“It will completely destroy a large part of the lagoon in the face of the most beautiful wave in the world!”
A few weeks back the vaguely humorous story of Olympic organisers tearing down the old WSL wooden judging tower at Teahupoo and replacing it with a magnificent aluminium structure for the three-day event at a cost of five mill US.
Necessary, I suppose.
The old tower is rickety as hell, and who wants to be responsible for besuited officials plunging to their doom after a cross-beam snaps and brings the whole thing down, but a little rich, given Paris 2024 has positioned itself as the “sustainable” Games.
It’s their home and they surf and fish and play on these reefs.
Local surfer Tahurai Henry, therefore, has organised a protest against the construction on Sunday at eleven am, Tahitian time. I’m writing this at nine pm, Saturday, Sydney time, so in fourteen hours or so.
“We’re up against this judge’s tour project that will completely destroy a large part of the lagoon in the face of the most beautiful wave in the world! A construction worth over 500 million francs for 3-4 days of competition that won’t be reused for our local surfers! ( No Inheritance )
“We will begin the walk from Teahupo’o town hall to the tip in front of the surf spot! Come one come all 🙏
“TEAHUPOO NEEDS YOU.”
View this post on Instagram
Support for the action is being felt worldwide.
Eli Olson, a thirty-year-old jiujitsu black belt who grew up shredding alongside the Florence bro’s, posted a before and after of the Tahitian paradise along with the fighting words.
“Taking advantage of the local community and their kindness. I stand with my Tahitian brothers.”
If you happen to be in French Polynesia tomoz, swing on over to Tahiti-iti and put some boots on the ground.
And, in the interim, thrill a little to Henry’s post of Lucas Chumbo at Teahupoo.
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Shareholders must make money. That’s the only rule.
“won’t be reused for our local surfers! ( No Inheritance )”
The fancy aluminum structure will suffer from corrosion and electrolysis quickly.
Better off repairing the wood structure.
LoL, ‘mom’s’ basement. Get out there where the action is.
Surfing is not a sustainable sport anymore, look where the board shorts come from, the surfboards, the materials they use to make every surf equipment, the way wsl has destroyed the virginity and natural environment in many breaks around the world, even culturally. It’s no longer a spiritual activity. Now it’s being sold out to the Arabs and the elite like fifa. This is normal.
Oh, please…….🤪🤪
I’m curious how you think the WSL has destroyed the virginity or natural environment of any breaks anywhere?
Have the WSL ever debuted an unknown break? Or hosted a comp in a remote location that’s not already filled with surf tourism operators?
If anything, they’ve gone the other way – bringing their events to lesser quality waves closer to cities, which already offer them the infrastructure they need to run an event.
There’s also the full possibility that it’s actually local contractors who are to blame for poor construction/cleanup work. If you go to any of the Aus or Hawaii event locations, you’d never even know they had existed within a couple of weeks of the comp finishing. So what’s different in other locations?
It sucks that places we love get ruined, but if we want to stop it happening we have to direct our frustration at the right people. Pointing the finger at the WSL for every complaint you have is not going to solve anything.
Perhaps the Olympic committee should take note of the surf in the south of France, say around Hossegor… wtf…
The WSL came to Riyue Bay in 2011 to hold three consecutive lobgoarding championships, built a judges platform, a big parking lot, and a surf club house that all pretty much deteriorated beyond use within a couple years. They supposedly spent like USD$2,000,000 on the project and in the process tore down the small local restaurant where local surfers would fuel up between sessions and have cold beers in the evening. They pretty much left a mess of an eyesore and a complete safety hazard.
Prior to 2014 it was the ASP and they didn’t manage the individual events – they mainly just sanctioned events, and ran the rule-book & rankings.
Sounds like a pretty shitty outcome, but the blame would lie with whatever brands/companies/councils supported and ran the event, not with the WSL who was non-existent at that point.
But also – it’s China; a nation where developers are known to cut corners and rush projects with little thought for the long term outcomes. Perhaps the call is coming from within the building?
Tower-trippin…
Deteriorated beyond use? What was it built with particle board?
But it is sustainable, what are they complaining about!
That field needs some stem-cells, stat.
If it pumps XXL?….don’t ban the bombs!..
Nah seriously, surely it could all be drone and remote camera/ water footage live streamed to judges back on mothership boat in independent scoring booths for two fifths of fuck all!…
100%… couple drones. Limited number of crafts in the channel for judges, athletes, etc. House the rest on the point and fuck off with the tower… donate the $5million to the village for shittin all over it and again, fuck off… Lastly, make the rest of the world watch it online and get their shit views up and still…fuck off.
The Olympic committee is corrupt.
In reality they could save space by having only one head judge. The WSL has proven this theory correct.
the reef can sustain itself. as wave history has proven. especially if we leave it alone. one does wonder weather Bailey Ladder Corp has a construction wing.
I am sure the current world champ would support a shifting of the venue for environmental purposes.
2025 Filipe Dream Tour
Stop#1 Location: Lower Trestles, CA
Stop#2 Location: Lower Trestles, CA
Stop #3 Location: Lower Trestles, CA etc…
Trestles can be great! Easily c aught waves, good shape, fun rides. My memories from + 25 yrs ago. Saw James ‘Gunsmoke’ Arness there once.
The 40 Boats and jetskis in the channel at every swell are probably doing more damage.
It seems the 40 boats in the channel are not doing enough damage.