You shredding a perfect wave and you crushing a tall kayak wave with a good pile.
HELP FINISH THE PERFECT WAVE IN KANANAKSIS!
The Alberta River Surfing Association (ARSA) and Alberta Whitewater Association (AWA) are at the final installation stage of the Kananaskis Whitewater adjustable wave. The adjustable wave structure will be finished fabrication in fall 2025. We have $600k in donated services, materials, labour, and cash. We have applied for a $600k matching Alberta Government grant with the Community Facility Enhancement Program that will allow us to install the wave structure. We need your help to win the grant! You can:
WRITE EMAILS / LETTERS OF SUPPORT.
Say that you support the $600k matching grant to complete the Kananaskis Whitewater adjustable wave and give your reasons why.
Letters can be complex or just a simple message that your support awarding the grant to ARSA.
Send the letter to:
president@albertariversurfing.com
We need to add the letter to our grant application.
DONATE FUNDS.
As in past fundraisers and projects, donated funds will be matched by a grant.
Donated funds will be matched by Crowdfunding Alberta. More details are on the crowdfunding campaign.
what should I include in the support letter?
The simplest letter would:
Say you support ARSA receiving the $600k CFEP grant to complete the Kananaskis wave
Include your name and where you live.
The longer letter could also include:
Why you like waves
Why you want this wave
How you start using waves
How you have seen waves benefit others
A photo or photos of you enjoying waves
Positive impacts of the wave like:
Economic impacts
Sport development
Happier Albertans
Better tourism imagery
Environmental benefits
Why you trust the AWA and ARSA to make a successful wave
Any thing else you want to include.
There are more details on this page, in the links on this page, and in the Overview of Kananaskis adjustable wave project.
What is the grant?
Here is Overview of Kananaskis adjustable wave project.
Here is the ARSA adjustable wave CFEP grant application.
When will the wave open?
The fall following the award of the large CFEP grant. The wave opening requires the CFEP grant. The large CFEP grant is applied for in June and awarded in January. The ARSA will apply for the large CFEP grant every year until ARSA is awarded the grant. If ARSA wins the CFEP grant in January 2026 then the wave will be installed and opened in Fall 2026. If the CFEP grant is awarded in Jan 2027 then the wave will be installed and opened in Fall 2027.
What is the project stage?
We are fundraising for the final stage of adjustable wave installation and commissioning. Almost all pre-installation work is complete. Engineering is 95% complete and the structure is being fabricated in summer 2025. Some permits have been approved and some are in process. There will be additional tweaks before installation.
See the "Overview of Kananaskis adjustable wave project" for more information. Below are some project document excerpts.
Project drawings
Project modelling
Waves generating economic impacts
What type of waves will be made?
A wide range of waves types will be made. The adjustable wave plans are the result of an 18 month research project by ARSA, AWA, Surf Anywhere, the University of Ottawa, and MITACS. An adjustable wave will provide excellent surf waves and kayak waves all year including during high flows. Below are some of the waves created during modelling, the waves in the model are 1m wide.
What is the design of the adjustable surf wave?
The adjustable wave consists of the following components.
Berms: Narrow the river to make a wave channel. Berms are made from boulders
Wave channel: Shapes the flow of water over the wave. Wave channel is made from pre cast concrete sections that will be fitted together onsite.
Adjustable kickers: Bolt onto the bottom of the wave channel to make different wave shapes. These will be adjusted by the wave teams to make different wave shapes.
Adjustable walls. Bolt onto the side of the wave channel to control paddle on access to wave and wave shape. These will be adjusted by the wave teams to make different wave shapes.
Tailwater control: Manual adjustable berm openings in tailwater berm to control tailwater elevation and wave height. These will be adjusted by the wave teams to make different wave shapes.
Key design documents are:
06-01 Kan adjustable wave river engineering report Dec 16 2022.pdf.
Will be updated with concrete structure.
06-02 Kan adjustable wave aquatic environmental assessment Jan 12 2023.pdf.
Will be updated with concrete structure.
06-03 Kan adjustable wave structural and fabrication drawings July 11 2025.pdf.
Will be updated as fabrication proceeds in summer / fall 2025.
06-04 Kan adjustable wave geotechnical review Aug 29 2023.pdf
Is there research behind the adjustable wave design?
Yes, the ARSA and AWA completed 18 months of research into adjustable river wave design with Surf Anywhere, University of Ottawa, and MITACS. Wave designs are also informed by design reviews of over 30+ adjustable waves round the world. You can find results of the research here.
Published research papers.
Is there other funding?
Yes! The adjustable wave installation project has lots of confirmed funding and is applying for the large CFEP grant. Details of costs, donations, and revenues are in the "Overview of Kananaskis adjustable wave project".
Donations
Donated materials, services, and labour: $561,660
Revenue
CFEP grant: $584,114
Community fundraising: $30,000
Total revenue: $614,114
Cash costs
Install of structure in river: $390,600
Boulders: Donated
Boulder delivery: $37,800
Engineering and environmental support for install: $95,414
Project management, commissioning planning, operations planning: $48,300
Contingency (6.8% of cash cost): $42,000
Total cash cost: $614,114
Is there other support for the project?
Yes, the project has broad support from government, organizations, and individuals. The project has historical letters of support back to 2020 and current letters from 2025. Some letters of support are in the "Overview of Kananaskis adjustable wave project".
What is the return on investment?
The “Economic impact report for Kananaskis adjustable wave” shows a conservative return on investment of about 2.3 years. This return is based on:
Accessing some of the $60 billion USD annual market for global wave tourism.
The wave generating a conservative $575k a year in new economic activity only possible because of the high quality wave:
$375K annually from new wave user spending
$200k annually from new international events
Wave usage at 30% capacity.
Return the value of the CFEP grant of $585K.
Kananaskis Whitewater currently generates $33M annually in economic activity (AWA, 2024).
Return on investment below is based on economic impacts exceeding the large CFEP grant.
Is there an environmental benefit?
Yes, the waves and whitewater park create a deep attachment to and appreciation of river ecosystem health. The users and spectators develop the connection through prolonged, positive exposure, and the waves are excellent locations for environment education. The whitewater park has been operating since 1984 including in-river construction projects every 5 years with no negative environmental impacts. All whitewater park features include fish passages and the whitewater park is 1.4km downstream of the TransAlta Barrier dam that is a complete barrier to fish passage.
Where is the project location?
The project is located in Kananaskis Whitewater in Kananaskis, Alberta.
Who are the ARSA and AWA?
The Alberta River Surfing Association (ARSA) and Alberta Whitewater Association (AWA) are Alberta registered not for profit societies. The ARSA was founded in 2005. The AWA was founded in 1972.
What organizations have supported the project?
These are some of the organizations have financially supported the project or provided donations of services.
