HANGIN’ 10 IN THE CITY
Wave project would create a ‘cultural anchor for the west end of downtown’
Shauna Diamond surfs on the Bow River at the 10th Street bridge on Tuesday. The Alberta River Surfing Association is in talks with the city to create an urban beach at the site, with wave-generating equipment that could attract adventure-seeking tourists.
Calgarians looking to have fun in the sun might get a new place to hang 10 at a proposed urban beach along the Bow River.
Surfing in Calgary isn’t exactly new, with river riders making use of the natural breaks near the 10th Street bridge for years.
But Neil Egsgard, president of the Alberta River Surfing Association, says Alberta’s surfing community could get a big boost if a plan to create an urban beach gets the green light from the city.
The 10th Street Waves & Urban Beach project would use underwater structures to create adjustable waves for surfers to ride, and Egsgard said the project could being some economic, environmental and cultural benefits to Calgary.
“There’s nothing like this of this quality anywhere in the Western Canada … so this becomes a draw for anybody who wants to access these waves,” Egsgard said.
“It’s an opportunity to improve that section of the riverbank … and create better habitats that’s going to be providing for the animals that are there and come there seasonally.”
Egsgard said designs for the beach have been in the works for years and the man-made wave generators would turn a space that is rarely used into a “cultural anchor for the west end of downtown.” He says the city has been very supportive of the project and a feasibility study has already been completed.
The wave-making technology would come in two parts — one device controls the wave and another regulates the water level. The system could create two waves, one 10-metres-long and another 15-metres-long, at 1.5 metre high.
Chelsea Kenyon has been hitting Calgary ’s surfing spot for about five years and says building a facility dedicated to river sports could bring surfing tourism to Calgary.
“I think it’d be fantastic. There’s definitely enough surfers that would use it and hopefully many more people would join the sport,” she said. “It’s not just surfers, there’s kayakers and paddle boarders and all sorts of different boards that use the wave that I think would benefit from it.”
Because the wave generators can collapse to the river bottom, the ARSA says the project would “completely avoid any effect on river levels during floods” and will be usable all year round, except when there is flooding or heavy ice coverage.
This summer, the ARSA and Surf Anywhere will be working to attract support and raise awareness for the project with the Slam Festival, featuring live music, art and river surfing while celebrating skate and surf culture in the province.
10th Street Wave isn’t the first man-made surfing spot in Alberta. The two groups have already had one success creating artificial waves, building the Mountain Wave in Kananaskis Country in 2014.
The urban beach project is still in the early stages but the association’s website says it could be open to the public sometime between 2023 and 2028. The association estimates the development will cost $6 million to build and could generate around $1.7 million annually in increased tourist and economic activity.