In a sport dependent on the conditions nature serves up, finding a consistent platform on which to practise with a view to the competitive side of the sport can be a tough task.
With the proposed surf park for Auckland’s Dairy Flat, the Australian star surfing coach believes that will improve.
“Conditions dependent, you don’t really know what you’re going to get in as far as training structure,” Hall told the Herald.
“When you have a wave park and consistent waves, then you can make consistent programmes and a bit of structure around surf training.”
When it comes to picking someone’s brains about coaching and training in elite surfing, Hall is as good as you’ll get. This year he has worked with elite surfers such as Kelly Slater, Lakey Peterson, Molly Picklum and Rio Waida on the World Surf League Championship Tour (CT), while his resume also includes working with athletes such as multiple world champion Tyler Wright and her brother, Olympics bronze medalist Owen.
Over the past few years, Hall’s Micro Surf Academy has been working alongside wave park developer Aventuur on a training, coaching and high-performance programme specifically designed for wave pool environments, but tuned towards performance in the ocean.
This week, it was announced that Aventuur had gained resource consent for the proposed Auckland wave park. Work is expected to start late this year with the target of being open for business in early 2027 – if not late 2026.
It’s a project Hall said could help the next generation of Kiwi surfers crack the world’s stage.
“Having a consistent platform to surf, with conditions and in a rugged coastline, it’s not always possible to find waves suitable to practise,” Hall said of New Zealand having limited participation at the top level.
Glenn Hall (left) works with several the world's best surfers, including American Lakey Peterson (right). Photo / Getty Images
“Having a heated pool is going to be really helpful too. With the conditions and the climate, I think that’s a challenge for any countries that get really cold. It can deter surfers at some points in their career, so I feel like that consistency year-round, that’s going to lead to a faster track into elite surfing.”
To date, New Zealand has only had three surfers compete as full-time members of the Championship Tours (CT); Maz Quinn and Ricardo Christie on the men’s side, and Paige Hareb on the women’s.
Former CT surfer Adrian “Ace” Buchan told the Herald he believed access to quality surf was another factor in holding Kiwis back at the high-performance level.
“New Zealand has some incredible talent, but obviously the access to consistent quality surf and the distances that you’ve got to travel here as a keen surfer is that barrier to entry that’s maybe stopping Kiwi surfers reach the world stage,” Buchan suggested.
Artist renders were produced to provide a sense of the aesthetics of the finished Auckland Surf Park project, which has now been granted resource consent.
“There’s been some great surfers. I surfed on tour with both Maz and Ricardo, I’ve obviously competed with Billy [Stairmand] a lot [on the qualifying series] and the talent’s here.
“I think what the park’s going to do is . . . provide a platform for all those young surfers to hone their skills; hopefully take them to the next level, give them that repetition and give them that confidence to know that they can go out and compete on the world stage.”
Taking lessons from the wave pool and putting them into action in competition is something that is now starting to happen at the highest level. In El Salvador this month, Brazil’s Yago Dora performed what Buchan called “some of the most technical airs ever” which he spent some time trying to perfect at the UrbnSurf wave park in Melbourne.
“I think that’s real testament to what these parks can do in a high-performance environment,” Buchan said.
“I think back to my career and it would have been an amazing tool to use for that repetition to hone all the high-end skills. It’s pretty scary to think where it could go.
“We were watching clips of 13-year-old Chinese girls yesterday doing these rotation airs and it’s pretty jaw-dropping to see where the parks are taking high-performance surfing.”
Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.
