Paris 2024 organizers say they are going ahead with their plan to build a new aluminum judging tower in Tahiti, French Polynesia in spite of opposition from the International Surfing Association (ISA), locals and surfers.
In a statement Wednesday, organizers insisted that building the tower is “the only option that provides sufficient guarantees for the smooth running of the competition and the safety of the athletes and all those involved.”
Teahupo’o is regarded as one of the world’s best surf spots, and is home to World Surf League (WSL) tour competitions, where a wooden structure is usually erected for competitions and later removed.
However, Olympic organizers say the aluminum tower – weighing nine tons – is necessary to host 40 people who be involved in judging and televising the competition next year.
On Tuesday, the ISA said in a statement it opposed the tower’s construction.
The surfing body had already voiced concern earlier this month, after a barge – used to build the tower – was stuck on the reef, damaging coral, forcing the construction to be paused. Paris 2024 and local authorities said back then that they would work on reducing the size and weight of the initially planned tower.
The ISA said that following the incident, it proposed alternative ways of judging the competition, including “judging the competition remotely, with live images shot from land, water and drones.”
However, a statement Wednesday, Paris 2024 said that “this option has already been reviewed” and “ruled out,” citing visibility and security reasons.
“While the solution of judging from footage may already have been used at other international surfing competitions, it was not feasible at
Teahupo’o because it did not provide sufficient guarantees for refereeing, broadcast coverage and securing the water surface, given the specific characteristics of the site,” Paris 2024 said, adding that the proposal of using a temporary platform to install cameras was also rejected for “security reasons.”
The organising committee said that work on the new revised tower has begun, inviting the ISA “to respect the choice made by local stakeholders for this solution.”
