Page 20 - XperienceAlberta-EDA-2025

IF YOU BUILD IT
THEY WILL SURF
Photos: Rongqin Su
20
Innovative Albertans engineer
fun in freshwater
BY LIAM NEWBIGGING
WHEN DAVID ROUSSEAU moved to Alberta in 2012, he
thought his surfing career had been landlocked. As an ocean surfer,
he trotted the globe for years, working in the adventure tourism
industry, moving from his home in France to explore the United
Kingdom, South Africa, Peru and Nicaragua.
He never expected to catch a wave in the heart of Calgary,
Alberta’s largest city. But under the 10th Street Bridge, skyscrapers
towering overhead, he discovered river surfing for the first time. It
wasn’t long before he was riding a similar wave for the first time on
the emerald waters of the Kananaskis, a mountain river originating in
the Canadian Rockies.
“I remember being profoundly present in the moment,” Rousseau
says. “The chaotic sound of the rushing water and that incredibly
satisfying sense of gliding over the surface of the wave.”
River surfing is a relatively new water sport, arriving in Alberta in
the mid-2000s. It was brought over by Ben Murphy, who was inspired
by riding a river wave in Germany. Shortly after returning to Canada,
he was in the mountains, seeking out the right conditions for a wave.
Since then, the sport has grown in the province, with shops in Calgary
XPERIENCE ALBERTA 2 0 2 5 stocking river surfing boards and more people discovering the sport.
A proper surfing wave requires shallow, fast-moving currents with
high volume. In these conditions, when the water flows over a rock, it
creates a hydraulic jump, which lets a surfer face the current and ride the
water without actually moving. Rivers like the Kananaskis in the Rocky
Mountains and the Bow in Calgary are ideal spots.
Rousseau says that while it’s a bit different and there’s a learning
curve, there are a lot of transferable skills between ocean and river
surfing. And where ocean surfers are limited to only 10-20 seconds, on the
river you can ride a wave for minutes.
Today, Rousseau is one of the Albertans spearheading the sport with
Alberta River Surfing Association. It’s a Calgary-born non-profit dedicated
to growing the sport and maintaining the waves. As an instructor, he
loves the moment when a new surfer finds “the pocket” for the first time
and the smiles that come with it.
While the organization currently oversees three active waves — the
Mountain Wave and the Santa Claus in Kananaskis Country in the
Rockies and the Harvie Passage wave in Calgary, there may be more to
come very soon to the Calgary area.
“Land-locked surfing — the ability to surf away from the ocean — is
a sport that is exploding right now, mostly led by Europe,” Rousseau says,
adding that Alberta has seen its fair share of growth.
Right now, a manmade adjustable wave, one that Rousseau says
would rival anything they have across the pond, is under development
EDAAlberta.ca