VIRTUAL
SURF PARK SUMMIT 2020
THE FUTURE OF SURFING
BEYOND THE OCEAN
October 1-2
LIVE-STREAM
The countdown is on!
speakers
Guy Kawasaki
Technology evangelist, author, professional speaker, entrepreneur, venture capitalist, & podcast host
Josh Kerr
Professional surfer & entrepreneur
Patti Paniccia
Co-Chair, Surfing Heritage & Culture Center, Adjunct Law Professor, ex-pro surfer and broadcast journalist
Dave Likins
Partner, Beach Street Development & DSRT Surf
Ian Calderone
Majority Leader, California’s 57th Assembly District
Sebastian Smith
Managing Director, West Region, STORE Capital
Jess Ponting
Associate Professor at SDSU, Founder/Director, Center for Surf Research
Glenn Harris
Associate VP, McGowan Allied Specialty Insurance
agenda
Day 1 | October 1st
9:00 - 9:10 AM
Introduction from John Luff. Co-Founder of Surf Park Summit
9:10 - 9:25 AM
Evangelism in Surf Parks
Speaker: Guy Kawasaki
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.
9:25 - 10:05 AM
War Stories and Lessons Learned in Surf Park Operators
Speakers: Courtney Magnusson, Nick Hounsfield, Andrew Ross, Cheyne Magnusson
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.
10:05 - 10:20 AM
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.
10:20 - 11:00 AM
Keeping out of Deep Water: The Importance of Water Quality & Filtration
Moderator: Chris Cote
Speakers: Allen Clawson (Cloward H20), Mike Gartland (Counsilman-Husacker), Greg Sanders (Water Tech Solutions), Steve Fried & 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 Steve Freid of Neptune Benson Evoqua, Allen Clawson of Cloward H2) and Mike Gartland of Counsilman-Husacker.
11:00 - 11:10 AM
Legislating for Surf Park Safety in California and Beyond
California State Assembly Member, Ian Calderone
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.
11:10 - 11:30 AM
Energy Efficiency at Wavegarden
Speakers: Seán Young, Fernando Odriozola
Wavegarden co-founder Fernando Odriozola, and Wavegarden’s in-house surf park development savant, Seán Young who has worked on more surf park pre-development plans and actual development executions than any other human team up to discuss the importance of energy efficiency in wave technologies and the intricacies of brand building at Wavegarden, the current surf park technology leader in terms of completed and pending projects.
11:10 - 11:45 AM
CEM Aquatics
Speaker: Matt Rizuka
11:45 - 1:00 PM
Lunch Break and Sponsor Booth Activations
1:00 - 1:40 PM
What Women Want... in Surf Parks!
Speaker: Shelby Stanger, Host of Wild Ideas Worth Living podcast
Speakers: Patti Paniccia, Izzy Tihanyi, Sunshine Makarow, Sierra Kerr
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.
1:40 - 2:00 PM
Surf Loch
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.
2:00 - 2:40 PM
Keeping People Safe in the Surf Park
Moderator: John Luff
Speakers: Annie Shugart, Sam Houghton, Curtis Barton, Wess Long, George Panton, Marshall Myrman
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.
2:40 - 2:50 PM
Surf Parks - The Road to Success, with Surf Park Management
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.
2:50 - 3:30 PM
Getting the Deal Done for the Public Good: Public Private Partnerships
Moderator: Doug Sheres
Speaker: Mike Culpepper, Wayne, Olsen, Ron Williams, Marco Gonzalez, Baptiste Caulonque
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.
3:30 - 3:35 PM
Closing Remarks
Speaker: Chris Cote
3:35 - 4:30 PM
Visit Sponsor booths to explore exclusive content they've shared just for Summit
Day 2 | October 2nd
9:00 - 9:05 AM
Introduction from Jess Ponting, Co-Founder of Surf Park Summit, Director of the Center for Surf Research at San Diego State University
9:05 - 9:20 AM
Surfing's history and future
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.
9:20 - 10:00 AM
How to Finance Your Surf Park
Speakers: Sebastian Smith, Andrew Limbocker, Andrew Ross
David Likins – former President of Mammoth Resorts and brains behind significant consolidation in the US ski industry, former Director of Wave Operations at Kelly Slater Wave Company, and current partner in emerging surf park powerhouse, Beach Street Development – 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.
10:00 - 10:10 AM
High-End Surfing Education
Speaker: Ru Hill
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.
10:10 - 10:50 AM
Both sides of the board: balancing efficient wave programming with the ideal surfing experience, hosted by Endless Surf
Moderator: Paul Chutter, Chief Commercial Officer at 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
10:50 - 11:00 AM
USA Surfing: Olympic training and beyond
Speaker: Greg Cruse
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
11:00 - 11:40 AM
Media and Surf Parks - Visualizing the Future
Moderator: Chris Cote
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.
11:40 - 1:00 PM
Lunch Break - please visit sponsor booths to see their exclusive updates for Summit!
1:00 - 1:40 PM
Surf Park Design & 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.
1:40 - 1:55 PM
Surf Lakes is making waves this year
Speakers: Aaron Trevis, Founder & CEO of Surf Lakes
1:55 - 2:35 PM
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.
2:35 - 3:35 PM
Surf Park Central’s Emerging Tech Leaders Showcase
Technology Leaders featured:
- Tony Finn at Unit Surf Pools
- Ross McCarthy at Air Wave
- Cheyne Carnahan at The Swell
- Eirik Randow at 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.
3:35 - 3:40 PM
Closing Remarks
Surf Park Summit Team
3:40 - 5:00 PM
Visit Sponsor Booths to explore the exclusive content they've shared
sponsors
About the summit
Surf Park Summit is the leading B2B thought leadership series on surf parks. Many surf parks are now in various stages of completion and under development. Dozens more are in the planning pipeline across a number of countries and centered around a variety of wave generating technologies. The time to deep dive into the best and latest information and network with leaders in the industry is now.
Attendance is carefully curated to include only 200 highly qualified stakeholders in the surf park industry. Surf Park Summit brings the world of surf parks to you, offering unprecedented access to the information and people you need to know.
Surf Park Summit 2020 has the most comprehensive lineup of Surf Park Industry heavyweights ever to be assembled in one place. Register now to secure your spot!