Urban surfing highlight on a standing wave: German Rapid Surfing Championship delights Freiburg

The German Surfing Association (DWV) brought the sixth German Rapid Surfing Championships to Freiburg on 27 and 28 September 2025. Over 70 athletes competed for the national titles in this up-and-coming sport at Irie Surf. The event, presented by MINI, attracted more than a thousand spectators to the venue, while numerous fans followed the event via livestream. At the same time, Spontent's live podcast "FLUT & FLOW" accompanied the action directly from the wave and provided exciting insights and voices from the scene. Particularly impressive: Maximilian Lex made German rapid surfing history by standing the first Kerrupt Flip in a contest and wowing the audience.

Title defence for men and women

The finals on Sunday offered rapid surfing at the highest level. Valeska Schneider successfully defended her title from the previous year in the women's event. "It's an indescribable feeling, it was so much fun here in Freiburg," said the old and new German champion jubilantly after her triumph. "I was able to show everything I wanted to show in my run. The level of the girls is rising every year and I'm super happy that I was able to defend my title." Ina Schorr and Anika Weizel followed in second and third place with equally impressive performances.

Lennard Weinhold came out on top in the men's event, repeating his success from the previous year. He was overjoyed after his victory: "It was an indescribable final with my best friends and was a lot of fun, the wave is ultra-awesome. Defending my title is very, very special, I'm incredibly proud. All the hard work has paid off!" Joshi Holy and Marius Gerlach took second and third place, making life difficult for the champion and ensuring a high-class final.

Rapid surfing on the rise

The German Rapid Surfing Championship has been organised by the German Surfing Association since 2019 and has since become a permanent fixture on the competition calendar. The event in Freiburg once again confirmed that this young sport is on the rise in Germany and Europe. A clear sign of this: the European Surfing Federation has already announced that it will organise the first European Rapid Surfing Championships in 2026 - an important milestone for the development of the sport.

Michael Zirlewagen, President of the DWV, is delighted with this development: "A milestone, rapid surfing is now officially a European discipline. Together with many other committed people, clubs and associations from several European countries, we have worked on this - and have thus taken an important step towards the professionalisation of the sport at European level." Being recognised as an official European discipline marks significant progress for rapid surfing and opens up new prospects for athletes.

Urban surf feeling in Freiburg

The venue for the German Championships was Irie Surf, a modern surfing location with a standing wave in Freiburg. The facility offered ideal conditions for beginners and experienced surfers alike. In addition to the exciting competitions, the live podcast, various community activities and the urban atmosphere created a unique event feeling that made Freiburg the hotspot of the German rapid surfing scene for a weekend.

The speciality of rapid surfing is that the wave remains stationary - either artificially created as in Irie Surf or in a river - and allows athletes to perform spectacular tricks in a limited space. This sport combines elements of classic surfing, skateboarding and snowboarding and impresses with its highly athletic dynamics. Rapid surfing is becoming increasingly popular in urban areas in particular, as it can be practised independently of natural waves.

Seven divisions in competition

The German Championship was held in a total of seven divisions: Open Women, Open Men, Juniors (W), Juniors (M), Masters (W), Masters (M) and Grandmasters (M). In the Master Women category, Nina Teller came out on top ahead of Nadine Ziesing and Kathrin Berndsen. Alexander Schmidt-Hellwig secured the Master Men's title ahead of Mario Gerlacher and Rene Bellack. In the Grandmaster Men category, Jörn Seemann triumphed ahead of Nenad Wohlschläger and Guido Meier.

The junior athletes' competitions were also particularly exciting. In the junior boys' category, Maximilian Lex not only secured the title with his historic Kerrupt flip, but also with a convincing performance overall. Leander Lu and Jano Lübers followed in second and third place. In the Junior Girls category, Lea Sasse won ahead of Nike Kraft and Lia Aretz. The strong performances of the youngsters underline the growing level of rapid surfing in Germany and promise a promising future for the sport.

Results:

Open Woman:

• 1st Valeska Schneider
• 2. ina Schorr
• 3 Anika Weizel

Open Men:

• 1st Lennard Weinhold
• 2nd Joshi Holy
• 3. Marius Gerlach

Master Woman:

• 1st Nina Teller
• 2nd Nadine Ziesing
• 3 Kathrin Berndsen

Master Men:

• 1 Alexander Schmidt-Hellwig
• 2 Mario Gerlacher
• 3 Rene Bellack

Grandmaster Men:

• 1st Jörn Seemann
• 2. Nenad Wohlschläger
• 3rd Guido Meier

Junior Boys:

• 1. Maximilian Lex
• 2nd Leander Lu
• 3. Jano Lübers

Junior Girls:

• 1st Lea Sasse
• 2nd Nike Kraft
• 3rd Lia Aretz