A little over a year ago, we featured a construction project in Austin, TX that ended up being one our most popular Friday Funny posts ever. Just last week, after some legal battles were settled, that attraction has finally opened: North America’s first surf school, NLand, is now welcoming surfers from around the world to Austin, TX!
Located about four hours from the nearest ocean, Texas Hill Country is probably the last place surfers would expect to hang ten, but that’s exactly what they’re doing now that the legal battles are over. The NLand Training Center is a state-of-the-art surf school with a staff of surf coaches from around the world who offer accelerated training for surfers of all levels.
After some delays, the surf school was able to open after NLand reached an agreement with local and state officials over how to regulate the lagoon, a 14-acre body of water with more than 11 million gallons of rainwater collected from the property.
“NLand represents innovation in technology, sustainability and sport,” said Travis County Commissioner Margaret Gómez. “While this innovation outpaced regulation, I am glad an agreement was reached as this project represents the best of Austin.”
To keep its lagoon clean and safe for surfers, NLand has built a state-of-the-art water treatment system that utilizes bio-filtration, permanent media filtration, ozone and chlorine to treat the water. Independent testing shows the water quality meets or exceeds standards set by organizations such as the World Health Organization and the Environmental Protection Agency. The lagoon is 100% self-sustaining, using a system that captures water from the property.
“As a surfer and an engineer, NLand has been a dream of mine for the past 20 years,” said Doug Coors, NLand’s founder. “We have had our share of challenges, but they are behind us and I look forward to sharing our waves with the world.
“My family has a rich history of water conservation and environmental stewardship,” added Coors. “I am proud to continue that tradition of innovation and sustainability.”
The lagoon features waves for surfers of all levels: from head-high, open face waves with a 35-second ride for experts, challenging open face waves for passionate travel surfers, and gentle white water waves for kids and beginners. The lagoon was designed by Wavegarden, a Spanish engineering company dedicated to the design, manufacture, installation and commissioning of wave generating systems and lagoons for surfing and other watersports.
“This is an historic moment for surfers around the globe as our second Wavegarden facility is launched,” said Wavegarden CEO Josema Odriozolad. “Together, we have scaled this project to a level never before seen.”
Check out this video for some Texas surfing action!