This virtual event is designed for professionals and entrepreneurs in the surf parks and wave pools industry. This Surf Park Summit – Summer Session airs June 24th as the precursor to the much anticipated return of the physical conference event, happening on October 4-5th in San Diego. Join our newsletter for more details on the October event, or purchase registration here.
Rewatch the June 24th event on-demand now – get access here.
The June event features the leaders and innovators in surf parks. With representatives from the top wave technology companies and surf parks we’ve all seen in the videos from around the world. For this year’s virtual Summit, SPC also brings in established surf experience operators, as well as expert advisory groups across the industry. Summit is the go-to place if your team is serious about surf parks.
The event features the CEOs, Executives, Investors, and Innovators behind the scenes who make surf parks really happen – they share insights, opinions on key industry themes, and lessons learned.
Here’s the event schedule:
This event will feature 7 45 minute panel discussions on surf parks and all the amazing detail required to make them successful. The panels will include:
Different Surf Park Business Models and the Importance of the Beach.
This panel brings together an incredible range of veteran experience creators to discuss how we can create and keep a level of fidelity between a day at the beach and a surf park experience? How does the beach factor into the various possible business models from country clubs to high throughput public amenities? How can we create additional revenue streams based on the surf park amenity that take place around, rather than in, the wave basin? How can we make these experiences as inclusive as possible? How can surf parks be agents of positive change in their communities and in the world?
Moderator: William Duncanson. BAR Architects, ProSwell
- Jim Dunn. President, Aquatic Development Group (ADG)
- Chad Labonte. COO, American Surf Parks
- Izzy Tihanyi. Co-Founder Surf Diva
- Tony Finn. Unit Surf Pools
The Growth of Global Surf Venue Brands
With 50+ active wave pool projects in progress right now, man made waves will be pumping everywhere in the next five years. These venues will attract visitors locally and domestically, but also internationally. This presents an opportunity for the development of international surf pool brands that deliver standardized high quality experiences. This panel includes the CEOs of the first surf park brands to deliver multiple surf park locations in the same country (URBN Surf, The Wave). The panel will discuss issues including the likelihood of global surf park brands and if other global brands like Hilton or Hard Rock will be partners or the consumer facing brand. What are the challenges of developing international projects? What challenges are presented by differences in financing models, safety regulations, cultural norms, wave technology maintenance, legal issues and regulations between different countries and regions? And on the consumer side how do surf parks appeal to different markets for surfing? How do marketing approaches differ and how can parks develop different venue ‘recipes’ to flex to local tastes?
Moderator: Paul Chutter. President and Co-Founder, Endless Surf
Who is Really in the Park?
This historic panel brings together operator representation from almost every open surf park in the world today. Head of Destination Consulting at Colliers Matt Hyslop guides this group of uniquely qualified surf park operators through detailed examinations of who is really coming to their parks, where they are coming from, how they are using the parks, and how operators can better accommodate particular groups of guests including core surfers, families, women, and people with disabilities.
Moderator: Matt Hyslop. Head of Destination Consulting, Colliers
- Damon Tudor. CEO, URBN Surf
- Craig Stoddart. CEO, The Wave
- Mike Schwaab. General Manager, BSR Surf Resort
- Blake Hess. COO, Beach Street. Formerly NLAND and WSL Surf Ranch.
Trends in Surf Park Finance
The first modern surf parks were financed almost exclusively by high net worth families and individuals. Subsequently surf parks have amassed sufficient financial histories to begin to pique the interest of institutional capital. That tipping point is likely to unlock a great deal of surf park development. Where are we along the road to institutional capital? What do surf park developers need to do to position themselves for financing? What trends are emerging in surf park financing? This panel brings together surf park developers, financiers, and investment institutions to discuss these issues.
Moderator: Kui Makamura. Principal, ProSwell
- Wes Wells. Vandever Capital
- Andrew Ross. Aventuur
- Noah Hahn. Coral Mountain Group
- Andrew Limbocker.
- Sebastian Smith. STORE Capital
The Infinite Nuance of Wave Tech Comparisons
For all you surf park aficionados out there – this is the ultimate wave tech panel! Competition between teams of wave technology companies and their development partners are constantly pushing the industry forward, by pushing teams towards improving their offerings and enhancing the value proposition for partners. Bottom line, more surf parks need to succeed than fail if the industry as a whole is to survive. With that spirit of “in it together” in mind, for the first time ever, this panel brings the major wave technologies together in a single forum. Surf park developers, investors, the surf media, and even the surfing public regularly attempt to make comparisons between technologies to determine which is better, or best. The truth is that all of the technologies on this panel can deliver successful projects and that comparisons are fraught with nuance that is impossible to capture in a single metric or quote. The aim of this panel is to explore this nuance and discuss differences and tradeoffs around energy use and wave production. How does the number of theoretical waves per hour stack up against operational reality and user experience? Perhaps most importantly the panel discusses the key points of difference between wave technologies and how those differences influence the application of those technologies and lead to customer success.
Moderator: Jess Ponting. Co-Founder, Surf Park Summit and Director, Center for Surf Research
- Baptiste Colonque. Endless Surf
- Aaron Trevis. Co-Founder & CEO, Surf Lakes
- Sean Young. Head of Business Development, Wavegarden
- Tom Lochtefeld. Founder & CEO, Surfloch
Ripple Effect – Exploring the Sustainability of Surf Parks
This panel focuses on the realities, nuances, and overall sustainability of surf parks. Presented by Surf Lakes including CEO Aaron Trevis and Global General Manager, Wayne Dart, the team is joined by Carl Kirsh, CEO of STOKE Certified, Clint Wood, Design Principal at Place Design Group, and Mary Carrol, CEO of Capricorn Enterprises to discuss their various definitions of sustainability, including the many environmental, social, cultural, educational, and commercial impacts that surf parks can have on a community. Listen in to hear how Surf Lakes in particular is approaching sustainability with a thoughtful combination of community outreach, guidance from 3rd party certification organizations, thoughtful design that harnesses natural elements of the surrounding areas, and support from local governments and authorities.
Moderator: Wayne Dart. General Manager, Global Operations, Surf Lakes
- Aaron Trevis. Co-Founder & CEO Surf Lakes
- Carl Kish. CEO & Co-Founder, STOKE Certified
- Clint Wood. Director & Design Principal, Place Design Group
- Mary Carroll. CEO, Capricorn Enterprises
Masterplanning for Commercial Success of Surf Parks
Surf park industry experts and moderator team duo Cate Thero and Skip Taylor of Surf Park Management shape up this conversation featuring pioneering leaders in surf parks. First, we have Michael Schwab, Founder and Partner at Coral Mountain Group, the new high-end membership-focused surf park including a KS Wave Co basin and planned for La Quinta, CA, along with Mike Oswald, Principal at ProSwell and Managing Partner at MR-ProFun who has personally overseen a wide variety of developments, to Ben Barker, Managing Director at Extreme Destinations, a global adventure, and media brand. These panelists are joined by Craig Stoner, Managing Partner at EDSA, a well-established master planning group with some exciting projects underway, and finally Amos Casas, Managing Partner at Amusement Logic, which has been very active in surf park developments including in Europe. These experts discuss, debate, and brainstorm what the future of surf parks master planning should look like in terms of how to evaluate and shape surf park developments that meet the demand, local market realities, pragmatic developer decision making, and include a “core” brand ethos.
Moderators:
- Skip Taylor, Partner, Surf Park Management
- Cate Thero, Partner, Surf Park Management
- Michael Schwab, Founder & Partner, Coral Mountain Group
- Mike Oswald, Principal, ProSwell & Managing Partner, MR-ProFun
- Ben Barker, Managing Director, Extreme Destinations
- Craig Stoner, Managing Partner, EDSA
- Amos Casas, Managing Partner, Amusement Logic
To learn more about Surf Park Summit, and our Insiders program, check out insiders.surfparkcentral.com
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