Spot Details

Country: Canada
Nearest town/city: Calgary
River: Lower Kananaskis River
Address: Canoe Meadows, Kananaskis, Alberta Canada
Latitude: 51.052207
Longitude: -115.018777

Wave Details

Characteristics

Wave works all year. The wave is a smooth left that is best on a high volume long board or SUP. Very relaxed and cruisy.

Dangers

Read the safety information on AlbertaRiverSurfing.com.

River Gauge

Weather in Calgary

Today 09/02 High 21° / Low 7°

Tomorrow 09/03 High 14° / Low 2°

Tuesday 09/04 High 14° / Low 3°

Spot Location

You know more about Shallows?

The post Shallows appeared first on Riverbreak.

Photo: Christian Scagliati

Photo: Christian Scagliati

Photo: Christian Scagliati

The post Slam the Kan 2018 appeared first on Riverbreak.

The post Slam Festival – Waxed appeared first on Riverbreak.

Friday, October 6

Starting at 7:00pm (no registration required)
Meet and Greet: Meet and surf with river surfers from across North America

Saturday, October 7

8:00am–8:30am
Morning registration

8:30am–9:00am
Jacob Kelly: event introduction

9:00am–10:00am
Neil Egsgard: step by step timeline for wave builds

10:00am–10:30am – Via Skype (Austria)
Maximilian Neuböck: stakeholder management, overall wave build approaches

10:30am–11:00am
Jeffrey Banks: fundraising for surf waves

11:00am–11:30am
Ben Nielsen: finding the best sites and conditions for successful wave projects

11:30am–noon
Questions and answers

Noon–1:00pm
Lunch

1:00pm–1:20pm
Alex Copp: experiences in growing surf communities and starting a surf shop

1:20pm–1:40pm
KB Brown: experiences in shaping river surfboards and young surfers

1:40pm–2:00pm
Discussions: in groups

2:00pm–2:20pm
Loren Kaehn: registering a non-profit surf association

2:20pm–2:40pm
Tyler Kraushar: fundraising strategies for small groups

2:40pm–3:00pm
Discussion: in groups

4:00pm–4:30pm
Ryan Richard: whitewater park evolution, adjustable waves, relationships with cities and businesses

4:30pm–4:45pm
Ben Nielsen: engineer’s point of view with working with cities

4:45pm–5:00pm
Neil Egsgard: presentation of a communication framework

5:00pm–5:20pm
Questions and answers

6:00pm–9:00pm
Evening social, river surf discussions, mingling, beers

Sunday, October 8

Sunday Funday (no registration required)
Meet and surf with river surfers from across North America

Location

Bend, Oregon

Ticket Options

Wave Building Workshop ($115)
8:00am – 1:00pm: includes the rest of the day – no other registration is required to attend later events

Community Building Afternoon ($60)
1:00pm – 6:00pm: includes the evening but no access to the morning -no other registration is required to attend the social

Evening Social ($20)
6:00pm – 9:00pm: includes evening only, no access to morning or afternoon

As part of the summit a Meet & Greet will take place the Friday evening before at the wave as well as a Sunday Funday surf but registration is not required.

If you want to join the Summit it is not too late to purchase your ticket at eventbrite.com

The post 2017 River Surf Summit: Program and Schedule appeared first on Riverbreak.

Camera: Kyle Maguire

The post Surf Naked (in the Middle of the Mountains) appeared first on Riverbreak.

The inspiration for the event pulled directly from river surfing roots in Europe and stayed true to that with events including everything from bowl skating to and art gallery. Those travelling in from out of town had lots to see and do in the week leading up to the big competition. The schedule included the Bowl Jam, Rooftop Party with a game of SKATE, a Speaker Summit, Pool Party, Wave Wednesday, Art Night,Campfire Stories and the NACs with Afterjam to wrap it all up.

Art Night at The Compound (photo by Robert Bishop)

A monumental undertaking by the Alberta RSA’s staff of volunteers and made possible by an impressive list of sponsors. In all, the group raised over $10,000. The first efforts towards building a world class wave in downtown Calgary. The festival attracted over 1,200 attendees and reached thousands more through a strong online presence. An epic contribution to the international river surfing community that will ripple for years to come.

The festival attracted over 1,200 attendees and reached thousands more through a strong online presence.

The competition took place on a river wave built by Canada’s leading surf wave builder, Surf Anywhere. Judging was a format adapted from the Austrian Championships with support from Maximilian Neuböck from Nu.Art Surfstuff and Gerwin Andreas from Delight Alliance. Three volunteer judges were selected from different regions. One of the judges, Chris Cindric, River Surf Spokane, travelled from Washington to attend the event with his son Charlie Cindric. “I was humbled to judge surfers moving on the water like I can only dream. It was a task I did not take lightly and I am grateful for the opportunity.” Chris went on to say that the Canadian surfers are a special breed, “quirky, eclectic, fun, wood chopping, wood burning, beer drinking, music playing, story telling, video showing, happy surfing guys and gals of all walks of life.” Chris was happy to see community values remained strong in the face of competition but offered a friendly warning to keep the fun community roots alive and not focus too much on the winners and losers.

The placing was as follows:

Men’s Open

1. Tristan Gaudet
2. Aaron Black
3. David Cachero and James Bigelow

Women’s Open

1. Brittany Parker and Angela Knox
2. Lindsey DeJongh

A crowd pleaser moment of the competition was the teams category where crowds in attendance cheered for an acid drop off a ladder by Eddie Meyer and other highlights like a hockey face-off and surfing toboggan from team members Justin Gullickson, Jacob Kelly Quinlan and Peron Desnoyers.

Music being a much larger component of the event this year, featuring local talent and musicians coming in from river surf communities as far as Montreal. “We felt well taken care of and like we were part of the community, which is super amazing. Such good vibes all round”” said Orion Miller from The OM Sound.

Rooftop Jam (photo by Eric West)

When you put river surfers around a campfire my worries disappeared and my mind shared its experience

The campfire stories were a new attraction to the event and well received by the local and travelling surfers. Kevin Ludwig, Oregon River Surfing Association, shared his heart warming story of fighting off cancer and training to bike 45 miles to his local surf wave. “Campfire stories was the peak event for me”, says Kevin, “my heart was pumping to say the least but when you put river surfers around a campfire my worries disappeared and my mind shared its experience. Forever grateful for that night.” Listen to how Kevin sums up the Slam event:

Colorado native Brittany Parker has a rich experience to pull from in the realm of river competition as River Surf SUP has been competitively judged for almost ten years in her home state. “I hope to see more river surfing competitions across North America. It’s such a great way to get everyone in the community together and to get to know other surfers from different communities. I believe competition plays a big role in the progression of the sport.”

The comp got me excited to get out and try to raise the bar for myself as a surfer.

Brittany believes competition in shortboard river surfing still needs development in terms of judging and format but will only progress by holding more competitions like Slam in all the different river surf communities in Canada and the US. “Although there are some things I would change, such as developing a way to settle ties, I had a very positive experience. The competition helped me visualize what was possible and got me excited to get out and try to raise the bar for myself as a surfer.” Brittany would like to see the NACs held in Colorado in the future but would be happy to travel to any river surf community that is willing to put in the effort of hosting the NACs.

The event director, Jacob Kelly Quinlan, and Slam Festival co-founder Jenna Henderson want to continue Slam down this new path involving music, art, skate and surf but bring it back to the roots of why Slam was started. Regarding the NACs, The Alberta RSA is making a call out for communities who wish to hold the event next year and offering their full support to pass on their knowledge for this event to continue to bring river surfers from across the continent to one place to share surf stories, session together and build a brighter future. You can connect with Jacob Kelly directly if you would like to have a voice in the future of river surf competition in North America.

Check out #slam17 on Instagram for more action from the event!

Photo Gallery

The post Slam Festival 2017 Recap appeared first on Riverbreak.

Monkey grew up on the St. Lawrence river in Montreal, Quebec. Home to the rapids that ended the journeys of Canada’s early explorers. After losing his entire fleet of ships Samuel de Champlain said you would have to be mad to go back in those rapids (in french of course). What would scare the pants of an average river surfer is the wave playground Monkey calls home. Enter the jet ski. Monkey probably has as many hours on a ski in the St. Lawrence as he does on a surfboard. The ski was the best way to access the most gnarly surf waves and he would trade turns with his surf partner at the time, Jean-Louis St Arneault. Basically if you wanted to surf, you had to learn how to drive ski.

The ski is a game changer when it comes to safety.

2005 and 2006 were milestone years in river surfing. The WRSA (World River Surfing Association) was in full swing as Elijah Mack traveled around the world connecting the river surfing communities. New videos were popping up weekly on a new video sharing website called YouTube. In the rapid explosion and progression of the sport all eyes were on Montreal. The Goon Posse showed off a badass aggressive style similar to the FUS Crew in Munich but they were surfing monster waves that no one even knew existed in rivers. Their use of jet skis and giant bulky underwater housings was iconic to their big water scene and unmistakable up against the other communities the search results would render.

Fast forward more than 10 years and the rest of the river surf scene is just now starting to catch up. Jet Skis allow surfers to access not only the biggest green face waves but are primarily there as rescue support in what is sure to be a treacherous swim behind. Monkey now joins us at Skookumchuck Narrows as a friend, member of our crew, but more than anything else as jet ski support. The Sunshine Coast is far from home but not the first time Monkey has been hired to lead the rescue team (including surf icon Donavon Frankenreiter). Justin Gullickson, a river surfing veteran of Alberta, bought the ski after a couple trips to Montreal to surf with Monkey, realizing how much the ski is a game changer when it comes to safety. Justin is learning to drive support for the other traveling surfers: Neil Egsgard, Tristan Gaudet, Ryan Richard, Brittany Parker, Luciano Mariani, Matthew Robertson and myself.

Photo: Luke Morstat | @outlier.riversurf | www.outliersurf.com

Skook is a crown jewel when it comes to river surfing. Found in an ocean inlet, it is the tide rising and falling that runs salty water over underwater bedrock much the same way a river would. This rare synergy between saltwater and standing wave is far different from the one you and I are used to finding in mountain fresh rivers. The sea lions and jelly fish make it feel even more dream like. As the moon circles closer to the earth and the inlet exchange grow larger between low tide and high, the water rushing over the drop reaches speeds of 14 knots and faster. The 40 foot spread of whitewater loved by the world travelling kayakers greens out to form a clean, glassy head high wave. It’s hit its “peak” and the kayakers, no longer able to paddle into the green wave, sit back in their boats and wait for the foam pile to form again on its way down. Luckily for us surfers, the jet ski can drop us in the sweet spot and Monkey is fired up and ready to show off his moves.

When I’m on his ski, he is in charge of my life.

The whirlpools and huge crashing waves at Skook are enough to make any one of us seriously consider getting in for another run but when Monkey is on the ski he is fearless. Surfing waves with the “bike” as he calls it, dodging hazards and throwing this weight all over the ski to balance as he launches 10 feet into the air. He does it all with a sense of style and comfort that allows us to rest easy and put our life into his hands. “Ok Jacob, when I say go, you go.” Monkey explains there’s no room for hesitation. When I’m on his ski, he is in charge of my life. “Three! Two! One! Go”. I release from the sled and sling shot down the giant green face. The wind blows the tears out of my eyes and stretches my smile from ear to ear. What was once an uncatchable wave that we gazed at with awe was now under my feet and it’s all mine.

I caught up with Monkey after the craziness of Skook settled down to ask him a few questions about how the jet ski fit in with surfing back home, his experience with safety, shaping boards and some of the stories from his time in Montreal.

Hey Monkey, first off thanks for taking the time to share some thoughts with the Riverbreak audience. You’re a legend in the scene and most don’t know your story so it’s cool to get a few words from one of the original gangstas. First just introduce yourself. When did you start surfing?

Ok, my name is Eric Chretien, AKA Monkey (that’s my nickname from when I used to break dance). I started surfing in late 2005, 2006. Jean-Louis St Arneault got me into it. Back then he was a rafting guide and one time in a bar I heard he was surfing and I was like ‘yo! I’ve been wanting to do that my whole life’. He was like, come next time and I was like, when’s next time. Tomorrow. Yo, I’m there. He hooked me up with a terrible Budweiser display surfboard all taped up with duct tape so it could kind of float. And that was it man, I was hooked. Snap.

We didn’t know what we were doing when we started. First Jean-Louis used to do it boogie boarding, with the fins, and would climb up on the board. There wasn’t many of us in the beginning, maybe seven. We didn’t know how to catch a wave, we figured it out. Didn’t know where the rocks were, figured that one out too. And now it is what it is today.

When did you start using a jet ski in the river?

I was using jet skis in the water way before we used them for surfing. When I grew up on the St. Lawrence my family, my father, was part of a motorboat club, VMBC, so I was raised on those waters but never in the rapids. The rapids were strictly forbidden. My first jet ski was a stand up jet ski. I explored the river but stayed away from those rapids. Rapids were for rafting not jet skiing, you know? The surfing came and I guess that brought it to another level.

Photo: Justin Gullickson | @justingullickson

We didn’t put the two together right away. At the start we would kick it old school and paddle in, the jet ski would just be there for you when you would fall. It would bring you back up to the wave but it was more for transportation. Then we started to tow into the wave using a rope. And this one time we were using Bob’s standup jet ski and I was surfing in the wave and Jean-Louis brought the rope back into the wave and then I would tow out. That was pretty cool back then, when we didn’t have to paddle at all.

After being in the scene for more than ten years, you’ve seen a lot happen in your local community and around the world. Do you see the jet ski as a tool that can be used in our sport?

A lot of times you don’t need the jet ski. Like normal waves. Like if I go to your place Jacob, I don’t need a jet ski. If you go to Ottawa river, I wanted to bring it after I had been but it’s reserved for the pretty hardcore. Like Skook, you end up getting pushed so far from the wave, in the middle of nowhere. There is a danger to that. Like, sea lions, do you know for sure they aren’t going to bite you? And then what? Without some way of reaching your friend, you’re just on the side with your surfboard wondering what’s happening to your buddy. In the Ottawa, the recovery time is short so it’s like a lot of places, you don’t need a jet ski.

Can you see the jet ski as a tool for new wave exploration?

It’s important that the people are already comfortable with a jet ski before taking it into rapids. Anybody can just hit the throttle and drive a jet ski. It’s easy to drive a jet ski but if you go in the rapids that game is changing. It’s like driving a jet ski in the ocean with good sized waves. You gotta learn how to drive or you’ll get pounded. Same thing in the river. If you fall, you’re going to fly off and you’re crashing that bike. I mean, I’ve seen bikes go down, like expensive jet skis, washed down river and showing up in the next town days later. It’s more of a luxury than a tool to have and if you’re dealing with big waves you gotta familiarize with the area. Like my first day at Skook I’m being cautious. You know, I’m taking big circles, I’m getting familiar with what’s happening in that water. You can’t just jump into a river, you could hurt yourself.

If you fall, you’re going to fly off and you’re crashing that bike.

When you talk about it being like a tool to unlock some big wave, you’ve got to be careful. Cause that thing you unlock… it could be bigger than you thought. There’s some big scary stuff out there, trust me. And sometimes it’s best to be left alone. Like I remember I dropped Jean-Louis into Monster wave and all I can remember is how tight I clenched my butt hole, Haha, like ok, we’re scared. And for good reason, he got beat up. I was right there to grab him as soon as he fell but he got beat up. He would have loved to have one of those Spare Air things. He was like, no way I’m doing that again, haha. It is what it is, there’s some nasty stuff out there.

There’s so much out there to explore. You don’t need a jet ski, you just need to explore more. Me and Jean-Louis, we loved to surf big stuff but we would surf the smaaaallest thing. And we would stay there until we surfed it good. Like we did a trip to St. Catherine’s, where Jeff Brooks is, there was a canal there. I don’t know how far, it was like six or seven hours, like stupid ridiculous. And the wave wasn’t surfable. It was so trashy and small. But we spent the whole day there. We didn’t surf once but you know we had to do it. We tried paddle in, we tried acid drop, we tried with the rope. We filmed it, we got a video up. That’s good because everybody puts up their best stuff but some time you have to put up the sh*tty stuff. It was a great trip but we didn’t surf.

There’s lots of stories like that. Tiny waves. Some of them on private property too. We did it because we wanted to be the first people to surf that wave. We surfed a lot but there’s still so much that haven’t been surfed. There’s still more to find.

So the jet ski is supposed to be used for safety but does it present any of it’s own safety risks? For example have you ever crashed?

Haha, I crashed today! It was big one too! It’s like a fire truck – It’s made to save people but if you don’t look before you cross the street you could run somebody over.

The river is always going to be the boss. The river is very unpredictable. If you lose focus you’re going to do an edge cut. An edge cut is when the edge of the jet ski hits the current in a way that instantly flips you and sends you to swim with the fishes real quick.

The approach on a rescue needs to be practiced a lot. There are certain ways to approach the surfer needing rescue. You don’t go straight for the person. It’s a pick up not a run over, haha. The jet ski could fall on your head. It could hit other surfers. Best example, when they do tow in on big waves in the ocean, it’s life and death. As we bring the ski into the river the risks are the same.

The approach on a rescue needs to be practiced.

I have a story. One time we were towing with the rope (before we knew any better). Something you have to watch for is if you pass over the rope with the ski it can get pulled up into the engine. Well that happened and the turbine is pulling in the rope AND my leg! So I got pulled under the jet ski and the engine is still running. If the throttle was engaged it would have squeezed my leg like a yogurt to go. Luckily I was pulled away from the controls my leg tied up in the rope was enough to stall the engine. If things were different one way or the other I wouldn’t be surfing today. And hold up! That’s not all, then I’m floating down into the rapids tied up under a jetski. I fought to pop my head above water to get air meanwhile working at my leg. I managed to pull my leg hard enough to loosen the rope and unwind it from my leg. I had Jean Louise there to help. It took 45 minutes to get through that one.

Jet Ski will definitely save you time if everything goes good. But if something f*cks up…. Ooooh Boy! It’s going to be a very long day. Just like at Skook, right Justin Gullickson? And a long evening.

It’s a tool. It’s not a toy. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a lot of fun but sitting in that driver’s seat comes with a big responsibility. It’s like the river, don’t underestimate the Jet Ski. Know your limits. Respect.

I understand you are also shaping boards now, that’s awesome. Can you tell us a little bit about that?

Ehhh, f*cking shaping. Uh. Haha. I shape because I love it. That’s about it because it’s not about the money. There really isn’t any money in it. I put so much work and so much time and so much love into what I do that at the end, it can never sell for the price that it costs. And everyone wants to get a deal but I don’t think they see everything that goes into a labour of love like that.

Photo: Luke Morstat | @outlier.riversurf | www.outliersurf.com

I still have a lot to learn. There’s a lot that goes into it with all the different techniques and materials but I know what works when I surf it. It makes me smile when people surf my board and say it’s their favourite shape. It’s a big thank you. It makes my day, when I build something that people enjoy. When you look at boards, you know you see that slick design or those flashy colours but then you look at the line it makes in the water and it sucks… I don’t care how many kitties are on that board if it sucks. If you want to make something for people to enjoy, you have to enjoy doing it. Not for the money.

Do you have any advice for the next generation of river surfers? Maybe the young groms starting out or anyone else new to the sport?

First off, rule number one is to have fun. The surfer having the most fun wins.

If you look up to an older surfer, he will look out for you. Like if you come out to a wave and try to act like a know it all, it comes off being disrespectful. Especially if you don’t know what you’re doing, you’ll look like a damn fool. I have a hard time with telling people about ropes but instead of hearing me out they think they know everything. It’s a lot different when I’ve seen people held under until they turn blue or come out of the water crying because of ropes.

Ask questions and show respect to the people at the wave. If you show them that you want to surf they’re going to give you tips, they’re going to warn you about things, they’ll tell you unwritten rules. It’s about respect. If you respect that, you’ll get their respect.

What the f*ck, baby Jesus. But I didn’t stop, I wanted to surf!

The older guys there may not really want to talk to you at first but keep giving them that respect. They have so much knowledge, they’ve seen a lot. Basically, stay humble, surf as hard as you can and the more heart you show the more respect you’ll get. In the river, if you don’t swim hard, you’ll have to swim even harder later. Trust me.

Another thing about surfing hard. At some point it does get easier but it’s hard in the beginning. And if you want to give up right away, I’m sorry, go back to badminton or go snowboard. Catching the wave… it is a logic. Practice swimming, swimming equals surfing. Learn how to actually swim. I remember the first time I went to Habitat, the current took me back and forth and all over the place. If you pet the water (like petting a cat or something) trust me, you’re not moving. You gotta get in there. If you dig in your hand and paddle like you want to get somewhere. My first time at Habitat, I wanted to die coming to shore. I was like what the f*ck. It was like ten minutes and I’m floating further and further but not going anywhere. Spinning through whirlpools and thinking, What the f*ck, baby Jesus. But I didn’t stop, I wanted to surf. It took me three days of intense swimming just trying to figure it out but I wanted to surf. At some point you build your back like an ox.

The most important rule is to have fun. If you lose sight of that, you lose everything.

Fun Monkey Surf Edit

Monkey would like to do a shout out to all the Goons: Jean-Louis St Arneault, Alexandre Ouimet, Jeff Mackay, Dave Short, Daniel Castillo, Étienne Lavertue and Elijah Mack.

The post River Rescues With Jet Ski Legend Eric Chretien appeared first on Riverbreak.

45 minutes outside of Calgary, Alberta, at 3500ft above sea level, the Kananaskis River churns out 1000 cubic feet of water per second during the day. At night the power dam is shut off, allowing river surfing revolutionaries Neil Egsgard and Jacob Kelly Quinlin to tweak their new designs for sculpting a world-class surfing wave. But they aren’t keeping this knowledge to themselves—they want to share their wave designs with everyone, everywhere, for free.

River surfing is still really new and we’re all connecting over this love of exploring and finding new waves (Jacob Kelly)

In 2005, Egsgard and Quinlin, amongst others, founded ARSA (Alberta River Surfing Association), which now represents over 100 river surfers in Alberta. Egsgard confirmed, “Surf Anywhere was born out of the need for ARSA to have a world class wave. This selfish quest quickly turned into a project to improve the world.” These guys aren’t really selfish though—they want to share their knowledge with river communities, everywhere. Any river community can access the open-source, easy-to-follow plans to build their own surfing waves.

The Surf Anywhere wave is based on the design of the Eisbach river wave in Munich, Germany, that surfers have been riding since 1972. ARSA has improved the original structural drawings to build and test a bigger, better and adjustable wave. “Because our river shuts off at night, we can afford to make mistakes,” said Quinlan.

According to Egsgard, all you need is a river with a minimum flow rate of 200 cubic ft./sec, a drop or slope of 1.7 ft., and $200.000 for the original start up costs. After the initial investment, there are no on-going costs. There are no pumps, just the natural force of the river, making this a sustainable project. Best of all—like surfing in the ocean—it’s free.

Notes from the Director Desiree Bilon

I was inspired by the Surf Anywhere story from the beginning. Here were these guys designing a wave on the Kananaskis River, 45 minutes from Calgary, and they were pursuing their dream from the funds they raised themselves. Plus, they were making the development plans open-source, so that they would available to anyone, anywhere for free.

I was already impressed, but it wasn’t until I met the surfers that I knew I had to tell their story. I’d been surfing for 12 years and had never come across a community of surfers like this. Everyone was kind, supportive and encouraging. There was no localism, no animosity, and people took turns. The scene was always fun and friendly, very unlike anything I’d ever experienced ocean surfing.

I’d wanted to make a documentary for many years, but something always seemed to get in the way—time, money, and surfing. After I injured my leg and wasn’t able to surf, I had more time and energy for writing, photography and film.

By the time I heard about the grant from STORYHIVE to produce a Digital Short, there wasn’t much time left to submit a pitch—maybe 10 days. Even though I’d always worked well under the pressure of a deadline, I thought I might not make this one. With the help and support of Glenn Dixon and many of the surfers, I was able to turn my vision into a reality and hand the pitch in on time. The Surf Anywhere documentary wouldn’t have happened without them.

STORYHIVE chose 15 winners in Alberta and I was one of them. I couldn’t believe it. There was a Winner’s Workshop in Edmonton that my brother Troy Bilon and I attended on December 6th, 2015. At the workshop, I met my mentor Ava Karvonen from NSI (National Screen Institute – Canada). Her feedback on this project was invaluable. After that, everything happened so fast.

Through this opportunity, I was able to become part of community of writers, producers and directors. This is how I connected with Carey Missler, another digital shorts competitor in British Columbia. Carey became our main cameraman and steadicam operator.

Some of the biggest challenges that came up during filming were the tight deadline—with only two months to produce the documentary and over the Christmas holidays; the cold temperatures; and the lack of daylight. But I’m not going to complain because all I had to do was film, whereas those guys were actually surfing.

With this film I wanted people to be able to experience what it is like to surf in an icy cold river in the middle of winter, while at the same time learning about the Surf Anywhere project. I wanted to capture these surfers in their element, and find out what river surfing means to them.

Surf Anywhere is my first film about river surfing, and surely not my last.

Main Characters

Neil Egsgard was born in Orillia, Ontario and is the regional manager for Carma Industries Inc, a wave builder, the founder of Surf Anywhere, and the President of the Alberta River Surfing Association (ARSA). He has been river surfing for 10 years.

Jacob Kelly Quinlan was born in Calgary, Alberta and is a river surf instructor/graphic designer. He has been river surfing for 10 years. He has travelled to more than 60 river waves around the world.

Justin Gullickson was born in Star City, Saskatchewan and is an audio video technician and an ambassador of Surf Anywhere. He has been surfing for 6 years.

Jason McQuade was born in Whitianga, New Zealand and is a surfboard shaper. He owns his own company called Wave Slayer Surfboards. He has been surfing in the ocean for 25 years and 5 years on rivers.

Desiree Bilon was born in Edmonton, Alberta and is now working as a documentary filmmaker. She has competed in surf contests internationally and has been ocean surfing for 12 years, and river surfing for one season.

Secondary Characters

Ben Murphy was born in Wollongong, Australia and works as a carpenter. He has been ocean surfing for 30 years and his first river surf was in 2001 in Munich. He is a professional surfer sponsored by Rip Curl, Lib Tech surfboards, and Spy Optics.

David Hernandez Cachero was born in Madrid, Spain and studied kinesiology. He works as a Canada Post mailman. He has been ocean surfing for 15 years and river surfing for 9.

Luciano Mariani was born in Calgary, Alberta but grew up in Chile. He works as a journeyman welder and an apprentice millwright. He has been river surfing for 5 years and ocean surfing for 3.

Robin Stolba was born in Marienbad, Czech Republic but grew up in Paris. Previously he was employed as a marine biologist. He has been surfing in the ocean for 15 years and river surfing for 1 year.

Tiffany Butler was born in Mayo, Quebec and works as a lawyer. She has been river surfing 1.5 years and skateboarding and snowboarding forever.

Mallory Chapman was born in Emerald Park, Saskatchewan, and is the owner of Studio Revolution (SURFSET Fitness Boutique). She has been surfing in the ocean for 8 years and in the river for one season.

Julia Barnes was born in Bratislava, Slovakia and is a stay-at-home mom and the owner/designer of Honubelle swimwear. She has been ocean surfing for 6 years, and in the river for one season.

Peron Desnoyers was born in Calgary, Alberta but grew up in Langley BC. He works as a Customer Service Supervisor 36 years old. He has been river surfing for 2 years.

Tristan Gaudet was born in Lac La Biche, Alberta and works as a cabinet installer and as a surfboard shaper. He has been river surfing for 2 years.

Key Production Personell

Desiree Bilon
Director producer and writer
Desiree Bilon is a writer, photographer and filmmaker. The first time she worked on set, she was a stand-in for Elle Macpherson during the filming of The Edge. From that point onward she was fascinated by the art of filmmaking and production. As a competitive surfer in 2012, Desiree was featured in two episodes of the Endorphin TV pilot in Mexico, but after sustaining a serious injury she moved back to Canada and won a scholarship from the Writers’ Trust of Canada to study creative writing at Humber College. For the past two years she has also been working as a professional photographer. Her writing and photographs have been published in print and online magazines such as, Great Ocean Quarterly, Kurungabaa, LATER, Matador Network and Planeta Surf. Desiree’s dream now is to inspire others with her films. Desiree received a STORYHIVE grant to produce her first short documentary, Surf Anywhere.

Glenn Dixon
Co-director, writer, editor, and music director
Glenn Dixon is a writer and documentary filmmaker. He has written for National Geographic magazine, the New York Post and many others. Glenn has published two books on adventure travel. His second book Tripping the World Fantastic, about music around the world, was shortlisted for the W.O. Mitchell award. He has traveled through more than 70 countries and has worked on films in Tibet, Guatemala and Jordan. His third book, Juliet’s Answer, which takes place in Italy, will be released internationally by Simon and Schuster (2017).

Carey Missler
Principal photography
Carey Missler is an award winning film director, producer, writer and cinematographer. In April of 2015 he won the “Award of Excellence” for directing The Paddler Movie, at the Canada International Film Festival. Carey also won the 2015 “Spirit Award” at the Toronto International Beaches Film Festival. His last movie “The Canadian Surfer movie” received worldwide distribution and was broadcast around globally.

Contact

The post Surf Anywhere: A Story of River Surfers in Alberta appeared first on Riverbreak.

The post Summer River Surfing in Alberta appeared first on Riverbreak.

What is your personal connection to surfing?

Surfing is my life.

You have an ocean surfing background, right? Tell us about it …

I have been surfing for 12 years in the ocean and surfed in over 13 countries.

Over the past decade I have worked in the surfing industry — as an ISA (International Surfing Association) certified Level 1 surf instructor, a surf tour guide, and as a surf writer in English, Italian and Spanish. I have surfed in competitions internationally, and have experience organizing events. In the past I worked as an editorial coordinator and in-house translator at a surf magazine in Mexico.

What is your personal connection to river surfing? What do you think makes river surfing special? What do you particularly like or don’t like about it?

I tried river surfing for the first time this past summer in Calgary, Alberta. It’s kind of funny because my boyfriend had to practically drag me there the first time and I was anything but convinced, but I had such a great experience that first day. One of the local surfers, Graeme Sams, gave me a lot of tips. He showed me the easiest way to enter the water, how to line up with the 10st bridge, and how to jump off the rock. River surfing was much more challenging than I had ever imagined—out of about 40 attempts, I probably stood 4 times—but after that first day, I was hooked. The next time I went surfing, Jacob Quinlan was there. He was very supportive and taught me how to acid drop into the wave and that’s when I actually started surfing a lot more waves.

Although river surfing is different from ocean surfing, there are some similarities. You are still outside, you are still in the water, you are still at the mercy of Mother Nature, and you still have to work hard. That element of danger is still present, but in a different form.

After I surfed The Mountain wave on the Kananaskis River – out in the mountains, I started to love river surfing.

When I first tried river surfing I didn’t like the fact that I was confined to stay in one place (and to a small wave, both in height and length). I like to move, to go places. I wasn’t going anywhere on the wave except when I wiped out and got swept downstream by the current. I enjoyed river surfing when I first tried it, but after I surfed “The Mountain” wave on the Kananaskis River – out in the mountains, I started to love river surfing.

What makes river surfing different are the people. I went from jockeying in the ocean line-ups with aggressive males (mostly teenagers) to surfing with people averaging the age of 30, who wait in line and make sure everyone has a turn.

Photo: Rob Bishop / rbishophoto.com

What is the surf culture like where you live?

Even though the ARSA (Alberta River Surfing Association) was formed about a decade ago, the surf culture here is still relatively new. The river surfing community is inclusive. Everyone I’ve met so far has been supportive, encouraging, and a lot of fun.

Let’s talk about your experience in filmmaking … When did you first start getting into filmmaking? Or is this your first project?

This is my first filmmaking project. I started off writing about surfing and then focused more on photography. Film was the next logical step. It was a natural progression for me to move into a medium that has the ability to capture movement and sound.

I love movies and have wanted to make a documentary for some time.

When did the idea for this film come to you?

I had started writing an article about the Surf Anywhere project about a year and a half ago, and a long time before I ever tried river surfing. I was inspired by Surf Anywhere’s sustainable project and their open-source plans for wave building.

The idea for the film came to me after I started surfing The Mountain and started to meet more of the people in the river surfing community. I realized that there were a lot of passionate and talented river surfers—most of them not from originally from Calgary or even Canada—and without knowing much about their stories, I knew that I wanted to share them.

What were people’s reactions when you talked about your idea?

Everyone’s response has been positive and enthusiastic.

Who’s going to be in this film and why?

The Alberta river surfing community will be in this film. The interviewees are in this film because of their stories.

A couple of additional surfers will be featured in the Surf Anywhere documentary, although they are not listed on Story Hive (there were only nine spots provided for the interview roster).

Surf movies have become a genre of their own over the last years. Which elements of a typical surf movie would you like to see / avoid in your film?

I want to tell a story through interesting characters and stunning images. There won’t be any big wave surfing or World Surf League pros in this documentary.

What do you think about interviews in surf movies? How relevant will interviews be for your film?

Interviews are an essential component of any documentary. Letting people tell their own stories, in their own words, brings authenticity to the project and makes it engaging for the audience.

Photo: Glenn Dixon

What is the target length of your film? Would you also think of an extended version?

10 minutes. I will definitely consider an extended version, in the future.

Do you already have a scene in mind that you consider particularly central to the film?

I envision a scene with snow. One of the river surfers, Justin Gullickson, talked about surfing in a blizzard and that image has never left my mind. I think that would make a great shot. Jason McQuade also mentioned something about an iceberg.

Where do you want to see your film being screened once it’s done?

Banff Mountain Film Festival, Calgary International Film Festival, and any surf film festival at all would be lovely

Who else (besides the local surf community) is supporting the project?

My friends and family, and the friends and family of the interviewees, have been supporting the project with their votes on Story Hive. Their response has been overwhelming.

What about the music in the film? Do you already have any thought on this?

I have a few ideas in mind.

What are some of your “high hopes” for the film?

I hope that river surfers everywhere will watch this film and enjoy it. I hope this film will inspire people—to build waves, to surf, to follow their dreams and live their passions.

How can the river surfing community help to make this film happen?

The river surfing community can vote daily on Story Hive to help us win a $10 000 grant to make this film project happen. There are only 7 voting days left.

It only takes 30 seconds to vote. You don’t need to sign up or create a profile – it’s as easy as 1, 2, 3:

1. Click on the link below (and watch the one minute pitch video).
2. Click on the yellow “vote on project” button located in the upper right corner.
3. When the pop-up window opens, click on the yellow “vote now” button.

Please vote once a day, if you can, until noon on November 9, 2015. Thank you for your support.

http://www.storyhive.com/project/show/id/924

Three filmmakers who inspire you the most?

Danny Boyle, Sofia Coppola, Alejandro González Iñárritu and Sarah Polley.

Any last words?

Keep surfing and keep exploring.

Fill in the blanks

• I’d love to see __Elijah Mack__ in this film.
• I hope that people in __everywhere but especially Germany, Italy, and anywhere else there is a river__ will watch this film too.
• If money didn’t matter, this film would __be a feature length film about river surfing around the world and it would have the best soundtrack ever and be translated into many languages.

The post Desiree Bilon on the Surf Anywhere Film appeared first on Riverbreak.