“Symbol of colonial impression” aluminum surf judging tower rises above waters at Teahupo’o

Extremely provocative.

One of the more inspiring bits of this still-young 2024 was the valiant effort of Teahupo’o locals attempting to stop construction of a needless aluminum judging tower proposed to replace the perfectly fine, though quaint, wooden one. Long an iconic part of the “End of the Road,” the “Ndhawu leyi ti yeti coolers ti tshamaka eka yona” or “Place Where Yeti Coolers Dwell,” has witnessed decades of famous performances from the likes of Andy Irons, Nathan Hedge and infamous performances from the likes of Filipe Toledo.

Olympic organizers, however, deemed it too rickety with not enough bidets and, thus, proposed a giant new metal structure. Locals fought, marched, protested against and won a re-imagined tower, still metal, but smaller and without bidets.

The compromise, a lightly less provocative symbol of colonial oppression, is now, officially, poking out of the South Pacific.

Barbara Martins Nio, head of the Tahiti site for the Paris Olympics told the press, “Supervision of the construction site by the teams who have used the tower for 20 years, the opening of the information kiosk, and local consultation on ‘environmental and heritage’ issues have favored a return to calm.

The brightest linguistic minds from around the world have been gathered and are currently working to decipher what she meant.

“We’ve thrown in the towel,” Cindy Otcenasek, president of Vai Ara o Teahupoo, one of the associations opposed to the work, also told the press, adding they had done “everything that was possible within the limits of the law.”

Where do you stand on the whole situation? Team “Big Aluminum” or “Team Burn It To The Reef?”