The Alberta River Surfing Association (ARSA) is offering river surf lesson in 2024 to ARSA members!
Membership
You need to be an ARSA member to attend lesson.
Purpose
The aims of the lessons are:
Teach river surf safety practices.
Provide a low risk entry point to river surfing. River surfing is challenging and most beginners do not stand up on the wave in their first lesson.
Help river surfers of any ability progress their skills.
Develop surf instruction certification standards so there can be more surf instructors with a shared standard of knowledge. See our “Plan to provide river surf lessons and instructor course” on our Policies and Procedures page.
Age
Lessons are for 18+. Youth lessons for 12 to 17 will be added later in the summer. Custom lessons can be arranged for younger ages or if you want a lesson sooner.
Additional info
Lesson sponsors
Instructor details
harvie passage lessons sign up
Click “Start date” to see available dates.
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kananaskis river lessons sign up
Click “Start date” to see available dates.
The Kananaskis lesson times will be updated three days prior due to TransAlta’s dam release schedule. River flow times can change the day of the lesson without notice. TransAlta may provide no flow without notice.
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custom lessons sign up
For any lessons not listed above including people under 18, private lessons, and groups.
Lessons Sponsors
Lessons Instructors
Our river surf instructors are:
ARSA certified river surfing instructors
First aid and CPR trained
Swift Water Rescue certified
Experienced river surfers with over 9 years surfing on the Mountain Wave
BRANDON OLSTHOORN
The water has always had a magnetic draw for me. In 2010, I caught the travel and surf bug. The challenge of a new sport in a foreign country was incredibly alluring to me and I became obsessed. Ocean surfing has taken me to worldwide destinations such as Sri Lanka, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico and Canada’s west coast. Of all those places, my favourite spot to surf on earth is right here in Alberta, at the Mountain Wave. I started surfing the Mountain wave when it was buillt in 2014 and have surfed it regularly, all year, ever since.
Introducing new people to the Mountain has been something I have wanted to do for a long time. Lessons are needed for our community to provide safety knowledge and awareness. I cannot wait to get you up and shredding the most beautiful wave on earth.
DAVID MANNING
I have been canoe tripping since before I was big enough to hold a paddle and have spent much of my life on the water ever since. Highlights include competing at World Junior Champs as a member of the National Jr Whitewater Slalom team, coaching the National Team around Europe, Australia and North America, a nine day floatplane access canoe trip on part of the David Thompson route in Northern Saskatchewan, hunting for river surf waves, taking students on multi-day paddling trips as a Mid-High School Outdoor Education teacher in Calgary and especially working for the Alberta River Surfing Association and Bow Valley SUP & SURF! I have been river surfing the Mountain wave for many years and have been kayaking and SUPing the Kananaskis River for over 35 years. The rise of popularity of river surfing has been such a fun and exciting way to teach people of all ages river safety and how to have incredible adventures on the water.
ANDREA JUSKA
Hey there, I'm Andrea Juska, I have been surfing since a trip to Hawaii in 2014. From the moment I caught my first wave, I was hooked. Before I started surfing I dabbled in quite a few other activities, but never felt that stoke that other people seemed to have when they were out climbing, biking, running etc. When I discovered river surfing I finally got that for myself and it gives me a feeling of fulfillment I never had from any other sport. Since then, I've been chasing waves, from different coastlines around the world, to exploring rivers and man made wave machines. I love how even a familiar break can feel different depending on the day and that surfing is just as much a mental challenge as a physical endeavor.
Beyond the waves, I'm an avid volunteer with the Alberta River Surfing Association (ARSA). Volunteering with ARSA allows me to give back to the community that has given me so much. My typical activities are surf polo games, organizing social events, and judging at our annual Mountain Wave Classic.
There's nothing quite like seeing the joy on someone's face when they catch their first wave. Guiding newcomers through their surfing journey, building their confidence, and instilling in them a deep respect for the water is incredibly rewarding. I'm looking forward to sharing the stoke with our students and helping ARSA introduce people safely to the sport we love.
TYLER MILLER
Born and raised in Elliot Lake ON, I grew up in the water. I attended Lakehead University where I studied Outdoor Recreation, Parks and Tourism and started playing around in white water. I fell in love with white water kayaking but when I moved out to Calgary to pursue my teaching career, I didn’t know many people to get out kayaking with. Eventually I learnt about river surfing and traded in my boat for a board.
My river surfing experience started at 10th St wave in 2018. I rented a board and frolicked in the river for hours just trying to get into the pocket. Despite little success at first, I was committed to figuring it out and made it my summer goal. I was fortunate enough to have a handful of people that were in the same boat as me and we fed off each other all summer. Once I felt comfortable with my abilities, I challenged myself to tackle The Mountain wave in 2020 and was completely hooked once I was able to stand up! Since then I’ve tried to get out whenever I had some extra time on my hands for both surfing and the community.
The main reason why I wanted to become a river surfing instructor is to provide for a growing community that gave me so much. There wasn’t much formal instruction when I first started, we learnt through experience. If I can provide a bit of insight or starting point for someone who wants to try river surfing then this is one of the best ways to help. I think it is also very important for it to be taught in a safe way with respect for the river at the forefront. I would primarily like to teach on the Kan but would also be open to teaching at Harvie’s Passage despite my limited knowledge/experience there. I feel as though I can teach any of the options other than the 'Trick Advanced course' but I feel confident in all other aspects of river surfing and teaching it.
DAVID ROUSSEAU
I started ocean surfing around 2003 when I moved to Cape Town, South Africa. From then on, I was hooked and included an ocean nearby to my choice of places to live: Peru, Ireland, England, Nicaragua. I also traveled to Australia, the Galapagos, the Mentawais islands, Bali specifically to surf. I got into river surfing in 2018 after seeing someone surfing 10th Street Bridge in Calgary, I decided to get involved with the Alberta River Surfing Association and helped with waves advocacy, kan wave upgrade, and social media for the association. I now would like to pursue this commitment by becoming an Alberta-certified river surfing instructor and offering lessons to beginners at Harvie Passage, and contributing to the growth of the sport and its community.
RHYS CLARK
I started surfing in 2011 in San Diego then any time I was somewhere surfable I would. I've surfed Up and Down Costa Rica, in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Zanzibar, and on the Gold Coast in Australia. I was introduced to river surfing 5 years ago by a friend then got into it full time just over three years ago and haven't looked back since. I have been a Primary Care Paramedic for 19 years, and I use surfing as a great way to keep my mental health up. I will incorporate my focus on mental health to help inspire new surfers to deal with the challenges of trying something new. I will show surfers how to safely use the Mountain Wave. I want to do this to introduce newer surfers to the Mountain Wave and get them to a place where they can safely use the wave and have fun.