Get Up, Stand Up In Düsseldorf
Unlikely SUP exhibition brings Deepwater Wave tech indoors to the masses in Europe.
A boat show in Düsseldorf, Germany, seems like an unusual place for the future of surfing to take hold, but in a way, it’s one of the first shots across the bow of the wave pool revolution.
In January, organizers of the Boot exhibition in Düsseldorf—dubbed “the world’s largest water sports fair”—brought in a mobile version of the Deepwater Wave indoors for a unique standup paddle contest. Inviting international talent, including Airton Cozzolino, Zane Schweitzer, Fiona Wylde, Paulina Herpel and Moritz Mauch, on the first day of the show the crew had the opportunity to test out the wave and train. The following day, a high-performance, SUP shoot-out took went down and made history as the world’s first SUP competition on a man-made standing wave.
Fresh off a plane from Cape Verde, Airton quickly acclimated to the wave (and cold winter weather) to take the win. Leashing a diverse array of turns and tricks, his performance was capped off by a pop shuvit that got the crowd to its feet. Schweitzer finished runner-up and Paulina rounded out the podium in third.
“It was pretty epic to teach some surfing and compete at the indoor wave pool they brought in for us,” said Schweitzer afterwards.
The fact that the Deepwater Wave could be brought indoors for a boat show and a cadre of world-class wave-riding talent would show up to ride it speaks volumes about the growing acceptance of artificial waves as a viable avenue for the growth of surfing and stand-up paddling.
Citywave’s deep water technology first appeared in the Munich international airport as a demo. It has since been marketed as Citywave’s stationary deep water wave system around the world and will soon be making it’s first permanent venue appearance at the Jochen Schweizer Arena in Munich, Germany.
The Citywave surf machine allows the use of regular surfboards with fins, just like one would use in the ocean. Fully adjustable in size and water volume, the system is able to create waves for every skill level. Former pro surfer Shane Beschen has played a key role in its emergence as a viable technology for the global development of man-made waves.
COMPLETE RESULTS
SUP Wave men:
1. Airton Cozzolino
2. Zane Schweitzer / Starboard
3. Carsten Kurmis / Starboard
4. Guido Meier
5. Moritz Mauch / Starboard
5. Kai-Nicolas Steimer
7. Bernd Felsing / Starboard
7. Denny Kambs
9. Valentin Illichmann
9. Ole Schwarz / Starboard
9. Kimo Kersting
9. Dirk Worrmann
13. Dirk Herpel / Starboard
13. Daniel Weiß
15. Robert Glöckner / Starboard
SUP Wave women:
1. Fiona Wylde /Starboard
2. Bowien van der Linden
3. Paulina Herpel
4. Maren Lutz
5. Ariane Wittmann
5. Milanka Linde / Starboard
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