Hey Jonas, can you say a few words about yourself and how you got into river surfing?

I am Jonas, 24, from Bern, Switzerland. I am the founder of bungeemonkey.ch, a webpage that sells bungee surf equipment. About 5 years ago, I started bungee surfing. Having seen bungee surfers in the local river Aare, a few friends and I bought a rope and started practicing. Soon after, we got absolutely obsessed with it.

Do you think it’s important to distinguish between “river surfing” and “bungee surfing”?

By now the word river surfing is rather widespread, and used as an expression to surf on a steady wave in a river. Most people, especially outside of Switzerland, have never even heard about bungee surfing, therefore the likelihood of confusion is very small. Nevertheless, I think it makes sense to distinguish between the two terms mentioned above.

What do you prefer between the two?

Last year I tried river surfing in Munich, which is cool, but I definitely prefer bungee surfing. When bungee surfing, there are higher speeds involved, you have more freedom in terms of where you want to surf, and it is amazing to be able to gain so much speed just with the force of the water.

What’s state of art in bungee surfing? What are the sickest tricks and who are the best surfers?

There are a few tricks you can do: 180′s, ollies, surfing fin-first or surfing a circle while passing the handle behind your back. You can also just do a variety of turns, either you try to make as many narrow turns as possible in one run, or you make one or two big turns, where you lean into the curve so that you can easily touch the water. A combination of different tricks works as well.

The best and the most famous “bungee surfer” is probably Jan Gyger. He really brought the sport forward. Not only did he start do develop and sell bungee-ropes about 10 years ago, he also enthusiastically told people about bungee surfing and got new people to try the sport.

Where are the biggest and most active bungee surf communities in Europe right now?

I am still trying to find those (laughs). As far as I know, the Greater Bern area is the biggest bungee surfing “hub”, even worldwide. Zurich and Lucern have an active bungee surf community as well. The only bungee surf community outside of Switzerland that I have ever heard of is the one in Brixen, northern Italy.

Are there any bungee surf comps in Europe?

As far as I know, there were two small contests about 10 years ago. The small scale contest took place in Rubigen, 10 minutes outside of Bern, Switzerland.

Suppose I want to start bungee surfing … what equipment do I need? Could I use my casual river surfboard? Which bungee ropes could you recommend? How much are they?

To bungee surf, you need a bungee rope, a handlebar with a static rope, a surfboard and a river with a rather strong current and some safety equipment.

You can surf with any type of board, as long as it is not too big in terms of volume (no soft tops for example). I even saw people surfing with wakeboards, however I would not recommend it.

With www.bungeemonkey.ch I try to make bungeesurfing more affordable, you can get a good rope starting from 489.- (420€). Besides my own webpage, I can recommend Jan Gyger’s Feel The Planet or www.royalropes.ch.

Let’s talk about safety, what are the risks in bungee surfing?

There are a few safety tips to consider, I ll mention the most important ones here, you can find a complete list on www.bungeemonkey.ch/safety (currently only available in German):

• Never surf alone
• Always bring two knives, best hook-shaped knives or diving knives so that the second person could cut the rope if the surfer gets tangled up.
• Know your spot, be aware of potential dangers: swirls, waterfalls, know where the nearest exit is, watch the weather etc.
• Make sure the water is deep enough so that you don’t hit the ground when falling off the board

Do I need permission to mount a rope to a bridge in Germany, Austria and Switzerland?

• Switzerland: It is neither explicitly forbidden nor allowed, but widely tolerated. During five years of bungee surfing at different locations in Switzerland I didn’t get in troubles once. A guy who bought one of my bungee ropes however reported that once when he was bungee-surfing Limmat river during summer, Police told him to go away, as he was allegedly putting swimmers in danger. That was the only incident I have ever heard of.
• Germany: I tried bungee surfing in the “Eisbach” river in Munich, but the police sent me away after a few turns. However I have to admit that it was reasonable as there were swimmers passing by from time to time. I plan to try other locations in Germany this summer.
• Austria: I have never ever surfed in Austria. However I would love to, if someone out there knows a good spot, let me know and I ll come to bungee surf there.

Where do you see the future of bungee surfing in the next 10 years in Europe? Tricks, events, industry?

It’s still a mystery to me why the bungee surf community is not bigger. One factor that plays a role is certainly that bungee surfing can only be practiced in a few places where there is a river, its current is rather strong, there is a bridge to attach the rope to, the local authorities allow it, the water is clean etc. I expect the bungee surf community to grow, but very slowly.

What’s your next goal in bungee surfing?

I would like to “surf higher bridges”. Currently the highest bridge where I attached my rope has been 23 meters above the river. I intend to try to surf at bridges, which are 40–50 meters above the water.

Anything you’d like to add?

If you would like to try bungee surfing send me a message on Instagram @bungeemonkey.ch or an email to jb@bungeemonkey.ch. If you are from Europe, chances are I will drive to your place to surf your river and make you try bungee surfing.

Thank you for your time Jonas, catch you on the river!

The post Beyond the Wave: Bungee Surfing appeared first on Riverbreak.

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

Programme

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

Mühleschleuse Wave, Thun

Photo: Verein Flusssurfen Thun

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Divisions

• Men
• Women
• Junior
• Expression (no Swiss passport required)

Requirements

• Swiss nationality (except Open Session)
• Acceptance of the SSA Competition Rules
• Insurance has to be covered by the participants
• Minors (age < 18) have to be accompanied by their parents or another adult supervisor

Timetable

How to Register

Registrations are open until Friday. On-site registration is subject to a fee. Places are limited and assigned on a first come, first served basis.

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Social:
www.instagram.com/flusssurfen
www.facebook.com/flusssurfenThun

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Simply give us a call or pop us an e-mail for the latest stock boards, custom made, news and promotions. Please call in for opening times. Daniel Paez speaks Swiss German; German; English; Portuguese; Spanish; and Italian.

Contact

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Save the Date

Bern – 20 March 2014 – World Premiere – Kino Ciné Bubenberg
Zürich – 26 March 2014 – Riff Raff
Luzern – 27 March 2014 – Bourbaki
Genf – dates are comming soon – Cinéma Les Scala

What to Expect from I Wanna Surf?

Surfing is not really the first thing you would associate with this small landlocked country in the middle of Europe. And yet, there’s quite a bit going on in Switzerland. With no sea to surf, the Swiss surfers are forced to take every opportunity they get — be it on standing river waves, behind souped-up motor boards or simply with packed bags and a flight ticket. They seem to trace down every surfable wave in Switzerland, and they’re already regulars in the waves of the world.

There are surfers finding a home in a land without a sea and kids leaving the same country forever behind. How do the juggle their everyday work life with the urge to just grab a bag of boards and head for the shore? What is it that drives them? We join some of the most interesting and intriguing characters of the Swiss surfing scene on their search for the perfect wave and in their dream of, against all odds, doing what they love the most: surfing.

The Guys Behind I Wanna Surf

Timon Rupp
Director, Director of Photography

Alena Ehrenbold
Surfer, Producer

Sophie Bürgin
Creative Director, Producer

Michael Eymann
Creative Director, Producer

Starring
Jonas Studer, Philip Bienz, Alena Ehrenbold, Martin Suter, Andreas Wenger, Rachel Riner and others.

More at: http://iwannasurf.ch | info@iwannasurf.net

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