This is real. This is real. Snowdonia is real.
Just two weeks ago, Surf Snowdonia in the United Kingdom opened its doors to the public, boasting the most technologically advanced man-made wave to date. Today, in partnership with Red Bull, Surf Snowdonia announced they will be hosting the first-ever stadium-style surf contest where 2,500 spectators will sit right in the middle of the action as their favorite surfers perform in perfectly uniform waves.
“By generating waves on demand, giving every surfer equal opportunity and without the wave lottery that can come with unpredictable ocean swells, the event will also unveil a fresh, exciting format brand new to surfing, said Red Bull in a press release. “Unhindered by having to juggle conventional surf event parameters such as ocean swell, tide and local winds, Surf Snowdonia’s lagoon offers the ideal blank canvas for surfers to express themselves.”
The contestants, whose names have not yet been released, will consist of 20 international surfers and 4 UK surfers to compete in a no-waiting-period format in the beautiful Welsh countryside on September 18th and 19th. The unique “match play format” will allow surfers a maximum of five waves per match. The single best wave wins.
“It’s been an awesome process selecting the athletes and coming up with a format that matches something as futuristic as surfing a head high man made wave,” said Red Bull Unleashed Sports Director and former World Championship Tour surfer Jarrad Howse. “With innovation, progression and crowd interaction as themes, I’m really excited about seeing something truly groundbreaking go down.”
Crowd participation? Single best wave? No waiting period? Uniform waves? Certainly looks like times are changing in the world of surfing.
There are 2,500 tickets available at 8 pounds a pop, which puts yet another economic model to the test in forging a new way for future surf contests.
Head to www.redbull.com/unleashed for more information.
