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Artificial surf wave technology group Wavegarden has redesigned and rebuilt its demo centre - now renamed the Wavegarden Lab - dedicated to continuous R&D and high-performance surfing.  

With a continuous cycle of waves that can run 24/7, engineers can test the mechanical parts, water treatment, filtration, coating and cleaning systems and changes in bathymetry. This makes Wavegarden Lab the most advanced R&D centre for artificial wave generation technology.

The upgrades to the demo centre reinforce the company’s dedication to innovation and have attracted the world’s best surfers including Kelly Slater, Shane Dorian, Bobby Martinez, Leo Fioravanti,  Kauli Vaast, Mateus Herdy and Coco Ho to test the new waves. 

With a water surface area of just 90metre x 45metre, the Wavegarden Lab can now generate waves up to 2.2 metres high, with ride times of up to 14 seconds and barrels lasting up to 7 seconds. 

Located in the Basque Country, the original Wavegarden Cove prototype has recently been transformed and extended to provide an increased variety of waves and new design features to ensure thorough testing of the upgraded technology before commercial use. The full-sized prototype had been pivotal in modelling the leading wave generation technology that makes waves successfully at eight commercial facilities worldwide. However, its small footprint had placed limits on research and development. Until now.

Josema Odriozola, founder and Chief Executive of Wavegarden explained “we have been redesigning and rebuilding the demo centre by extending the existing wave generator to produce longer ride times of up to 14 seconds and larger waves up to 2.2m high. We have improved the take-off and end sections, created a 7-second barrel, and new air sections.

“We adjusted the bathymetry, updated the areas along the shoreline, added glass panels behind the take-off area, and removed some unnecessary walls to provide a more natural environment and improve the aesthetics.”   

With investment in a surf park currently running between 15 million and 30 million euros, there is zero room for error when it comes to the construction and provision of technology at new facilities. With the Wavegarden Lab being the first private, full-size test centre for the R&D of artificial wave generation in the industry, it means every possible component of the civil works are tested.

The transformation has aided the development of the world's best artificial waves. Extensive computer modelling and scale model R&D over several years has dramatically increased the flexibility. The left and right sides of the Wavegarden lagoon can now work independently, without increasing the energy consumption per wave This means that Wavegarden's technology can now be delivered with single or double sides and can be adapted to any shape and size of lagoon.

A significant advancement in the technology is the ability to program solitary waves every 15–30 seconds throughout the entire duration of a session, instead of grouping them in sets with 7-8 second intervals.

The Wavegarden Lab has also introduced a new Reef that has improved the Turn, Barrel and Air waves. For the turn mode, this means adding a close-out section, where a surfer can choose between finishing with a foam, a lip or a small barrel section. The steepness of the take-off can now be adjusted. A less vertical face makes it easier for beginners to pop up and enjoy the wave. The barrels are easy to read as there is an ideal balance between width, or throatiness of the tube, and power. There is now a constant speed grower mode, a heavier bowl with a turn set up and a slab-style wave, where surfers can backdoor the peak. Finally, the air sections have been boosted with different launch pads for specific manoeuvres like alley-oop and double aerials. The result is the most varied wave menu of any wave pool.

Of course, a world-class testing facility needs world-class surfers to test the waves. The Wavegarden Lab is located an hour’s drive from the surfing epicentres of Hossegor and Mundaka, and just 10 minutes from the Basque Coast. Some of the world's best surfers were in France this September for the Quiksilver Festival, directed by Miky Picon. The break in the waves during the competition brought Kelly Slater, Kai Lenny, Shane Dorian, Bobby Martinez and many other surfers to the freshly renovated demo centre. They were joined by Olympic gold medallist Kauli Vaast, and a line-up of electrifying talents including Leo Fioravanti, Coco Ho, Mateus Herdy, Jackson Dorian, Noah Beschen, Milla Brown, and local surfers Kai and Hans Odriozola.

Kelly Slater, after surfing for three hours and landing some huge alley-oops, enthused “I was really impressed. There are a lot of options and variability in the designs.”

Although Slater has his own wave-making technology, he didn’t hold back from sharing his thoughts on Wavegarden’s new waves adding “what we need most in wave pool design is ideas and people constantly working on them.”

With surfing in the Olympics, facilities like this are even more relevant for the future. For example, Italian CT surfer and Olympian Leo Fioravanti has made regular visits in the past months to train and refine his repertoire of aerials, such as the Stale Fish, Backflip, and higher Alley Oops. Training is enhanced by a replay screen located at the take-off and CheckMySurf, the automatic recording system that captures every wave ridden.

Hawaiian surfer Noah Beschen pushed new limits and landed a slob full-rotation. “When you get such a good air section, you don’t even think about what you’re doing; you just go for it,” said Beschen after the session. Brazilian pro Mateus Herdy worked with technicians to design his own double air wave. Kai Odriozola, one of Europe’s outstanding surfing talents, landed his first backflip ever, surprising even himself, before landing another one on the very next wave.

The benefits from the sessions worked both ways. The surfers could operate in a private, controlled environment with cutting-edge technology that allows them to work on new training methods and raise their performance. For The Wavegarden Lab, who better to test and provide feedback on its new settings and waves than the best surfers in the world?

While the centre remains the headquarters for the company’s R&D operations, where new innovations are constantly tested prior to commercial implementation, The Wavegarden Lab promises to be a venue where surfers will hone their skills, and many more epic sessions will unfold.

Wavegarden is the first company to have its own dedicated R&D facility for artificial wave generation and high performance surfing technologies and has eight other surf parks operating successfully around the world, 10 projects currently under construction and over 50 projects in the development phase.

Click here to contact Wavegarden via their entry in the Australasian Leisure Management Supplier Directory.

Images from top. Kauli Vaast, Olympic Gold Medalist Paris 2024, Credit: Ryan Miller; Wavegarden Lab Kelly Slater and Bobby Martinez; Wavegarden Noah Beschen Barrel. Credit Wavegarden

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