Seffner, Florida | October 19–20, 2026
The 2026 WSIA Wake Park Conference brought together wake park owners, operators, manufacturers, and industry partners at The Cove in Seffner, Florida, for two days of education, collaboration, and time on the water. Centered on the theme of Building a Better Business, the conference explored practical ways to improve wake park operations, strengthen safety practices, and build a more connected and sustainable wake park industry.
Through expert-led presentations, interactive working groups, and informal discussions between park operators and industry partners, attendees shared challenges, explored solutions, and identified opportunities to bring new ideas back to their businesses.
Here are the key takeaways from this year’s sessions.
Photos by Maxx Evan // @maxxevan
Key Takeaways from the 2026 Wake Park Conference
Diving Into the Wake Park-Retail Partnership with Don Wallace, Brand Manager of Liquid Force
Don Wallace led a productive discussion on the challenges wake parks face when introducing or growing retail operations. The session explored practical solutions for building a successful retail business while enhancing the overall customer experience. A key takeaway was the importance of parks and retail partners working together creatively to address the challenges that can prevent retail operations from growing.
Caring for Your Cable and Your Business with Moritz Grotepass, Wakeparx Owner
Moritz Grotepass offered a positive perspective on the current state of the wake park industry and discussed developments shaping its future. The session also covered Wakeparx’s work on maintenance guidelines for daily cable care and winterization. These resources aim to help park operators approach equipment maintenance more consistently and plan for the long-term reliability of their cable systems.
Protecting Your Business: Legal Insights & Trends with Joe Grasso of Grasso Moeller
Joe Grasso introduced the legal consultation resources available to WSIA members and discussed important considerations for protecting their businesses. Topics included waiver enforceability, incident response, documentation, and the importance of following established best practices. The discussion reinforced that preparation, thorough records, and appropriate procedures are crucial parts of managing risk at a wake park.
Building the Modern Wake Park with Roller
This session explored how booking and ticketing models, particularly advance reservations, can help wake parks better manage staffing, plan operations, and create a more intentional customer experience from start to finish. Attendees then broke into working groups to brainstorm special offers, target audiences, and organizations they could reach out to in order to attract new customers and grow their businesses. The emphasis was on turning business concepts into actionable ideas that parks can implement.
The Power of Community at Your Park with Mark Heger of WakeWell
Mark Heger highlighted how creating a welcoming environment and helping riders feel part of a community can build loyalty and encourage long-term customer retention. He also shared WakeWell’s mission to strengthen connections within cable parks around the world through their local chapters and encouraged parks to host more events by leaning on the people and resources who want to be involved.
When Mark asked how many parks had hosted 10 or more events in the previous year, very few attendees raised their hands, with many parks reporting fewer than five. This sparked an important conversation about the potential of events of all kinds to bring people together. Parks already have a community of riders who want to participate and support the places they care about. Creating more opportunities for that community to get involved can help parks build stronger relationships with their customers.
Dock Talk: Sharing Solutions Across the Industry
Dock Talk gave attendees an opportunity to step away from formal presentations and discuss real-world challenges in small groups. Conversations covered insurance, coaching, anchoring, equipment selection, and feature placement. By sharing what is and isn’t working at their parks, participants exchanged practical ideas and learned from the experiences of fellow operators facing similar challenges.
Safety, Standardization, Responsibilities & Best Practices with Dr. Richard Söhnchen, Rixen Owner
Dr. Richard Söhnchen walked attendees through an incident scenario, examining how the situation was handled and the responsibilities of the different parties involved. The discussion highlighted the importance of clearly understanding those responsibilities and maintaining proper documentation. He also reviewed components of the cable system that require care and attention, connecting equipment knowledge with broader operational and safety practices.
Ready for Anything: Building a Better Emergency Response Plan with Jackson Kauffman of Nona Adventure Park
Jackson Kauffman took an interactive approach to emergency preparedness, encouraging park operators to think through potential scenarios rather than simply follow a template for an emergency action plan. The session challenged each park to consider how it would respond to different situations and what is needed to develop a clear, effective plan. The central takeaway was the importance of proactively preparing for emergencies so staff understand their roles and can respond when it matters.
Strategies & Ideas to Maximize Your Social Media Impact with Britt Olson
Britt Olson challenged park owners to be more intentional about their social media marketing, emphasizing that trying to speak to everyone can make it difficult to connect with anyone. Attendees were encouraged to identify the specific audiences they want to attract and create content that speaks to the experience those people could have at their parks. The exercise generated discussion and questions about social media best practices, reinforcing the value of audience-focused messaging over simply posting more content.
Turning Conversations Into Action for the Wake Park Industry
The 2026 WSIA Wake Park Conference created space for park operators and industry partners to share experiences, explore solutions, and identify opportunities to build better businesses. From retail and marketing to equipment care, safety, and community engagement, the discussions highlighted how many different elements contribute to a successful wake park.
Thank you to The Cove for hosting, to our speakers and industry partners for sharing their expertise, and to everyone who participated in making this year’s conference a valuable opportunity to learn and connect.
Together, we can continue building better businesses, stronger parks, and a stronger wake park industry.
Stay connected with WSIA for updates on the Wake Park Committee’s work and future opportunities to get involved.
