For the first time, Germany announced that its national surfing champions will be crowned in a wave pool. From October 11-13, shortboard, SUP, and adaptive surfing champs will be decided at Munich’s shiny new pool, O2 SURFTOWN MUC – the first look at Endless Surf’s technology.
The previous two years the German champs were crowned on French beaches. Now they’re doing it on their home soil. It may seem like an inconsequential development in the grand scheme of surfing, but in my opinion, it’s a clue that hints at much larger things to come: the day wave pools collide with the Olympics.
First off, I’m on record stating that I strongly believe that wave pool technology (as it exists today) should not be used in the next two editions of the Olympics that feature good surf breaks – LA 2028 and Brisbane 2032. But this isn’t about what I want. I can see the writing on the wall. Wave pools and the Olympics are on a collision course somewhere down the line. It could be in this decade, it could be in several decades. This small event in Germany is just another step in that direction.
The German surfers who will represent their nation at the next edition of the ISA World Surfing Games (WSG) will presumably be picked via their performances in the wave pool. The 2028 Olympic qualification system hasn’t been released yet, so we don’t know if the 2025 WSG, or even 2026, will play a role in the Olympic qualification. But let’s assume the Germans continue to select their teams in Munich for the entire 2028 Olympic cycle; there will be surfers who qualified in a pool vying for Olympic slots at the WSG.
Wave pools have already been used for Olympic training. For example, Team USA trained at the wave pool in Makinohara, Japan ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. But the Germans are now the first to insert wave pools directly into the Olympic qualification process via the source: national team selection. And for those thinking that German surfing is irrelevant, remember that two Germans competed in Paris 2024 and one competed in Tokyo 2020. It wouldn’t be surprising to see more Germans surfing in LA 2028, surfers whose journey to the Games started in a pool.
If all goes well in Germany, other wave-deprived national federations will follow suit soon enough. Pools will slowly, but surely, leave their mark on the Olympic surfing realm.
The day will come where the Olympic host doesn’t have a quality surf zone. At that point, the question must be asked: Do we build a pool or look for an offshore location like what Paris did in Tahiti? There is early speculation that the 2036 Olympics will be awarded to Qatar. It would be hard to imagine the leaders in Doha not wanting a pool of their own, or at least opting to borrow Kelly’s pool in the UAE.
Given it appears surfing has more than proven its value to the IOC through its first two appearances, they won’t drop surfing just because there’s no obvious ocean venue. They’ll likely have to give in and use (or build?) a wave pool. If/when that happens, we’ll look back on this small step by the Germans as one of the first clues of what was to come.
