Basically, the only essential thing you need is to be able to swim. The current can seem pretty strong, but just take your time after you hit the water and do a few strong strokes out of the current and you're good to go. There are strong back currents on both sides of the channel to help you get back in. We'll explain the surfing position at your first entry lesson. Basically any more athletic person can stand up and go straight at the first lesson.

If you are just going to your first entry lesson, be there at least 30 minutes before the start! We need to get you dressed, explain things and get you on the wave.

For open riding it's up to you. Water flows from the time entered in the booking system. In our experience it takes about 20 minutes to quickly change and get to the wave.

As for the principle itself, ocean waves move and the surfer has to catch them at the right moment to ride them. River waves, on the other hand, are stationary, i.e. they stay in one place thanks to the current of the river colliding with an obstacle to create a steady wave. A surfer can ride such a wave pretty much indefinitely, as long as he can keep his balance or until his thigh muscles start to burn :-).
Practically: for an ocean surfer, it feels so different at first that he is almost on par with a person who has never surfed. Actually, riversurfing is more like skateboarding in a lot of ways. You have a more similar attitude, you're riding in a small place and trying to improve by learning tricks. But the learning curve for surfers is obviously much faster after the first time you get used to it, and at Štvanice in particular, you start from the pier and you don't have to do pop-ups, so you can do as many rides in a session as you can in 2 weeks on the ocean. When you come to practice, the progress is amazing.

Yes, there is plenty of time to get out of the current and there is no roller to keep you there on our surf wave. Of course, it's still a concrete trough and a hard wooden pier on a steel structure, so you can just hit something (hence the mandatory helmet and impact vest), you can step on something in the water (we clean the bottom itself regularly, but we just keep finding bits of glass brought in by the current - hence the boots), and you can catch a leash somewhere (that's why we want it attached to your body from the waist up, or not have one at all).

The Vltava is much cleaner than people think. Of course, sometimes a piece of plastic or a fish floats in it, but it is not stagnant water. So it's often much better than some famous sandpit.

The only inconvenience is when a torrential rain comes and some overflow channel opens up below the Hilton.
But: 1/ it's under a wave - you just have to swim over it to the wall it comes over, but you never ride in it, it's clear at the top.
2/ It only happens rarely during or just after heavy rains - only in the summer when the concreted city can't handle the rush of water. And it takes maybe an hour. It rarely happens a few times a summer.

The Vltava River in Prague is clean. Here is a survey and proof published on Aktuálně.cz from data of the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute in cooperation with the Research Institute of Water Management.

You don't need anything. You can borrow everything. You click on the reservation system. Of course, keep your underwear on under your wetsuit and go home in the open.) But after the first lesson, you're guaranteed to start frantically buying as much of your own as you can, just to feel better and to save money on rentals.
Then you'll need a board, wetsuit depending on the season (will be useful in summer - for chafing, in winter with a hood and gloves), some water shoes (again, a year-round thing, there may be shards on the bottom that float up overnight), helmet (like a skateboard), impact vest (it's a concrete channel). We specifically want a leash belt. Either you ride without the leash (you can get caught in the canal) or you have to attach it somewhere from the waist up (belt, vest). Not on your ankle. There's no way you're going to do a flap in the current.

Of course! We ride in all weathers, all year round. We love rain and snow, it's water! Only if there is a storm very close and there is lightning, it is probably better to get out of the water for a while to be safe.

Basically, the only essential thing you need is to know how to swim. The current may seem quite strong, but just don't hesitate after falling into the water and do a few strong strokes from the current, and you'll be fine. There are strong back currents on both sides of the channel to help you get back. We will explain the surfing position to you at the first introductory lesson. Basically, any more athletic person can stand up and ride straight on the first lesson.

Of course! But only if you buy the ride on credit. Then you can (maximum 4 hours before the appointment) cancel the visit without any fees. Go to the email confirming the reservation and there is a red cancel button. Click on that and it will automatically cancel everything and you will get your full points back. No explanation. But if you buy a ride directly from the credit card, a refund is not possible!

Limited parking is available directly in front of the surf house, but closer to the bridge. Info and prices, for example, on Parkopedia. But if you're not a tube person, you'd rather come by bike or public transport. Great warm-up.

Yes, you can buy a credit pack. You can find the offer after logging into the reservation system in the credits section. In parentheses is the number of credits you currently have there. And below that there is also an offer to buy individual packages. The bigger you buy, the cheaper the individual ride. You can also get there directly with this link.

At our place in Štvanice, short boards from about 5'2" to 5'6" work best, with the gold standard being 5'3" (for weight and men's size). But the boards are also wider, easily up to somewhere around 20". Volumes range between 23 and 26l. But it also depends a lot on your weight and riding skills. But we also sell plywood :-). The long ocean boards don't fit, but we ride maybe the kids ocean versions, they just have a less than perfect shape and width. If you're buying a board, special river models are almost a must. Better come by and see us first, try out the different sizes of rental boards and give us a talk. We also have a shaper right in the yard, you can also have a board made to measure.

Durability: expect to get beat up. At least broken fins all the time, sometimes ripped finboxes and broken tips/noses. We've now got a few carbon boards that look more durable, but we've had broken finboxes on them too. Count on the fact that everything can be destroyed.

A more detailed article about the selection of boards is on our blog (in Czech).

You ride at your own risk, but we don't want the canal to be closed when someone shows up. Especially because of the more complicated arrival and therefore the possible complicated rescue operation. We are in contact with the rescuers and are trained ourselves, but even so, such an event could become our nightmare. So that's why we try to minimize the risks beforehand and we also want all those things ourselves, see previous point.
Sorry. Surfing is the most important thing to us and this discomfort is worth it.

We are an association, we have no subsidies, nobody contributes to our operation and we work for free on weekends to repair the dam (which is being destroyed over and over again). But to do that we need money for consumables and yard equipment. And we also pay for water. We share it with the power station and the lock, we pay every cubic meter. That's also why the water doesn't run all the time (unless there are floods). That's also why we need at least 3 people per session to at least pay for the water.

This is the pain of Štvanice so far. You can only get on the wave with a wet foot. So we're assuming Mom doesn't want to swim to the middle of the river just to cheer up close. We're thinking of moving the wave in the future, but for now. The closest place to watch is obviously from the bridge and then from the platform at the Hilton. The locations are plotted on the map on our page CONTACT. During the races we organize livestreams directly from the wave, which can be watched on YouTube and also on the big TV in the boathouse.

But you can also take it positively. The fact that there are only people on the wave and in the channel who are also riding and there's no sign of any pussies anywhere makes for a great club atmosphere. ❤️🔥

We try to prevent this and force you to make every visitor make a reservation in your name. The idea is that by doing so, you are at least digitally confirming that you have read the terms and conditions of the canal and are familiar with basic safety.
Additionally, for surfing we need you to have initial training from a local. If one person makes a booking for multiple people, we can't then tag them in the system so they can go on their own next time because they don't each have their own account.

Yes, there is a locker that you lock and you can put the key in your vest or with us. After the ride you can even take a shower with WARM water :-). If you need a towel and shampoo, bring it.

Just be warned that if you take the locker and put the key in your pocket, LOCK THAT STUPID CAP! We've had to use the flex to cut up lockers several times.

Our canal is next to the lock and the power station. And all these entities share the water. So we only buy water for the bare necessities while we're driving. We even need a few people per session to pay for the water at all. The rest of the time, the Vltava River Basin raises the dam and releases the water to the power plant. That's why you can't just come and ride, outside of our times there is no water in the riverbed at all. And that's why we're asking you for money to run this fun. Nobody donates to us for anything, we have to earn everything from donations from members and payments in the reservation system.

So even if you're a kayaker and you come down the river and don't have to come to the Boathouse at all, it's only fair that you send money for the ride. Thanks!

Come to any of our events, parties or events - follow us on Instagram and Facebook for invitations. We also have a WhatsApps conversation group for our riders where we discuss everything around the channel, find people for part-time jobs and sometimes maybe just chat about boards.
‍Invitation link here.

If you're in a larger group, it's quite likely that one of the locals/instructors will be on the wave, but especially if you're small (you can see the number of people in the booking system) and you're still new to the group, it's better to bring your cell phone (maybe in a dry bag). You never know when someone is going to twist an ankle or make another boo-boo and you'll need to call for help. There can also be a problem with the water not flowing at all (maybe they forgot to turn it on at the Basin), and with your cell phone you can text our WA riders group and someone will deal with it. Invitation link on WhatsApp here.

In our boathouse (surf-house) we have the possibility of several places in the cowork. There is everything a surfer needs for office work (internet, desk, kitchen etc). At the same time, you're steps away from the waves, so you can hop off anytime in between hooking up for corporate into the waves. Last but not least, the place is on a unique quiet island surrounded by restless sportsmen. At cowork we reserve first to get to know each other, harmony is key.

It's also possible to rent a locker in the riders locker room and a surf/boat spot so you don't have to lug anything then. For current vacancies and prices, email info@vlnystvanice.czPokud you are a really enthusiastic/enthusiastic rider and you want to participate in our club life more ( = work more on part-time jobs :-), come and give us a talk, we would love to welcome you!

Ocean rider: It's great if you have experience in the ocean, but as explained elsewhere, ocean experience does not automatically mean that you will immediately fly airs with us. Riversurfing works a little differently, you have to get used to it.

Riversurfer: Even experienced riversurfers need to explain a lot of things at the beginning, including the complicated arrival, where the piece has to be tackled and go around the fences. And we will also explain the currents and how not to get washed into the canal.

We are currently starting to equip the rental of paddling equipment, there are a total of 3 complete sets of kayaks for different weight and size categories. Gradually we plan to equip the rental with different types of boats.

Yes, it's working! It is possible to store your boat and equipment in the surf house for a fee. However, the number of places is currently very limited (we do not have such a large space available). In the future we plan to address the lack of space with a shipping container, which could solve this.

If you want to ride it for the first time, don't 😅. But you can ride down below the canal and further downstream on the open river where the water is not wild. See for yourself how far you dare. Maybe you can do a chunk of the lower part of the canal. At least it's not such a dull ride. Machers can do it.

Yes, it is! There is plenty of room under the channel to practice stream crossings, enough depth to train Eskimo, and there are plenty of gates. It's possible to start training with us even as a person who has never sat on a boat. And once, the moment you're brave enough, just run up the steps under the canal, go up the outflow channel upstream, and run down the water slalom channel too.

The canal has been closed to the boating public for the whole time and the last time it was actively used for training was in the winter of 2021. Both of these factors are a bit noticeable, but we are currently trying to put the canal back in order as much as possible to make it as safe as possible. It is definitely swimmable if you know some basic and fundamental lessons on how to behave in wild water. There is plenty of room down below the canal for the water to spill out of the boat and it is also safe to get back in.

We have one roller in the trough that aspires to be this type of obstacle. It's already very fun to ride, but we'll definitely want to modify it to make it even more fun.

We do not have this option available at the moment, but we definitely want to offer this service in the future. Follow our social networks or subscribe to our newsletter. Now it is just possible to rent a boat and learn on the calm water below the canal.

By ordering water for the canal in advance from the Basin Authority and paying for every minute we run, it is not possible to go to the canal alone, both from a safety and financial point of view. So ideally get a buddy to go with you and come ride together!

Yes, I am! Please email info@vlnystvanice.cz for details, describe your requirements or leave a phone number and we will get back to you shortly.

You're only renting the beach. We do not arrange players. But if you try posting in our riders group on WA, you might get someone.