Wave pools – the good and the bad
You must have heard about the new technology of artificial waves which opened up the path of surfing without needing the ocean.
In this article we collected a few pros and cons to give you a clearer picture.
Pros:
Consistency:
In a wave pool you do not have to worry about the swell. You are the one who signed up for it. There are no flat or blown out days. You can require any size up to 8ft. You can pick the direction too, left handers-right handers.
Different sections:
In the pool they give you the opportunity to have different waves. In a predictable way so you know in advance what to prepare for . There can be steep walls to perform turns. Hollow sections to get barreled and ramps to work on your air game too. If you are not on the level to commit for maneuvers, it’s also possible to just ask for easy, straight waves. This way you can practice the pop ups.
Crowd:
On your session you will find other surfers too but in a more organized scenario. Here the beach priority rules don’t apply .
Everybody floats in line to catch the next wave and the next wave always comes so no one gets frustrated. At the same time because of people choosing wave pools , they are saving place in the oceans so it’s not getting crowded in there .
Safe environment:
Most likely the safest way to learn since you are at the pool. There is plenty of coaches and lifeguards monitoring you during your session. You do not need to fight against the current , the rip tide or be scared of rocks. The only hazard is the pool and the surfboard itself but to avoid any crush you can even require a helmet.
Contra:
Missing mother nature:
It’s the biggest and the only one contra we can talk about. Surfing is supposed to be a sport which connects you to mother nature and helps to understand that you are not in control of anything. You can just adapt to the next wave and do your best to ride it.
If you spend too much time in the pool or generally just learn how to surf in the pool , entering the ocean can be shocking. Reading the ocean is one of the biggest parts of surfing and requires a lot of experience. Losing or not having this skill makes it impossible to practice.
To summarize all things around the pools:
We have to say that it’s definitely worth a few tries. If you are feeling stuck with one of your maneuvers, you can keep on practicing that in the wave pools repeatedly .
Although spending too much time in the wavpool , will lose the soul of the ocean and you will realize that riding a wave is not all.
