Micro Surf Academy and Aventuur partner to deliver world’s first surf park high performance centres

Global surf park investor, developer and operator Aventuur has announced its partnership with Micro Surf Academy (MSA) to deliver the world’s first surf park high performance centres.

Using Wavegarden’s market-leading ‘Cove’ technology, Aventuur and MSA are now collaborating to deliver built-for-purpose training facilities at Aventuur’s projects around the world.

MSA is a surf coaching and mentoring academy for beginner to elite surfers, headed up by former World Tour surfer Glenn “Micro” Hall. Recognising the opportunity for surf parks to accelerate surfing progression and drive high performance outcomes,  Hall specifically chose Aventuur to be MSA’s global surf park partner.

Hall advised “surfing is in the midst of a new boom in the sport. It’s only 2021, but this decade has already seen surfing debut as an Olympic sport at the Tokyo games, new WSL tour formats for the Championship Tour and Challenger Series have been introduced, surf parks are being developed all over the world, and surf-specific coaching and training is becoming more widely accepted”.

“With the Wavegarden ‘Cove’ providing incredible surfing experiences for all abilities, and the Aventuur team’s proven expertise in delivering world-class surf parks, for me it was a no-brainer partnership.”

Based in Spain Wavegarden is  widely considered the market leader for its technology solutions in the rapidly emerging sector of dynamic artificial waves, with five surfing lagoons utilising the Cove wave generator currently operational across four continents. Offering a wide variety of waves between 0.5-2.0 metre in height, the Wavegarden Cove caters to surfers of all ages, abilities and board preference and can host upwards of 80 surfers simultaneously.

Since founding MSA, Hall has coached twice World Champion Tyler Wright, Olympic Bronze medalist Owen Wright, Olympian Brisa Hennessy and WSL tour surfers Conner Coffin, Ace Buchan and Molly Picklum.

Hall explains “I’ve been able to achieve a month’s work in a day with my athletes at surf parks, because you can identify and isolate those small details, those areas for improvement, and immediately address them. The progression of barrel riding and airs enabled by surf parks is phenomenal. Nothing will ever replace the ocean, but knowing exactly what a wave is going to do, and what section is coming at you, is unique to man-made surfing environments.”

Despite the industry’s infancy, surf parks are already proven training grounds and competitive arenas. Personalised coaching and development programs delivered at surf parks unlock the capability to rapidly improve the performance of all surfers, from first-timers to World Title contenders.

Aventuur is thrilled to be partnering with Hall and Micro Surf Academy to deliver the world’s first surf park high performance centres at its venues. Aventuur co-founder and Chief Executive, Nicholas Edelman added “with surf parks increasing access to high quality waves, experienced coaches, video capture and personalised feedback, there’s never been a better time to be a surfer.

“Surf parks are democratising surfing because they provide safe, positive and inclusive environments for people to progress their skills, build confidence, push themselves and try new things.

“We’re excited to work closely with Micro and the MSA team to deliver the world’s first surf park high performance centres. If we can accelerate the start, enrich the middle, and lengthen the sunset of everyone’s surfing journey, then we’ll all be having as much fun as possible in the water, which is what it’s all about.”

Aventuur holds the exclusive rights to the market-leading Wavegarden Cove surf park technology for Australia (excluding Melbourne and Sydney metro areas), New Zealand, Singapore and Fiji, and is Wavegarden’s largest partner globally.

With its APAC offices located in Perth, Aventuur has been selected by the Western Australian Government as the preferred proponent to deliver an $80 million surf park in Perth, featuring a Wavegarden ‘Cove’ surfing lagoon, boutique surf hotel, health and wellness centre, co-working offices, functions and event spaces, surf performance academy, as well as a beach club and restaurants in Cockburn, approximately 15 kilometres south of Perth’s CBD.

Images: Pro Zarautz Champion Gony Zubizaretta test the Wavegarden Cove technology (top), Wavegarden technology at The Wave attraction near Bristol in United Kingdom (middle) and Aventuur's concepts for its Perth surf park (below).