snowboard against a surfboard?

As I said before, I haven´t dared to think these kind of thoughts before, my surfing skills would definitely need a big upgrade to keep up with the amazing ladies river surfing already has in store. On the other hand, I´ve always loved a big challenge and a big dream. Those things are what makes life exciting. Especially right now while facing 5 more weeks of wounded warrior life before I can even just walk normal again… I´m down with a new and additional dream, and even the thought of trying this, no matter how far I could get with it, makes me stoked already. Thanks for brightening up my day with new dreams!

Tell us a bit about your story … how did you get into river surfing?

That was quite some years ago on the most chill one of our three Munich river waves, the “Flosslände”. I had tried my luck with real ocean surfing several times before, but only got rare chances when I was snowboarding in California already anyways and managed to do a quick additional stopover with friends on the beach or did the classic German camping& surfing vaca in France for a week. Great experiences but I never got enough of it and the only realistic way to get more surfing into my fulltime snowboarder life was to get on our Munich river waves. So I started on the Flosslände many years ago. Great times while the Flosslände ran, but then it shut off for a bit so I tried to transition straight to the Eisbach but I was quite scared of the rocks behind the wave, really couldn´t afford to hurt myself in the river and that way be out of the snowboarding. Also I didn´t know any of the Eisbach crew at that stage and it’s intimidating if you´re just a scared kook Eisbach beginner with no connections.

There are people on our river doing turns in ways I could probably try all my life and never be able to do it like that.

I felt I had no business being there so I went to the second Eisbach wave instead. It´s a smaller, weaker wave and kind of tricky if you aren´t very light weight, but it worked for me. I spent as much time there between my snowboard trips as I could and once that wave stopped running well I finally went to the classic first Eisbach wave. Got to know lots of people over the course of time, got over my fear of the rocks and kind of figured out how it works there after all. From a technical surfing point, I have lots of room to grow, but just being able to enjoy the surfing there makes me so happy, and in the end that’s what it’s all about – to feel good and comfortable with the wave and people and the huge amounts of watching tourists, to spend your time there with a constant smile adding your own little share of happy vibes to the accumulated good energies of Munich city.

Photo: Zach Faulkner

What would you say if future Olympic surf comps would be carried out on river waves, in cities far from the ocean?

Obviously the real surfing belongs into the ocean. But that makes it exclusive, only a certain amount of people have the luck to naturally have access to a surf spot, it´s quite comparable to good snowboarding locations and the reason why I have moved a lot of my life to the USA throughout my snowboard career. River waves and wave pools are an opportunity for many people to experience the joy of (that other kind of) surfing without living on or moving to the beach or being limited to your vacation time. I think there is no question about it that the primary Olympic surf event will always belong to the ocean, but adding a second surf discipline in the river or wave pool could be a sweet addition. Not only as something for the landlocked surf community to connect to, but also as a chance for technical trick surfing to improve in an additional direction. Especially if the wave pools or river wave constructions improve to new heights as well. Hate it or love it, it can definitely broaden the whole big picture of what surfing is and can be.

It’s up to yourself to figure out what exactly makes your heart scream from joy.

I can only compare it to the snowboard world, where backcountry never made it to the Olympics (I don’t think it should – snow gets tracked out, water stays the same), but slopestyle did in 2014 and then they added Big Air in 2018, also on those in-city-ramps that take snowboarding to downtown cities where it otherwise could never be. No, that´s not “real” snowboarding to me, but yes, big air was amazing to have in the Olympics this year and it does add a big slice of new excitement to the aging Olympic vampire as well. Generally I believe it´s good to be open to new additional directions and not only limit yourself to what you have known so far and cling on to the size of box you have packaged your passion into so far.

What would a river wave need to qualify as “Olympic”? What would the river wave of your dreams look like?

Wow, I only know my three home waves here in Munich so far. The main Eisbach wave is for sure the best one of those, it´s the tallest and has the most pressure and people are doing amazing things on it. So that´s the best I know, but I don’t feel I have enough experience with different waves to really say what should be different to make it the best it could be. You’ve got to ask those boys and girls with the big bag of tricks and many years of Eisbach experience, I´m not one of those, at least not at this stage.

Photo: Julian Dörr – kn12.de

Today, river surfing contests are at a stage where snowboarding was 20 years ago. What can river surfing learn from the mistakes that happened in snowboarding?

Wow. This interview is definitely one of a kind. I´m really enjoying all this crossing over between snowboarding and surfing, it´s broadening my own horizon of imagination and understanding along the way. Thanks guys!

Generally I don´t believe much in mistakes.

Generally I don´t believe much in mistakes, everything that happens is a chance to learn from it and evolve. So in my eyes, it’s not so much the things that happen themselves, it’s more our perception and judgement of them, our ability to let things happen with an open, fearless mind and soul. The only constant in life is change, and no matter how much you love something at a certain stage, time will go on. So in the context of boardsports and Olympics, Terje Haakonsen definitely comes to my mind, with his strong anti-olympic attitude back in the day. Olympics are clearly not 100% of what snowboarding is, there are many more perceptions and ways of living snowboarding, but the Olympics have clearly broadened the horizon of what snowboarding can be. It´s still up to the individual to only care about pow, to be a part of producing core snowboard movies, to compete in alternative events or chase an Olympic dream. It´s up to the individual to be on the mountain 2 or 200 days a year, on a freestyle-, race- or pow-board and it’s up to yourself to figure out what exactly makes your heart scream from joy.

So I´d say the important thing for the future of river surfing (as well as lots of other things in life) is to stay open and fearless and give things a try in order to figure out how to do them better. Resistance against change and growth is usually a waste of energy as long as the change and growth don’t destroy nature or hurt living beings.

A really fundamental question Silvia: In your opinion, should river surfing seek to become a professional sport like snowboarding?

I don´t think this is a question of “should” or “shouldn’t”. It kinda of goes back to the question with the mistakes in a way. No matter what happens, the individual will always have the choice to perceive riversurfing in whatever way makes them the happiest. If stationary wave surfing turned into an olympic discipline in 2024, whoever would like to spend time hating on that could save that energy and just keep surfing the same way they always have, not watch any of the events or care about it. I think the question is not to judge if it’s good or bad if stationary wave surfing became “official”, it’s more the question if it will happen or not.

I´d say the important thing for the future of river surfing is to stay open and fearless.

I do think there is a future of more river waves, city waves and wave pools because people enjoy using them. Consumers create the market, market creates chance of making money, chance to make money with something sweet as surfing creates people who will want to take advantage of that. So yes, I do think there will be a growth in that kind of surfing. More people doing it creates events, and the question is how popular and official those will get, and if the Olympic vampire will get hungry for more fresh blood as well. So bottom line – no resistance against whatever the future brings, just curiosity for what’s to come!

Who should be in charge of carrying out the qualifications for the Olympics? Do you think this should be left in the hands of national (ocean) surf associations or should river surfers have their own associations?

Wow this thought goes far into the future! Different federations and organisations have been a big magnet for wasting energy with fighting in snowboarding, but after many years, everybody has somewhat found together and two different tours have been united in a combined ranking list and a quite respectful co-existence. Coming from that experience, we know how important it is to include everybody involved and have vivid communication to create things together. So ocean surfing and stationary surfing would need to work together with respect in the shared goal to do what’s best for surfing overall. Ideally money and sponsor interests are secondary behind the interest of the sport and it won’t be a fight over who owns what but more joining forced to take it all onto a higher level together. This might sound rather dreamy-naive, but the more everybody involved can see the biggest picture, the better it will be. But obviously with human´s monetary system we also need budget to make things happen.

Photo: Zach Faulkner

What are your personal goals in river surfing? Which tricks do you want to learn in the future?

Surfing has mostly been a treat for me, a change of scenery, a chance to have a good time with lower expectations than those I have on the mountain. In snowboarding I´ve gone through all emotions of the pain and pleasure of trying and learning tricks, of scaring and pushing yourself, succeeding and failing with consequences. I haven´t gotten to a stage of putting any pressure on myself for surfing, I just go with it and am happy cruising no matter what. In that one summer on the little second Eisbach wave I sometimes got to a stage of being so comfortable I wanted more, so I started with little ollies and got alright at surfing switch (might help that I skateboard regular all my life, and I´ve been skateboarding longer than snowboarding actually) but once I transitioned to the bigger wave I was just stoked to feel comfortable cruising there. It would be sick to learn some 3s eventually, to pop above the water and see if the switch surfing also works there, but first I need this knee to heal again, keep up with snowboard life, and then I´ll possibly ask some of the good guys and girls for trick advice this summer, once the time has come.

Which other river waves would you love to ride one day?

In terms of river waves I´m lucky to come from Munich! We have some of the best, most consistent river surfing there is. So far if I travel somewhere to surf, it would be to be in the ocean and not in another river. But if there´s a river along my journeys, I surely love to try it out. This summer, when we were snowboarding in New Zealand, I was really hoping to join my Kiwi friends on their local (Hawea) wave, but while I was there that wave never ended up being surfable. That made me realize how lucky we are in Munich. Eisbach always runs except those 2 weeks a year when they clear out the river. I also have a friend who surfs in the great lakes in the USA which would be a sick experience if it worked out along the way – and we had the luck to get waves.

If there´s a river along my journeys, I surely love to try it out.

My next “new” stationary wave experience will be our 4th Munich wave – the indoor wave at the Jochen Schweizer arena. I’ve been wanting to try it ever since it opened, but in the summer the Eisbach was too fun and I didn´t want to go indoors, then I was in AUS/NZ for snowboarding, then ended up crashing so hard on snow that I had brain bleeding and wasn´t allowed to do sports for six weeks, then the snowboard season and Olympic qualifying kept going, taking me to Olympics eventually – where I hurt my knee. So it´s going be a little while until I can surf again, but once that time comes around I´m really excited to try that clean indoor wave and compare it to what I know so far.

Are we going to see you participating in river surfing comps in the future?

Coming back to the beginning of this interview – I haven’t really thought of it yet since I don´t think my skills are quite there yet. But who knows – if my body stays healthy and I have enough surf time this year and get lucky with some Eisbach crew advice on learning stuff – never say never. :) I´ve always loved a challenge and honestly I´ve thought about it how sweet it would be to learn surf tricks. It must help to have board feeling from doing tricks on a snowboard and skateboard? So far I just never really knew where to start so I just kept cruising. And actually just that is an eternal task in itself. There are people on our river doing turns in ways I could probably try all my life and never be able to do it like that. And in the very end, what matters is that it feels good and makes your happy. No matter if it’s a contest day or any given day. It´s just like snowboarding.

What can popular athletes like you do to help build more river waves?

I don´t really know. But if you can tell me, please tell me how, and I´m happy to help. If there was a smooth way to add waves to existing rivers without fucking with mother nature too much that would be huge! I´d love to support it in whatever way I can.

Thank you for your time Silvia and we wish you a speedy recovery!

The post Silvia Mittermüller – River Surfing from a Pro-Snowboarder’s Perspective appeared first on Riverbreak.

Spot Details

Country: Germany
Nearest town/city: Munich, Germany
River: Eisbach River
Address: English Garden, Munich, Germany
Nearest Surfshops: Santo Loco, Blue Tomato
Latitude: 48.14770647462206
Longitude: 11.592063703041049

Wave Details

Characteristics

Actually almost always rideable, quite small and flat though.

River Gauge

Weather in Munich, Germany

Sunday 09/02 High 15° / Low 12°

Tomorrow 09/03 High 21° / Low 13°

Tuesday 09/04 High 21° / Low 12°

Spot Location

You know more about Eisbach E2?

The post Eisbach E2 appeared first on Riverbreak.

Photo: flohagena.com/FMG

Results Men

1. Tao Schirrmacher
2. Moritz Wienecke
3. Lukas Brunner
4. Simon Bitterlich

Photo: flohagena.com/FMG

Results Women

1. Janina Zeitler
2. Mareen Scholz
3. Rosina Neuerer
4. Kathrin Gappmayr

Photo: flohagena.com/FMG

Results Masters

1. Pascal Schichor
2. Robert Beetz
3. Fritz Hollweck
4. Max Ziervogel

Photo: flohagena.com/FMG

Results Groms

1. Noah Beschen
2. Lennard Weinold
3. Joshi Holy
4. Luca Holy

The post 2016 Surf & Style European Championship: All Results appeared first on Riverbreak.

1. Flori Kummer (FUS-CREW)
2. Klaus St Rainer (SCREW-CREW)
3. Tao Schirrmacher (FUS-CREW)

We’d love to end this clip with a great quote from the FUS CREW: “Basically, we’re just friends who grew up together surfing rivers.”

The post FUS JAM 2016: In The End Dead appeared first on Riverbreak.

Ms. Zaglauer-Swoboda, you are a member of the municipal council in Taufkirchen, Germany. When did you first hear about Jochen Schweizer’s idea to build an indoor surf facility close to Munich?

Jochen Schweizer already submitted his first request to the municipal council back in 2012. The plans however, had to be revised and the decision on the current plans was made in late 2013.

Is the wave going to be powered by renewable energy or by conventional energy sources like nuclear energy?

Both the indoor skydiving facility and the artificial wave will be powered by conventional energy sources.

Why did your party vote against the indoor surf facility?

In times of climate change it is irresponsible to power an energy-intensive leisure facility with conventional sources of energy. Some developments seem rather absurd: The Floßlände Wave on the Isar River for instance, can only be used to a limited extent because the water is used to generate environmentally friendly electricity. But the new indoor wave will be powered by environmentally harmful energy sources.

The prospects of commercial tax and advertising dollars make many people turn a blind eye.

And at the same time, environmentally harmful energy sources are used to power an artificial wave in an indoor surf facility. Even the district government of Upper Bavaria suggested to power the facility with regenerative energy. This however, was rejected by the planners. Their argument: the power demand would be too high – actually yet another reason to use renewable energy.

What do you think are the chances that Jochen Schweizer will operate the wave with renewable energy? Could the Taufkirchen municipal council made this obligatory?

I think there are few legal remedies. Moreover, the council has hardly changed its view on climate issues. The prospects of commercial tax and advertising dollars make many people turn a blind eye.

What can surfers do to convince Jochen Schweizer not to use nuclear energy for his wave project?

One way is to engage in public relation activities, not only in surf magazines, but also by approaching other media channels. Another opportunity is to raise awareness amongst surfers that enviornmentally harmful facilities should not be used.

In an interview, Jochen Schweizer announced that indoor surfing shall be free of charge. Can you make sense of this?

It is irresponsible to power an energy-intensive leisure facility with conventional sources of energy.

In fact no. Maybe the indoor skydiving facility, which is also part of the centre (and wich is even more energy demanding), and the catering and so on are supposed to yield enough profit to offer surfing free of charge.

Do you know if Citywave will be commissioned to build the indoor surf facility?

The municipal council does not get such information.

For you as a politician, what is your vision for surfing in the greater Munich area?

I guess there are not many politicians in the greater Munich area that have a concrete vision for the sport of surfing. I can only comment on this because my daughter is surfing at the Eisbach Wave. Like everything artificial, artificial waves cannot substitute real waves. I think we should make as many natural waves accessible to surfers as we can.

We should make as many natural waves accessible to surfers as we can.

However, one must not forget that the Isar River is a natural environment that has certain limits which should not be exceeded. From an ecological view, the Eisbach River seems to be optimal: it is located in the middle of the city, accessible by public transport, it does not do harm to nature, it is free of charge and it has become a tourist attraction – there should be more of this kind in the future!

The post New Project Takes River Surfing Indoors: What Are The Ecological Costs? appeared first on Riverbreak.