Watch some of the highlights from the first ever Zoom-Zoom indoor surfing championships, held at Japan's Seagaia Ocean Dome.
Seagaia Ocean Dome is the world's biggest artificial beach and currently the only place where it's possible to rip, flip and hit the lip under one roof.
Today is the first ever Zoom-Zoom Indoor Surfing Championship. Our judge, experienced surfer Takashi Kato, is visiting this plastic surf paradise for the first time. He's quickly into his board shorts to join the competitors for a warm-up.
Following Takashi into the artificial ocean are local board shaper (and firm favourite) Tomokazu Ujihara, wahine surfer Sachiko Tamura and - in the spirit of international competition - Matthew 'Mash' McCollough, Aarron Edwards and Sean Carey, all from New Zealand.
Seagaia is an astonishing feat of engineering in Miyazaki, on the Japanese island of Kyushu. Waves are generated by ten powerful vacuum pumps linked to 40 individual water chambers capable of sending 3.5-metre high waves crashing towards the 140 metre long beach.
Surfing Seagaia is not easy, as a sodden Sean explains: "The fresh water doesn't have the same buoyancy as seawater so it's much harder to stay on top of the surface… the waves come on all of a sudden."
In a standard surfing competition the judges would be looking for technique but this is a Zoom-Zoom contest, so Takashi is more lenient, judging grins as much as ability. Two hours of tubes, hollows, rips and flips later we have our winner and, sure enough, it's the local favourite, Tomokazu. Although he's never actually surfed Seagaia before, he's mastered the man-made waves better than the rest. But not only have his shreds wowed the judge, so have his smiles. He's had an ear-to-ear grin the whole time.
"Fantastic!" he beams as he thrusts his trophy in the air.
Worldwide Waves
EUROPE
The first European indoor surf centre is due to open in the UK in 2008. It will offer 365 days of surfing on an artificial reef. Find out more at surfdome.com
USA
The Ron Jon Surfpark in Orlando, Florida opened in 2007 with a choice of wave pools. And another surfpark’s opening in New York City in 2010. For a preview visit surfparks.com
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