the surfing event will be maintained in Teahupo’o, announces the Polynesian president

Has a compromise been found? While tensions have been crystallizing for months between authorities, organizers of the Olympic Games and local populations around the Olympic surfing event, Polynesian President Moetai Brotherson announced, Sunday December 11 in Tahiti (Monday in Paris), that the surfing event of the Paris Games was going to be maintained on the Teahupo’o site, in Tahiti. “The solution that we managed to get adopted this evening allows the Olympics to be held here and for the WSL (World Surf League) to maintain an annual stage of the world tour,” rejoiced Moetai Brotherson to AFP after a meeting with environmental associations.

Achieve a functional tower in May

The replacement of a wooden tower with an aluminum structure for the judges has been a source of tension for months. During technical tests on 1^er December, a barge planned for the installation of this new tower broke coral, pushing the Polynesian government to pause the work.

A few days later, the Minister of Sports and the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, explained that the test in question had not been carried out in optimal conditions. “There was a test which was clearly not well prepared and could not be conducted well and unfortunately damaged pieces of coral, this is obviously completely regrettable (…) It is necessary that the next test be carefully prepared”, she justified on December 7.

But Moetai Brotherson presented on Sunday a work schedule which should result in a functional tower on May 13, a few days before the WSL world tour stop. This competition will serve as a test before the Olympic Games in July. The Polynesian president was delighted to have obtained the support “unanimously of all the mayors, of the federation [internationale] surfing and even associations, apart from one, and a surfer, who thinks he represents the community of surfers”.