What the surf simulator is
It's a motorised surfboard ride - you stand on a short mechanical board that tilts and rolls while our operator controls the speed, and you try to stay upright as long as you can. When you come off, you land on a soft inflatable surround rather than water, so nobody gets wet and it works indoors as well as out. You'll also see it called a mechanical surfboard, a surf machine, a surfboard simulator or a rodeo surfboard, and it runs on the same basic mechanism as a rodeo bull but with a surf theme instead of a western one.
The board is a stubby simulator shape rather than a full ocean surfboard, which makes it easier to balance on and less intimidating for first-timers. Our operator runs the controls from a separate unit, so they can keep it gentle for children and people who have never stood on a board before, then turn it up for anyone in the queue who fancies their chances. Rounds are short - usually under a minute - which keeps the queue moving and gives your team a steady stream of people to talk to.
A digital timer is built into the setup, so each ride is scored and you can run a leaderboard competition through the day. That works well at exhibitions and brand activations where you want visitors to come back and check their standing, or at corporate fun days where departments compete against each other.
We've been hiring out mechanical rides and exhibition games from our warehouse in Rotherham since 1999, five minutes from the M1, and we own and maintain 95% of what we send out in-house. Every hire includes £5 million public liability insurance, with risk assessments and method statements emailed to you or your venue before the event.
