 Waves
of the Future
Lets capture the ocean – Indoors!!
“If we can’t take the kids to the ocean, lets bring the
ocean to the kids” – that’s the catch phrase now
sweeping municipalities in Canada when they fully realized the benefits
of installing an indoor wavepool in their general catchment area.
The past decade in British Columbia alone has seen 8 such indoor
facilities completed with another 4 presently on the drawing board.
Alberta is fast following the trend.
Recreation and leisure swimming has been revolutionized throughout
the country since the advent of the indoor wavepool in Canada during
the mid ’80s. The wavepool has, without doubt, proven to be
the Number 1 draw at municipal facilities which have taken the plunge
and introduced surf into their once traditional, clinical and sterile
competitive environment.
“Gimme the waves” is a common chant heard in British
Columbia wavepools. Try getting the public out in a hurry –
they’re hooked!!!
A sea of heads bobbing up and down in unison in a ram-jammed plethora
of water – a typical sight on any day at any municipal wave
pool in Canada.
Excitement abounds, shrieks are inevitable, enjoyment is guaranteed
– whatever age one might be.
The ability to frolic at a beach, indoors at your favorite municipal
pool, is now available and fast being adopted by budget conscious
cities and towns eager to satisfy their residents, increase user
generated revenue and thereby reduce operating deficits.
Progressive Canadian municipalities are considering new wavepool
additions and/or retrofitting their existing stock to provide wave
making capabilities.
The wave is on!!
Ever since Moses parted the waves in biblical times, man has had
a fascination with moving water.
Many successful attempts have been made to capture the natural
ocean phenomenon over the past 4 decades and utilize it indoors
in a controlled environment. It has resulted in great strides in
marine and ship design. The ability to study the effects of the
ocean on coastal stability, harbours, breakwaters and jetties has
been greatly enhanced through the ability to create wave simulation
in a laboratory environment.
Pioneered in Europe, primarily Germany, Holland and the United
Kingdom, the design of the wave machine has taken on many forms
in recent years.
The earliest reports of its use in the United Kingdom date back
to 1936 at the Porto Bello open air baths in Edinburgh. This was
the only known pool with operational wave making equipment in the
UK until the “surge” of new wave pool construction began
in the early ’70s.
At that time there were only 3 established methods of successfully
producing waves that were put to practical use:
- the “swing arm” type of equipment
- compressed air
- the reaction of a falling column of water
1. The "swing arm" type of equipment involved submerged, movable
parts. This method has been somewhat abandoned over the years in
favour of the more popular compressed air method since it involves
less maintenance, is more economic, and has no submerged moving
parts.
2. The compressed air method has since been extensively developed
and has resulted in many patented systems which now create an infinite
variety of wave patterns and sizes. Utilizing compressed air, the
waves are initiated in a subdivided concrete chamber which will
usually extend along the short side or “throat” of the
pool. Compressed air is introduced on to the surface of water in
the chambers creating oscillation of this water within the chambers
which results in the wave generation in the pool.
3. The reaction of a falling column of water was first used in
Arizona in the early ’70s in a large lagoon at Tempe. The lagoon
was about 400 ft. (122m) x 300 ft. (92m) with a maximum depth of
9 ft. (2.7m) and was provided with water treatment equipment. The
waves were 5 ft. (1.5m) high, so that surf riding could be indulged
in. The water was pumped to a prearranged height at one end of the
pool. It was then released through underwater gates and then, flowing
over a weir (reef), formed the waves which swept across the lagoon.
This method has also since been modified and further advanced over
the years. Affectionately known in Britain as “the dump”
it can now create tidal waves up to 10 ft. (3m) in height for boogie
boarding and surfing. The use of this method is somewhat limited
indoors however by virtue of the space required to achieve such
large waves and the fact that they are sporadic in nature.
Recent exciting innovations in wave making technology include:
-
A circular sphere which can be introduced into a “traditional”
pool and activated to generate waves on demand. The sphere can
be used in any type of pool with no reconstruction necessary.
In just minutes the ball will create waves which can be adjusted
in size and shape to suit a program of choice. A Belgian invention
and extensively used in Europe, it was recently successfully
introduced to New Zealand at the Henderson Pool, Auckland, (the
1990 Commonwealth Games aquatic complex) to provide for additional;
“life after the Games” recreational use.
-
A valve operated wave generation system that can be retrofitted
within the confines of a traditional, existing pool tank. This
system forces water through side vents into the pool thereby
churning the surface. The waves can be set at varying heights
and the system can be turned off when calm water is required.
The waves can vary from 8 inches to 24 inches in height. To
contain the waves a sectional perimeter wall system, a collar-like
device is temporarily attached to the perimeter of the pool
which can be quickly taken apart when the pool is converted
back to waveless swimming.
There are other forms of wave generation. However, the foregoing
summarizes those perhaps best suited to an indoor wave pool environment
and consumers’ budgets.
In the ’70s and early ’80s wave machines were used extensively
throughout the USA in outdoor water parks. Larger areas that were
required to accommodate large pools to accommodate big waves had
become the norm. 6,000 sq. ft. was the minimum area for a wavepool
recommended by North American manufacturers and the wave would need
to be 3 ft. – 4 ft. minimum in height.
To be successful indoors the outdoor wavepool had to be scaled
down to a size both conducive to indoor use and to suit the municipal
budget.
The Europeans had successfully scaled their equipment down since
the mid ’70s during the “indoor wavepool mania” that
seemed to strike during that time.
So, it was to European manufacturers and the European technology
that most Canadian pool designers initially turned to produce the
equipment for use in wavepools in Canada.
Smaller waves, 600mm to 1m in height, became the accepted and recommended
size to suit smaller (3,000 – 4,000 sq. ft.) indoor wavepools,
to minimize freeboard around the pool and reduce the “cavern
like” effect of perimeter walls. (The freeboard is the height
required to contain the waves and is usually one half the height
of the wave generated.).
Other things were introduced into Canadian designed wavepools to
make them more exciting and not “just waves”:
- Rapid channels, to catch a piece of the wave and regenerate
it back onto itself to create more interesting areas of “splash”
within the pool.
- Underwater ledges, weirs, islands, boats, decorative features
and interactive waterplay devices to create interest and exciting
places and areas of respite within the waves – all to provide
that “entertainment factor” and simulate more closely
the natural phenomenon of the far off ocean shores.
- Extensive deck level access points to ease access into the water
and nullify the freeboard at specific points of entry.
- The utilization of the wave equipment air compressor for other
uses within the pool – bubble machines, etc.
- Theming was introduced to give character and identity to public
spaces by adding artifacts and particular design features true
to a period, place or story.
The result – our neighbours south of the border were visiting
Canadian facilities (particularly in British Columbia) in large
numbers to see how it was done and very soon we had alternate U.S.
sources for those scaled down wave machines – at scaled down
prices.
Who had ever heard of Coquitlam, Matsqui, Langley, Saanich, Richmond?…
yet they are all now on the essential “tour list” for
most international indoor leisure pool designers, municipal staff
and politicians when they visit British Columbia to specifically
review successful indoor wavepool facilities. Washington State and
Oregon are the latest to see some of the indoor wavepool benefits
(year round access to the ocean) for a climate much like our own
and have started to build such exciting facilities in their states.
The Canadian style wavepool phenomenon is also having a tsunami
effect elsewhere around the world. New Zealanders discovered the
benefits of the wavepool only 4 years ago after visiting British
Columbian facilities. In far away New Zealand they have already
constructed 5 exciting wavepools in that time, have 2 more under
construction and many others at design and design development stage.
Despite all the above, the indoor wavepool is, as yet, in its infancy
in Canada but the baby is here to stay and is growing fast. Certainly
it is the wave of the future.
“If we can’t take the kids to the ocean” –
The message to all Canadian and American municipalities is coming
over loud and clear …“Let’s bring the ocean to the
kids”. See you there; let’s all make waves!!
Vic Davies, President of Vic Davies Architect Ltd., Victoria,
British Columbia, specializes in leisure, recreation and aquatic
centre design in Canada, USA, New Zealand and Australia and has
been responsible for many successful and exciting wavepool designs
throughout the world.
Published in Cornerstones, A Fitness, Facility
& Recreation Management Journal Vol. 4 Issue 2
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