The great debate over man-made waves is about to dominate the surfing world. A new article in The Outline investigates Kelly Slater’s Surf Ranch, which features a wave-making pool unlike anything before it. The Surf Ranch, located in Lemoore, California, has a 700×150-meter pool and will for the first time host a stop on the World Surf League’s World Tour, marking its arrival in major competitive surfing. Although Slater is surfing’s foremost ambassador and the Surf Ranch has received awe-struck reviews from surfers, manufacturing waves is an affront to the sport’s purists, as they believe it disregards the instincts and knowledge of the ocean traditionally demanded of a great surfer. 2018 will be the year the surfing community decides whether to take seriously surfing that takes place outside of the the ocean.
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