Lines in the Snow

BETWEEN THE LINES: Stoked oke surfs two foot fresh water walls in 4 degrees. Photo Supplied

The Alaia event is the first event held in a proper wave pool and is expected to attact a bumper field of surfers who hail from Switzerland, with a hardy bunch entering from the rest of the world.

Due to the nature of landlocked Europe, particularly those who live in Switzerland, the Edelweiss Surf Tour involves surfing on standing waves, river waves and wavepools. Held in association with the Swiss Surfing Association, the event can accommodate more than 80 surfers, who will compete in the snowy lines of Alaïa Bay in water temperatures below 10°C, so pull out the 5 4s, the hoodies, and thermal gear, especially if you're from the warming climes of the southern hemisphere as summer looms.

The best Swiss surfers will compete to win the series as well as to win the Swiss Wavepool Champion title. The final tour results will be announced at the end of this competition, and the Surf Tour Champion will be crowned.

SIX SURFERS: Surfers at Alaia Bay where the water temp can drop to almost zero. Photo Supplied

Athletes are divided into four categories: Open Women, Open Men, Junior Girls and Junior Boys. The competition is based on the World Surf League format, with qualifying heats on Saturday, followed by the finals (Quarterfinals, Semifinals and Finals) on Sunday.

The first edition of the standalone Alaïa Open Winter Cup in December 2021 attracted more than 140 participants from 15 countries, including international professionals such as Maud Le Car, Nadja Erostarbe, Lucia Martino de la Arena, Justin Becret, Marc Lacomare, Marlon Lipke, Lenni Jensen and Kai and Hans Odriozola.

The list of athletes for the 2022 edition will be announced this month. Due to maintenance work in Alaïa Bay, the contest will be held one month earlier than last year, which also means conditions are likely to be less extreme than in 2021 when the water was close to 5°C, with a surprise snowfall.

DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH: Spot the para-glider cruising in from the bottom right. Photo Supplied

Both days of the competition are open to the public. In addition to watching the surfers compete in the contest, there are themed parties that are open to the public on Friday and Saturday evenings. There will also be a traditional brunch on Sunday.

The Swiss Surfing Federation, Swiss Surfing, launched its first interdisciplinary series of Swiss amateur surfing contests in 2022 under the name Edelweiss Surf Tour. This five-stage series started on April 30 with the Oana Open at the Citywave park (a cross between a wave pool and a Flow Rider) in Ebikon, Lucerne.

The next event was the Brämzgi River Jam in June, followed by the Urbansurf Zürich Open at Hardbrücke Zürich (standing wave) at the end of August, the RiverSurfJam Thun in September on the river wave at Mühleschleuse affectionately called “Monster”, with the Alaïa Open Winter Cup closing off the tour in November.

HYBRID SURFING: Yet another mini-wavepool, with elements of the Flow Rider. Photo Supplied

In this unique series, the best surfers in the three disciplines will be crowned out of either Swiss competitors or the international contestants. In addition, the titles of Swiss River Surf Champion, Swiss Stationary Waveriding Champion, and Swiss Wavepool Surfing Champion will each be awarded to a Swiss resident holding a Swiss Surfing Active license. There will also be the crowning of the overall series champion as the Edelweiss Surf Tour Champion.

Participation is open to surfers in the following categories: Women and Men and Junior Girls and Junior Boys up to 18 years old.

Pretty cool ne? Sorry. Pun intended. For further information, please contact the press team via email on presse@alaia.ch - More information at https://alaiabay.ch/aowc/ or www.edelweisssurftour.ch

STANDING RAMP: The RiverSurfJam is becoming popular in Europe. Photo Edelweiss Surf Tour