River waves · building, running, surfing

Operators and operation: who runs a river wave and how it works

A river wave is not finished once it is built. Someone has to control it, supervise it, insure it, maintain it and regulate access – on every surf day, for years. Who that is decides on safety, on costs and on whether an authority permits the installation at all. This article sets the operating models that actually exist in the German-speaking countries side by side, explains the legal basis and shows how the clubs organise their operation. It is an overview, not a recommendation: which model suits the Rems is for the initiative to decide together with the municipality. → Case studies

Three models that really exist

A fourth model stands at the margin: the commercial operator. The.Riverwave in Ebensee is run by a company, with day tickets, annual passes and supervision during opening hours. It is the exception among river waves and is not an option for a citizens' project like the Remswelle; we mention it for the sake of completeness.

The club is the model of all newer German installations. The Nürnberger Dauerwelle holds the site on a long-term lease from the city, the Leinewelle operates its installation with a water-law permit from the Hanover Region, the blackforestwave in Pforzheim with a permit from the municipal environment office and a usage approval from the municipal utilities as operator of the canal. What they all have in common: the club is the authority's contractual partner, it bears the duty of care for public safety, it insures the operation, and it regulates who surfs when.

The municipality can provide a wave as a public sports facility, just as it provides a kickabout pitch or a skate park. Salzburg did that in 2010: the city council decided on construction in 2008, the city built the wooden ramp and has made the wave available free of charge ever since – use at your own risk, in daylight only, without supervision, with the rules on a sign. Selected surfers have a key for fine-tuning the ramp. That works for a small, calm wave with a scene of a few dozen active surfers. There is no German example of this model so far. In Baden-Württemberg the basis would be the usage regulations for a public facility under the Municipal Code, as municipalities issue them for halls and sports grounds.

Tolerance is not a model one chooses – it arises where a wave is simply there. In Thun, the canton and the city consent to surfing beneath the historic regulating weirs; the club Flusssurfen Thun has no structure, but statutes, rules and, since 2020, a protection concept that the authorities approved within a few days. At the Eisbach, the city of Munich regulates surfing by general order as common use, without an operator, without supervision. What that means when things go wrong is shown in the section on liability. → Case study Thun · → Case study Eisbach

The club: founding, non-profit status, federations

In practice, a club for a river wave is founded early – years before construction. The Nürnberger Dauerwelle was founded in 2012 and opened in 2022, the blackforestwave in 2017 and surfing began in 2021, the Surffreunde Augsburg by their own account worked on the idea for many years before going public in 2020. The reason is practical: only a registered association (e.V.) can sign contracts, apply for grants, issue donation receipts and insure members.

Non-profit status follows from the promotion of sport under section 52 paragraph 2 number 21 of the German Fiscal Code (Abgabenordnung); the Nuremberg statutes expressly name river surfing as the purpose. Non-profit status is a prerequisite for donation certificates, for admission to the state sports confederation and for most funding programmes. Volunteers can receive a tax-free expense allowance: the trainer allowance (Übungsleiterfreibetrag) has stood at 3,300 euros a year since 2026, the volunteer allowance (Ehrenamtspauschale) at 960 euros. The Nuremberg statutes provide for such expense allowances and also for paid staff as an option; whether a club makes use of this is not published – all four German clubs describe themselves as run purely by volunteers.

The federation question is an open point for Baden-Württemberg. The clubs in Nuremberg and Augsburg are members of the Bavarian State Sports Association, the Leinewelle of the Lower Saxony State Sports Confederation and of the German Surfing Federation. The Württemberg State Sports Confederation (WLSB) admits a club only if it is a member of at least one of its specialist federations – and among its 56 specialist federations there is none for surfing or Rapid Surfing. The German Surfing Federation has no state associations; from Baden-Württemberg, only the Surfclub Leonberg is a member. Which route into the state sports confederation is open to a surf club in the state must be clarified with the WLSB before founding, because sports insurance and club funding depend on membership. → Costs and funding

Liability: who bears the risk?

Whoever operates a sports facility bears the duty of care for public safety. According to case law, it requires the precautions that are "necessary and reasonable under the specific circumstances" – not protection against every conceivable risk. Whoever uses a facility accepts the general risks of sporting activity; what must be averted are dangers that go beyond the usual risk of the facility. For a river wave this means: a run-out zone free of obstacles, shutdown or lowering during floods, briefing, rules, supervision. The notice "at your own risk" does not release the operator from these basic duties; it presupposes that users know the risks and accept them voluntarily. That is why the clubs have people complete a briefing and sign a liability waiver before their first surf; in Nuremberg this happens at check-in half an hour before the slot.

For the people in the club, the legislator has limited liability. Volunteer board members and members are liable to the club only in cases of intent and gross negligence (sections 31a and 31b of the German Civil Code, BGB), and anyone held liable by a third party has a claim to indemnification against the club. The Nuremberg statutes adopt this expressly: the board is liable only for intent and gross negligence, and the club is not liable to its members for slight negligence during sporting activities where no insurance cover exists.

What happens when nobody bears responsibility has been on show in Munich since 2025. After the fatal accident in April 2025 and the ban on boards attached by a leash, the Eisbach wave lost its shape. The city offered a trial with a ramp – on condition that the surfers take over responsibility and liability. The Surf Club München withdrew in December 2025 because it did not want to bear the structural proof, costs, liability and permanent availability. In January 2026 the city, the Interessengemeinschaft Surfen in München and the Surf Club reached an agreement: the surfers take over responsibility and liability for the trial, the city the structural investigation and availability via its control centres. By September 2026 the ramp had not been implemented; in August 2026 the municipal property department made clear that the legal assessment changes as soon as things are placed in the watercourse to create a wave – then there are inspection and maintenance duties and someone who has to bear them. At a planned wave, that is exactly the role the operating body fills from the very beginning. → Case study Eisbach

Insurance

The clubs insure their operation through the sports insurance of their state sports confederation. In Württemberg that is the ARAG sports insurance of the WLSB: it covers members, officials, trainers, employees, appointed helpers and course participants at club events; the liability cover pays for personal injury and property damage at a flat 10 million euros and includes property and land ownership including sports facilities; the accident insurance pays 7,500 euros in the event of death and up to 190,000 euros for disability. Not insured are, among other things, damage caused by flooding and accidents from 1.1 per mille blood alcohol; non-members can be included via supplementary insurance. The prerequisite is full membership of the WLSB – which brings us back to the federation question.

In practice this means: in Pforzheim the membership fee expressly covers insurance during active surfing operation, in Augsburg only club members may surf in the first step for insurance-law reasons, and day memberships are under consideration. Nuremberg and Hanover admit guests via booked slots with a liability waiver. Which policy a club holds in detail, none of them publishes.

Safety in operation

The operating rules of the four German clubs resemble each other, because they arose from the same experiences:

• Supervision. In Pforzheim a wave warden and two lifeguards are on site at every session, in Hanover two volunteer "wavemasters" who control the wave, give briefings and have the last word on breaches of the house rules, in Augsburg two wave wardens with lifeguard training; in Nuremberg wave wardens and lifeguards look after every slot. Augsburg has had around 50 volunteers trained by the Wasserwacht and DLRG, at its own expense.
• Equipment. Helmets compulsory in Nuremberg (bicycle helmet permitted) and Pforzheim, in Hanover compulsory for young people and strongly recommended for everyone; in Pforzheim additionally an impact vest. Leashes are banned in Pforzheim, permitted in Hanover only as a release leash, and in Nuremberg a magnetic leash is recommended or none at all. The reason is the accident at the Eisbach in 2025, in which leash and board caught on boulders in the river bed; since May 2026 Munich requires a leash that releases under load.
• Admission. Minimum age twelve years and 35 kilograms in Nuremberg, 18 years in Hanover with supervised youth slots from age eight; confident swimmers everywhere; alcohol ban in Augsburg. Only ever one person on the wave.
• Installation. A run-out zone free of obstacles, emergency exits, lowering of the ramp during floods – these are conditions of the permit, not optional extras. → Ecology and permits

Slots, fees, guests

Surfing takes place in booked time windows. Nuremberg admits ten to twelve people per slot, Hanover ten (eight in winter) in one-hour slots with runs of around 30 seconds; booking is online, in Nuremberg 14 days in advance with cancellation up to 48 hours beforehand, in Hanover at most three slots in advance. Pforzheim allocates member slots internally and opens to non-members only on open-surf dates with online booking, liability waiver and safety video. Augsburg gives members four free slots a month; further ones cost five euros.

Fees range from 100 to 240 euros a year for adults, with reductions for young people, students, apprentices, families and supporting members; sometimes a fixed number of slots is included, further ones cost five to ten euros. Guests pay 15 to 20 euros for a slot of 60 to 90 minutes. The clubs stress that the operation is not commercial: fees, donations and sponsors cover insurance, federation, maintenance and electricity for the control system, not salaries.

Demand exceeds supply. Nuremberg counts around 500 members in 2026 who surf seven days a week, and is advertising its next courses for spring 2027; Hanover had over 400 members and more than 2,400 surf hours in its first year of operation; Pforzheim grew from 175 members at the opening in 2021 to over 200; in Thun the club has over 400 members by its own account. → Questions and objections

Volunteers: what they carry and where the limits are

Volunteers built the German river waves. More than 2,000 hours went into the construction in Nuremberg, more than 1,000 in Pforzheim, where the members made and installed the ramp themselves; in Hanover the volunteers organise themselves in working groups for wavemasters, safety, administration, youth, events, finances, press and software. Nuremberg runs its operation with around 60 volunteers as lifeguards, maintenance team, event organisers and administrators of the booking platform.

The limit is continuous operation. A wave that runs seven days a week needs two to three people with lifeguard training on each of those days – for years. Pforzheim is expressly looking for lifeguards, Nuremberg is continually recruiting helpers. Maintenance comes on top: in Salzburg a volunteer team takes on the annual maintenance during the Almabkehr (the annual draining of the canal) together with the canal master, in Pforzheim the club keeps spawning seasons free and cleans the watercourse. Whether compulsory duties for members, expense allowances or a paid staff member are the answer, no club has publicly described so far; the statutes in Nuremberg keep both open. Anyone planning a wave should open this calculation early – surf days times supervisors times years. At Die Finals 2026 in Hanover, the volunteers had to close the gates at times because the crowds were too large: a luxury problem, but one that costs people.

What this means for the Remswelle

For Winterbach the operating model has not been decided, and this article does not decide it. Three things can nevertheless be derived from the other waves. First: the operator model and operating rules belong in the feasibility assessment, not in the time after it – authorities today expect an operating body with slots, supervision and insurance, and grants require an applicant. Second: if a club is to become the operating body, the question of the route into the Württemberg State Sports Confederation needs to be clarified early, because insurance and funding depend on it. Third: the Rems is a natural river, not a canal with a constant discharge; operation with fixed times and shutdown during floods is therefore not a question of the model but of the permit. → Feasibility study · → Support us

Frequently asked questions

Who is liable if something happens at a river wave?

The operating body of the installation bears the duty of care for public safety: it must take the precautions that are necessary and reasonable – run-out zone, rules, supervision, shutdown during floods. The general risk of the sport is borne by the surfers themselves; that is why briefing and liability waiver are part of the operation. Volunteer board members and members are liable to the club only in cases of intent and gross negligence.

Do you have to be a member to surf a river wave?

Not everywhere. Nuremberg, Hanover and Pforzheim admit guests via booked slots or open-surf dates; Augsburg so far surfs only with members, because the insurance depends on it. The Almkanal wave in Salzburg is freely accessible.

What does membership of a river-wave club cost?

Between 100 and 240 euros a year for adults, reduced for young people, students and families; guests pay 15 to 20 euros per slot.

Can the municipality operate a wave itself?

Yes, as a public sports facility with usage regulations – Salzburg has done that since 2010 with the Almkanal wave, free of charge and without supervision. In Germany there is no example of this so far; all newer installations are operated by clubs.

Why does nobody operate the Eisbach wave?

Because it was never built: it arose by itself, and the city of Munich regulates surfing as common use at your own risk. Since the accident in 2025, the city and the surfers have been wrestling over who bears responsibility, liability and maintenance for a ramp to restore it.

Sources: Nürnberger Dauerwelle e.V., home page, "FAQ", "Surfen", "Herzblut & Community", statutes and fee regulations (as of 2025), nuernberger-dauerwelle.de · Stadt Nürnberg, "Nürnberg heute" no. 109 · Leinewelle e.V., "FAQ", "Surfen", "Der Leinewelle e.V.", board announcement 07.03.2024, enercity-leinewelle.de · enercity magazine, interview with a wavemaster, 05.05.2023 · Landessportbund Niedersachsen, notice on the admission of Leinewelle e.V. · Rapid Surf Shop, spot guide Leinewelle · blackforestwave e.V., "FAQ", "Verein", "Welle", blackforestwave.de · Badische Neueste Nachrichten, opening of the blackforestwave, September 2021 · Surffreunde Augsburg e.V., "Mitglieder-FAQ", "News", surfwelleaugsburg.de · Radio Augsburg, Surfwelle Senkelbach · Stadt Salzburg, "Almkanal" and notice 03.06.2016; Riversurfing Austria, "Almkanal-Welle" · Verein Flusssurfen Thun, "Der Verein" · The.Riverwave Ebensee, FAQ · Landeshauptstadt München, Rathaus-Umschau 12.01.2026 and 11.05.2026; general order on surfing at the Eisbach of 08.05.2026 · ZDF heute, 26.12.2025 · Abendzeitung, 10.01.2026 and 26.08.2026 · LG Düsseldorf (Düsseldorf Regional Court), judgment of 08.04.2011, 6 O 187/09 (duty of care at sports facilities) · sections 31a, 31b BGB · section 52 para. 2 no. 21 AO · section 3 nos. 26 and 26a EStG as amended by the Tax Amendment Act 2025 (Deutscher Bundestag, 04.12.2025) · Württembergischer Landessportbund, information sheet ARAG sports insurance (as of 01.01.2024), admission requirements (extract from statutes), fees 2026, specialist federations · Deutscher Wellenreitverband, "Vereinsmitglied werden", "Mitgliedsvereine" · Deutscher Wellenreitverband, press release Die Finals 2026 (presseportal.de, July 2026) · diefinals.de, 25.07.2026

Last updated: 15 October 2026 · Initiative Remswelle