Reference

Wave pool glossary

Wave pool bookings and specs use a small, consistent vocabulary. A public session is shared and priced per person; a private session reserves the water for one group; a buyout hires the whole venue. A set is a run of waves at one wave setting, the reef is the shaped floor that decides wave shape, and waves per hour is pool-wide capacity, not waves per surfer.

29 terms · Last reviewed 24 August 2026

Booking

Session capacity
The maximum number of surfers allowed in the water during one booked session, set by the operator for safety and wave count.See also: Waves per hour, Private session
Public sessionalso: open session
A ticketed session where you share the water with other individually booked surfers at a fixed wave setting.Cheapest way to surf a pool. Usually 60 to 90 minutes, priced per person.See also: Private session, Buyout
Private session
A block of pool time reserved for one group, with the wave setting chosen by that group. Priced per hour or per set, not per person.See also: Public session, Buyout, Session capacity
Buyoutalso: full buyout, exclusive hire
Exclusive hire of the entire venue, not just the water: lagoon, food and beverage, event space, and often signage and staff.The standard structure for corporate events and brand activations. Quoted as a venue minimum, with catering and production on top.See also: Private session, Venue minimum, Food and beverage minimum
Shoulder season
The months either side of peak season, when pool pricing softens and private sessions are easier to book.See also: Private session

Wave

Reefalso: bathymetry
The shaped floor of the pool. Its contour decides where the wave breaks, how hollow it is, and how long the ride lasts.Two pools with identical wave generators can feel completely different because of the reef profile. Most modern pools have fixed reefs; a few are adjustable.See also: Wave pool, Set
Set
A programmed group of waves run back to back at one setting. Sessions are often described in sets rather than in minutes.See also: Wave setting, Waves per hour
Wave settingalso: setting menu, program
A saved software recipe that produces a specific wave: height, shape, speed, and section pattern. Operators publish setting menus so surfers can book the wave they want.Names differ by pool, but the pattern is consistent: mellow rollers for lessons, mid-range performance waves, and a small number of advanced barrel settings.See also: Set, Barrel
Barrelalso: tube
A wave that breaks over itself into a hollow tube the surfer can ride inside. In pools, barrels come from the steepest advanced settings.See also: Wave setting, Air section
Air sectionalso: air ramp
A deliberately steep, ramp-shaped part of the wave built for launching aerial maneuvers. Central to pool contests.See also: Barrel, Wave setting
Peel angle
The angle at which the breaking point of the wave travels along the reef. A lower peel angle means a faster, more critical wave.See also: Reef

Technology

Waves per houralso: wave capacity, wph
How many rideable waves a system can produce in an hour. It drives both session pricing and how many waves each surfer actually catches.High figures are usually pool-wide, not per surfer. A 1,000 waves-per-hour pool split across two sides and 20 surfers is roughly 25 waves each per hour.See also: Wave setting, Session capacity
Pneumatic wave generation
Air pressure chambers displace water on command to form a swell. Firing patterns are programmable, which allows a wide wave menu and fast set changes.Used by PerfectSwell, Endless Surf, and Surf Loch.See also: Plunger, Hydrofoil wave generation, Wave setting
Plunger
A large mechanical paddle or piston that pushes water to form a wave, either along a wall or from a central point in the lagoon.Surf Lakes uses a central plunger that sends waves outward to several breaks at once.See also: Pneumatic wave generation, Hydrofoil wave generation
Hydrofoil wave generation
A submerged foil is towed the length of the pool, dragging a single long swell behind it. Produces the longest, most uniform pool wave.The Kelly Slater Wave Co. system at Surf Ranch works this way. Wave count is low; wave quality and length are exceptional.See also: Pneumatic wave generation, Plunger
Electro-mechanical wave generation
Rows of independently driven panels push water in sequence to build a travelling swell, giving high wave counts and a broad setting menu.The Wavegarden Cove platform uses this method.See also: Pneumatic wave generation, Waves per hour
Standing wavealso: sheet wave, stationary wave
Water is pumped over a shaped surface to create a wave that stays in one place while the rider stays in it. Not a peeling, travelling wave.Citywave and similar systems are standing-wave installations, common in urban and retail locations.See also: Hydrofoil wave generation, Wave pool

Facility

Wave poolalso: surf pool, surf park, surf lagoon
A purpose-built body of water that generates rideable, repeatable surfing waves using mechanical, pneumatic, or hydrofoil equipment.Recreational wave pools at waterparks make waves for bobbing, not surfing. A surf pool is engineered so the wave peels along a shaped bottom (the reef) at a surfable speed.See also: Surf park, Reef, Lagoon
Surf park
A commercial destination built around a wave pool, usually adding lessons, food and drink, retail, events, and sometimes lodging or residences.See also: Wave pool, Lagoon
Lagoon
The water body itself, the basin that holds the wave. Lagoon size is quoted in acres or hectares and largely sets how many surfers can ride at once.See also: Reef, Bays
Bays
Separate zones of a lagoon that can run different waves at the same time, typically a beginner bay and an advanced bay.See also: Lagoon
Turnover rate
How quickly the full lagoon volume passes through filtration. It determines water clarity and is a core operating cost.See also: Lagoon

Business

Venue minimum
The lowest total spend an operator will accept to hold a date. Deposits and catering often count toward it.See also: Buyout, Food and beverage minimum
Food and beverage minimumalso: F&B minimum
A required catering spend attached to a private booking or buyout, separate from the water time itself.See also: Buyout, Venue minimum
Surf rights
The contractual surf access attached to a home, membership, or lot at a surf community: how many sessions, at what settings, and whether guests are included.Surf rights, not square footage, are what separate one surf-community property from another. They can be tied to the deed, to a club membership, or to both.See also: HOA dues, Membership
Membership
A recurring fee that buys booking priority, discounted or included sessions, and access to member-only pool time.See also: Surf rights, HOA dues
HOA dues
Recurring homeowners association fees at a surf community, covering shared amenities. Often stacked with a separate club or surf fee.See also: Surf rights, Membership
WPP Score
Wave Pool Party's published rating of a pool across wave quality, variety, capacity, value, and trip logistics, with a visible revision history.See also: WPP Ownership Score
WPP Ownership Score
Wave Pool Party's rating of a surf-anchored residential community, weighted for surf access, delivery confidence, cost transparency, and rental flexibility.See also: WPP Score, Surf rights

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