The 10th Annual Surf Park Summit is Next Week

Peter Indelicato September 13, 2023 Wave Pool News No Comment

On September 18th, the 10th annual Surf Park Summit will kick off in San Diego, CA for three days of collaboration, innovation and fun.

Hundreds of developer, owners and surf park tech companies will be on hand to learn from a series of panels, keynotes, and workshops outlined below.

Tickets are still available for purchase here, but if you are still not sold, learn more about the Summit below.

Monday’s “VIP Only” events kick off at Scripps Seaside Forum at 1:30 with registration, an executive workshop and a keynote from Jess Ponting, Partner and Co-founder of Surf Park Central and STOKE.

At 6:00, the VIPs move over to Aaron Chang’s Ocean Art Gallery for a welcome reception.

The Monday VIP Session costs $750 to attend, in addition to the standard Summit ticket prices.

Back at the Scripps Seaside Forum on Tuesday morning, the knowledge starts to free flow after an 8 registration call. Jess Ponting and Paul Ganev (Surfline) will open with the Welcome Keynote. Then the content splits into two tracks: general content on the main stage and a Developers Track in a breakout room.

Tuesday Highlights

I expect all the sessions to be valuable, but I’m particularly interested the “Feasibility, Planning and Development of Surf Parks with Wavegarden” at 10:45, the “Surf Park Revenue Optimization with Surfline” at 11:30 and the “Industry Innovations” session at 11:50.

The full agenda is available here.

A networking lunch from 12:30 – 1:30 is followed by more content in the afternoon. At 3:00, the panel on “Building the Waves: Navigating the Surf Park Development and Construction Process” promises to be a highlight, as does the the “The Top 5 Developer Tips: Curated from 10 Years of Surf Park Summit” presented by Chris Kluesener from Surf Park Central at 3:15. At 3:45, most of the surf park tech companies will be represented on a panel on “Dynamic Waves” that is sure to be fun and likely to get a bit spicy.

Tuesday wraps with a happy hour from 4:30 – 6:30.

Wednesday Highlights

Wednesday kicks off bright and early at 8 am with a roundtable on Surf Therapy hosted by Kris Primacio. She will lead a discussion around surfing’s profound mental and emotional benefits for individuals facing physical or psychological challenges. Surf parks will play a huge part in making these benefits more accessible to everyone. At the same time, Cate Thero from Surf Park Management will lead a panel focused on Insurance in Surf Park Operations.

Jeff Pensiero, founder of Baldface Lodge, will delivery a keynote at 9 am that is not to be missed. Jeff will share his insights on hospitality, cultivating an all-inclusive experience, and integrating the staff and guest experiences into a culture of positivity and growth.

At 9:45, Jess Ponting retakes the stage to address one of the biggest challenges facing surf park development: anxiety around water and energy use. He’ll compare surf park consumption to other recreational endeavors in what is sure to be an enlightening session.

At 11:30, Blake Hess from Beach Street Development presents a case study on operating a surf park. He’ll cover classic topics like making informed decisions, optimize operations, and contribute to the industry’s growth.

After a lunch break, the team from Revel Surf Parks will take the main stage at 1:50 to talk about their Cannon Beach Mesa development and share more information about the Swell Manufacturing wave tech they plan on using.

Living in California means the Surf Lakes case study on their Surf Lakes California project, at 2:20 on the main stage, is a requirement for me personally. Aaron Trevis is going to take us on a deep dive into the pillars required to create and support a world-class wave park destination in the heart of America’s surfing Mecca.

Finally, Brian Dickerson from Wave Pool Mag leads a 3 pm session on “Innovation in Surf Park Development” before the Summit adjourns with awards and another happy hour.

Attendees

The Summit is a huge networking event, so you can expect to find the biggest names and brightest minds in attendance. This year is no exception with the following planned attendees: