Hundreds of Tahitians are going berzerk about a tower project for the surfing olympics in Teahupoo. If “hundreds” of activists doesn’t sound dramatic enough and undermines the problem for you, remember Tahiti was never quite the epicenter of worldwide activism either. Seriously, the whole thing is pretty outrageous, here are 3 reasons why this tower should make international news.
The problem
The Olympic comitee wants to build a new alluminum tower on the reef for the judges of the surf olympics at @paris2024 to do their job. It will cost €4.7M and requires a large and complex judging tower with strict specifications. The tower must :
Accommodate more people
Have a perfect security standard and high speed internet
Provide air conditionning, electricity, water and toilets
This requires to setup permanent cables and pipes from shore to the middle of the lagoon. Because of powerful economic incentives for the local government and local contractors, the project has been rammed through with no ecological impact study. The tower will be disassembled after the event to mimimise the visual impact during the year.
3 reasons to protest
First, because mentioning the visual impact mitigation is a joke. Removing a scaffolding from one of the world’s most beautiful lagoon not a prime negociation argument - it is the minimum aesthetic sensibility for a human being.
Second, because the view problem is really the tip of the iceberg here. The new tower requires drilling 72 holes into the reef and pouring concrete blocks where healthy corals currently live - each 4m long. Ouch… The pipe that they want to hold water, electricity, wifi and poop will also require the destruction of the delicate coral gardens. So the whole project is pretty much 100% gloomy for the reef, but no one’s sure just how bad it will be.
Third, building the tower is profoundly unecessary since Teahupoo is already a stage for worldwide surfing events !!! Every year the wooden judging tower is assembled in the lagoon just before the WSL’s Tahiti Pro event. Shortly after it is taken down and stored in containers ready for the next year. Sometimes a few pieces of wood need to be changed but it has basically been the same structure for the last 20 years. I’ve watched multiple editions of the tahiti pro and never thought the broadcast experience needed a revamp.
Hot take on this $h*t
The 2024 Games are heavily branded as “the first sustainable edition” but the organisation of the surfing games tells another story. This orwelian greenwashing is just sad and strips the Olympic from their historical prestige. The need for this tower is puzzling, and it’s a shame that Tahitians need to fight against it.
There’s a petition with 150k+ signatures going on. I’m not 100% convinced it’ll prevent the drilling - but it’s easy to sign so you might as well :
They could have organised the games in so many other French beaches (e.g. spot mentionned in TheDuckDive#2 and TheDuckDive#4). But that’s just another missed opportunity to have low impact games 🫠.
Olympic surfing scandals
It’s not the first olympic scandal either. During the previous olympics in Japan, I remember screaming twice. Once as I noticed the first olympic tube ride ever performed by our national champ Jeremy Flores. And a second as I saw how it was down-scored to a 7, creating yet another anti-climactic moment for french sport…
Maybe a proper tower will bring proper judging ?
Song of the week
“Let’s have a cosy little evening together”
IG of the week
Ben Thouard is known for his amazing under-water shots at Teahupoo. I love the tension between chaos and control that this angle conveys - it’s a preety accurate way to show surfing.
Yeah absolutely outrageous, I also encourage everyone to sign this. Matahi Drollet has a great take on this: https://youtu.be/-Bd4uMGFHc8?si=8nf_IIhkdgTsOqUa