What is special about the Surf-DM in Munich?
For the first time in surfing history, the German Championships are actually taking place on German soil. Up to now the competitions have mostly taken place on the French Atlantic coast, but now there are newly opened surf town near Munich a pool with a wave that is two meters high and lasts over 15 seconds. This makes the facility the largest surf pool in Europe and interesting for professional surfers.
Why Munich of all places?
Surfing has been present in the Bavarian capital for four decades. In the 1980s, the Eisbach wave was accidentally created during the construction of an artificial river through the English Garden. Although surfing was forbidden there for years, a scene has formed around the standing wave at Haus der Kunst that attracts hundreds of onlookers every day. With the newly opened Surftown, Munich now has Germany’s first running wave, the kind that can be found in the ocean.
How is it different from a contest at sea?
The wave at Surftown is completely configurable and “clinically pure” – conditions like these do not exist in any natural surfing location in the world. Weather and ocean currents are never 100 percent predictable, which is why events like the German Championships have previously been much more difficult to organize and market through the media. Co-national coach Martin Walz hopes that, unlike on the beach, a “stadium atmosphere” will develop in Surftown and that in the medium term “new sponsors from completely different fields” will be interested in surfing in Germany.
Spectacle at Munich Airport: What is on offer?
Admission on site, near Munich Airport, is free on all three days. Surfing takes place on the “longboard”, i.e. a long surfboard, as well as in the “shortboard” category, which is usually just called “open” and promises spectacular jumps and maneuvers. In addition, people with disabilities show off their skills in “Adaptive Surfing”.
For example, Ben Neumann from Garmisch-Partenkirchen, who can ride the waves in the surf town blind despite his lack of eyesight. The new German champions are also being sought in “stand-up paddling” (SUP for short).
What is the Surf DM schedule?
- Friday, October 11th: Qualifications 8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m
- Saturday, October 12th: Qualifications 8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m
- Sunday, October 13th: Finals 8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m
Surf-DM: Who is at the start?
The field of participants includes up to 120 athletes. Included are, among others, all three German surfers who have made it to the Olympics so far: Leon Glatzer, for whom the Surftown is already his second home, as well as the Tahiti participants Camilla Kemp and Tim Elter. Also taking part is Janina Zeitler from Munich, who at the age of 23 has already won two German and one European championship titles. “German championships are very important,” said the native of Munich in the BR24Sport interview: “You can show the country what you can do.”
