Japan to build Surf Stadium before Tokyo 2020
Japan will finally open a wave pool powered by American Wave Machines (AWM) before the start of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
Kelly Slater and his WSL will have to take second place to the new Japanese surf lagoon, currently being built in Shizunami, Shizuoka Prefecture, about 280 kilometers from Tsurigasaki Beach, the official venue of the Olympic surfing program.
The wave pools is expected to open by June 2020.
Several Olympic surfing teams have chosen the region for their pre-competition warm-ups and training sessions.
The pool will produce a large wave every six seconds – ten per minute, allowing users to choose size, shape, and patterns of waves.
Director of the Japanese Surf Association Kimifumi Imoto welcomed the attraction saying, “in the near future, wave pools will be a key part of the optimal training, with repetition of waves on demand.”