Check out the full agenda and click here to register now to watch the event live. If you’re unable to tune in live, you can still register and access all of the event media for up to 6 months. Presentations and panels include:
Evangelism in Surf Parks
Speaker: Guy Kawasaki (Former Chief Evangelist at Apple)
Guy Kawasaki loves nothing more surfing with his family. Apple’s ex-Chief Evangelist has turned an eye towards the world of surf parks – in this welcome message, he explains to the world how surf parks can improve people’s lives by sharing the gift of surfing.
+Special Message from John Luff, Co-Founder of Surf Park Central and Surf Park Summit
+ Special Message from Shaun Tomson, Champion Surfer and Entrepreneur
War Stories and Lessons Learned in Surf Park Operations
Moderator: Dave Likins, Surf Park and Wave Pool Industry Expert
Speakers: Courtney Magnusson (BSR Surf Ranch, Palm Springs Surf Club), Nick Hounsfield (Founder, The Wave, Bristol), Andrew Ross (Founder, URBN Surf Melbourne), & Cheyne Magnusson (BSR Surf Resort, Palm Springs Surf Club)
Only a handful of people in the world have hands-on experience managing surf park operations at scale. This panel brings together an elite group of leaders who will share their war stories and lessons learned in managing the surf customer experience across the major commercially operational technologies – KSWaveCo, Wavegarden Cove, American Wave Machines’ Perfect Swell, and Surfloch, including operating experience at Palm Springs Surf Club, BSR Surf Resort, The Wave – Bristol, and URBN Surf. This panel is sure to be PACKED with insights that every future surf park operator needs to hear.
Risk Management in Surf Parks, Presented by McGowan Allied Specialty Insurance
How can you reduce risk in your surf park facility? The team at McGowan Allied Specialty Insurance leans in to inform us on the best practices and elements to keep in mind.
Keeping out of Deep Water: The Importance of Water Quality & Filtration
Moderator: John Luff (Founder, Surf Park Central & Co-Founder, Surf Park Summit)
Speakers: Allen Clawson (Cloward H20), Greg Sanders (Water Tech Solutions), & Neal Hershey (Neptune Benson/Evoqua)
From permitting peccadillos to potentially lethal protozoa the past few years have clearly demonstrated why water quality is an absolutely crucial issue for surf parks. There are no shortcuts, developers must get it right or face opening delays or operational shut downs. In this panel Chris Cote leads a discussion between the leading surf park water filtration experts including Neal Hershey of Neptune Benson Evoqua, Allen Clawson of Cloward H2O and Greg Sanders of Water Tech Solutions.
Legislating for Surf Park Safety in California and Beyond
Speaker:Ian Calderone (California State Assembly Member)
Ian Calderone has been a leader in developing safety regulations for the emerging surf park industry for the state of California where he is Majority Leader, the youngest in the State’s history. California’s moves to formalize surf park regulation may well influence regulation worldwide.
Wavegarden
Speaker: Seán Young (Head of Development Projects, Wavegarden)
Wavegarden’s Head of Development Projects, Seán Young, who has worked on more surf park pre-development plans and park development executions than almost anyone, discusses an introduction to the company and technology, a few exciting new project updates, an overview of new innovations being worked on, and some key challenges and lessons learned from the many Wavegarden projects to date.
What Women Want… in Surf Parks!
Moderator: Shelby Stanger (Founder of Wild Ideas Worth Living Podcast)
Speakers: Patti Paniccia (Recognized as a founder of pro surfing), Izzy Tihanyi (Founder & CEO, Surf Diva Surf School), Sunshine Makarow (former member, USA Surf Team), & Sierra Kerr (athlete)
Surf parks may hold the key to unlocking significant growth in female participation in surfing, but only if they’re fun! This panel of powerhouse surfing ladies discuss what they think about making surf parks as effective as possible, the good and the bad elements from what they’ve seen, what’s got them most excited, and how surf parks can better cater to and meet the needs of consumers of different backgrounds.
Surf Loch
Speaker:Tom Lochtefeld (Founder & CEO, Surfloch)
Palm Springs Surf Club is dropping wild new clips on an almost weekly basis with a revolving door of the most innovative pro surfers and skim boarders in the business. Surfloch, the tech behind it, has now proven its technology, and then some. Founder and CEO Tom Lochtefeld details the state of play and what is to come.
Keeping People Safe in the Surf Park
Moderator: Marshall Myrman, Whitewater West
Speakers: Sam Houghton (Amped Insurance), Curtis Barton (Venture Pacific & Aqualine Insurance), Wess Long (Starguard Elite), & George Panton (Industry Trends)
Speakers representing specialized insurance companies serving the surf park industry, water safety specialists, and a member of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) which has developed standards for surfing simulator attractions will discuss issues and best practices.
Surf Parks – The Road to Success, with Surf Park Management
Speakers: Skip Taylor, Cate Thero (Co-Founders, Surf Park MGMT)
Surf Park Management is a team of seasoned experience economy professionals turning their decades of experience in the surf and adventure sports to focus on the surf park industry. This level of expertise bodes well for the surf park industry.
Getting the Deal Done for the Public Good: Public Private Partnerships
Moderator: Doug Sheres (Partner, Beach Street Development & DSRT Surf)
Speaker: Mike Culpepper (Venture Realty Group, Atlantic Park), Wayne Olsen (City of Palm Desert), Ron Williams (City of Virginia Beach), & Baptiste Caulonque (Whitewater Paris Project)
Doug Sheres, former Mayor of Solana Beach, California and current partner in Beach Street Development and DSRT Surf moderates a panel of public agency and private enterprise leaders who are intimately involved in public/private partnerships to bring surf parks to fruition.
Surfing’s History and Future
Speaker:Patti Paniccia
Patti Paniccia (pa-nee’-cha), Co-Chair of the Board of Directors for the Surfing Heritage and Culture Center, shares insights on the history of surfing to help inform the next generation of surfing in surf parks. Patti was one of the top-ranked surfers during the 70s and early 80s, and was one of six women who competed on the first women’s world pro tour in 1976. She is a co-founder of pro-surfing, working as Director of the Women’s Division. alongside Fred Hemmings and Randy Rarick to launch International Professional Surfing (IPS), precursor to ASP and today’s WSL. Patti is an adjunct law professor at Pepperdine Law School in Malibu where she teaches First Amendment Law, Employment Discrimination, and Gender and the Law.
How to Finance Your Surf Park
Moderator: Dave Likins, Surf Park and Wave Pool Industry Expert
Speakers: Sebastian Smith (STORE Capital), Andrew Limbocker (EPR Properties), Andrew Ross (URBN Surf)
David Likins – hosts a discussion with former investment banker and founder of URBN Surf, Andrew Ross, and major investors Sebastian Smith and Andrew Limbocker about how to get surf park financing done.
High-End Surfing Education
Speaker:Ru Hill (Founder, Surf Simply)
While most view surf schools as low yield, high volume operations, Ru Hill zigged where others zagged and developed an A-list clientele who book out his $1000 per day surf school 2 years in advance.
Both Sides of the Board: Balancing Efficient Wave Programming with the Ideal Surfing Experience, Hosted by Endless Surf
Moderator: Paul Chutter (Chief Commercial Officer, Endless Surf)
Speakers: Doug Sheres (Partner, Beach Street Development & DSRT Surf), Josh Kerr (Professional Surfer & Entrepreneur), Skip Taylor (Surf Park Management), & Clement Ginested (Wavemaker, Whitewater)This panel represents the first ever end-to-end discussion on wave programming, with perspectives from the business executive, engineer, surf park operator, wave maker, professional surfer, and coach. Topics include inquiry into what truly drives excitement for customers in the pool, the differences between different consumer segments, the realities of operational cost for different wave settings. Other topics include the art of wave variety experimentation and discovery, hardware and software innovations, predictabiliyt and consistency expectations, and the potential of creating on-demand wave programming capabilies, and what this innovation could this mean for consumers.
SPECIAL NOTE: This panel will be simulcast on FuelTV’s YouTube channel youtube.com/fueltv
USA Surfing: Olympic Training and Beyond
Speaker:Greg Cruse (President, USA Surfing)
President of USA Surfing Greg Cruse discussed the use of surf parks for olympic training, competitions and what the future may hold for surf parks and competitive surfing
Media and Surf Parks – Visualizing the Future
Moderator: Chris Cote (Multi-Media Action Sports Personality)
Speakers: Sam McIntosh (Founder, STAB Maganize), Zach Weisberg (Founder, The Intertia), & Zander Morten (ex-Editor-in-Chief, Surfing Magazine, Contributor @ Surfer, Transworld, and Surf Park Central)
The surfing industry thrives on media, and today the heavy hitters in surfing media come together to discuss the promise of surf parks, the excitement (and hype) of surf parks including pro contests like STAB High, and the current state of surf media coverage. Looking towards the future, what might surf media look like in 10 years? When is the live-stream turning on? The group comes together to discuss and debate.
Surf Park Design and Conceptualization
Moderator: Matthew Hyslop (Colliers International)
Speakers: Paul Chutter (Whitewater), Seán Young (Wavegarden), Dennis Berkshire (Aquatic Design Group), & William Duncanson (BAR Architechs)
Surf Parks are complex and nuanced facilities that require years of feasibility, design, and development work to bring to life. This panel focuses on some of the lesser known realities of surf park design in the early stages, shared by industry leaders who bring lessons learned from building many of the facilities we know and love today. Topics may include consideration into the non-obvious elements that go into designing a surf park, what roles do the physical location / site, target consumer population, and selected wave technology play in the design process. We’ll also consider what are some of the key decisions that every surf park design phase should include, and how others can maximize their success with design phase projects.
Surf Lakes Discusses the Importance of Productivity and Simultaneous Variety
Speakers:Aaron Trevis (Founder & CEO of Surf Lakes), Wayne Dart (Media Manager of Surf Lakes and former Tracks Magazine Editor and former ASP World Tour Media Manager), Bryan Giles (Professional Sky Diver and New Director of Sales for The Americas for Surf Lakes)
After a lengthy lay off to upgrade the Surf Lakes R&D facility in Yeppoon, Queensland, Australia, with a view to improving the quality of the product offering, Surf Lakes returned to the public domain in recent months with a bang. With the demonstration days in August and September, producing spectacular waves for the regular test pilots such as 1999 ASP World Tour Champion Mark Occhilupo and his sons Jonah and Jay, plus three time world bodyboard champion Ben Player, the ever graceful teen longboard sensation Luca Doble as well all as special guests Macy Callahan, Sheldon Simkis, Coby Perkovich, Mitch Rawlins and more, Surf Lakes is moving forwards in leaps and bounds on a global scale with masses of enquiries. With plans to have a commercial facility open to the public in the very near future the team from Surf Lakes highlight the advantages of the technology, will delight with a visual video feast and will announce the launch of a new product aimed at city and suburban markets.
Surf Parks and Sustainability
Moderator: Katie Rodriguez (Journalist, Has Written On Surf Park Sustainability)
Speakers: Reece Pacheco (Executive Director WSL PURE, SVP Ocean Responsibility World Surf League), Chad Nelson (CEO Surfrider Foundation), Nik Strong-Cvetich (Executive Director, Save the Waves Coalition), Carl Kish (Co-Founder & CEO, STOKE), & Jess Ponting (Director, Center for Surf Research)
Writer of the most recent and comprehensive piece of surf journalism on surf parks and sustainability for Surfer Magazine, Katie Rodriguez leads the heads of some of surfing’s most effective sustainability organizations through a discussion of the challenges and opportunities presented by the emerging surf park industry.
Surf Park Central’s Emerging Tech Leaders Showcase
Technology Leaders featured:
- Tony Finn, Unit Surf Pools
- Ross McCarthy, Air Wave
- Cheyne Carnahan, The Swell
- Eirik Randow, Surf ERA
Surf parks technologies are evolving quickly, so quickly that it’s hard to keep up! In this final section of the 2020 Summit, the Surf Park Central team hosts a technology showcase of up-and-coming leaders in surf parks on the leading edge. Everyone featured here is doing something unique and noteworthy. The Surf Park Central team follows a lightning round rapid interview format to meet each of these promising emerging technology leaders, to learn more about their products and solutions in surf parks.
Click here to register now for Surf Park Summit 2020 and join us for our first ever virtual Summit!
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