From Desert Pools to Asian Games Dreams: A Week of Waves Worth Watching
There's something special about a week that delivers a brand-new wave pool in the California desert, a crew of Bangladeshi surfers chasing Olympic glory against all odds, and Maui's finest throwing down at one of the heaviest reefs on the planet. It's the kind of mix that reminds you surfing — and wave riding in all its forms — is a global language spoken in very different dialects.
Wavegarden Drops a Machine in the Coachella Valley
First up, California just got its second Wavegarden-powered facility, and it's sitting about 100 miles from the actual ocean. DSRT Surf in the Coachella Valley is now officially online, and by all accounts, it's a beast. The Spanish tech company claims the pool can crank out 1,000 waves per hour with a 'definitive catalogue of more than 60 world-class waves.' That includes a dedicated aerial training setting pumping ramp sections every 30 seconds, plus a barrel mode they call the 'Twister' — described as powerful, wide, and technical.
Jacob 'Zeke' Szekely, who got early access, didn't hold back: 'I never imagined I would be testing aerial waves in the middle of the desert. Wavegarden has about seven incredible waves for turns, five for barrels, and around 12 variations for aerials. It's the best wave pool in the world.' John Luff, co-founder of Beach Street Holdings, added that the barrel 'is so long that it actually gives you time to take a conscious breath in there.' Sessions are expected to start around $60 an hour — notably cheaper than Palm Springs Surf Club's $100 entry point. No public booking date is locked in yet, but 'late summer' is the target. For photographers, this means a controlled, repeatable canvas with insane variety. For surfers, it's a training ground that doesn't care about swell direction or tide.
Bangladesh's Surf Girls and Boys Club Chases History
Half a world away, on the 120-kilometer stretch of Cox's Bazar, the stakes are different but the passion is identical. Bangladesh's surfers are preparing for the Asian Games in Japan this September, where surfing makes its debut. For 16-year-old Fatima Akhter and 25-year-old Mohammad Mannan, it's the culmination of years fighting stigma, family pressure, and a total lack of infrastructure.
'The moment I step onto the board, I forget everything else,' Akhter said. 'When I successfully ride a wave, I feel happy and fulfilled. The feeling is impossible to describe.' Mannan, who started selling seashell jewelry on the beach to help his family, refused to quit when his parents pushed him toward academics. 'I believed surfing would eventually grow,' he told AFP. 'Surfing isn't a lucrative sport in Bangladesh now, but nobody can say it never will be.' He studies John John Florence on YouTube to refine his technique, noting the gap: 'Surfers from other countries are different, because they have better boards, bigger waves, and travel frequently to different countries. It's impossible to understand an ocean if you've never surfed there.' Their club operates out of a weather-beaten white shack. Their ambitions stretch as far as the beach is long.
Maui Windsurfers Put on a Show at Cloudbreak
Back in the lineup proper, Fiji's Cloudbreak served up 13-foot perfection for the Fiji Surf Pro, and Maui's windsurfing contingent answered the call. Bernd Roediger took the win with an 18.07 final score, despite competing on a strained ACL and having not windsurfed for over a month. 'It's an incredible feeling. I've wanted to win here since the last Fiji event in 2023, but to actually win it is totally different. So many things have to go your way. It's like a blessing,' he said.
Morgan Noireaux, also from Maui, dropped the highest single wave of the event — a 9.5-point ride — but inconsistent winds kept him from a backup score, leaving him third overall. France's Antoine Martin split them in second. The carnage was real: four rigs destroyed, Australia's Jaeger Stone suffered a broken foot. On the women's side, Australia's Jane Seman ran the table, winning all three finals and reclaiming the Cloudbreak title she first took in 2022. For anyone with a camera, Cloudbreak at that size is the stuff portfolios are made of — thick lips, mechanical barrels, and the kind of consequence that separates the prepared from the lucky.
Three Worlds, One Obsession
What ties these stories together? A desert pool engineered for perfection, a Bangladeshi beach where surfing is an act of rebellion, and a Fijian reef that demands everything you've got. Different tools, different backdrops, different stakes. But the feeling Fatima described — that moment on the board where everything else disappears — that's the universal constant. Whether you're booking a $60 session at DSRT Surf, watching the Asian Games in September, or studying Cloudbreak footage for your next trip, you're part of the same tribe. Just maybe bring a better board than Mannan has access to.
