First Look: Controversial Olympic Surfing Judging Tower Built at Teahupo'o
The locals didn’t want it; but the Olympic machine pushed on.
A contentious, three-story, aluminum tower has been erected on the reef at Teahupo’o, Tahiti – the site of surfing in the Paris 2024 Olympics – despite pushback.
The main concern? Irreparable damage to the famed reef.
After all the back-and-forth – will they build it or won’t they? – the tower has finally been installed. And now, we have our first look at it.
The drone footage comes from Australian surf photographer, and longtime documenter of Teahupo’o, Tim McKenna. He captioned it with the following:
“The new tower is up.
"The wave is as perfect as it has ever been.
“The coral suffered minimal damage after a channel was marked in the lagoon so the construction boats could access easily.
“It will take some time to see if Ciguatera has drastically increased in certain fish living in that specific lagoon area.
Related: Surfing Activists Defeated; Teahupo'o Aluminum Tower Confirmed for Paris 2024 Olympics
“Meanwhile the aluminum construction looks pretty slick and was assembled faster than expected.
“Tahiti now has a state of the art judging tower for the 20 next years of surf events at the #endoftheroad.
“The Teahupoo village and all the population is ready to cheer on local surfers @vahinefierro and @kaulivaast to take gold this July at the @paris2024”
So, all that fuss for nothing? Are McKenna’s words accurate in that the tower construction had minimal damage on the precious reef? A new era for Teahupo’o?
Or…
Will the locals burn it down in the middle of the night?
Stay tuned.
***
Don't miss another headline from SURFER! Subscribe to our newsletter, follow us on Instagram, and stay connected with the latest happenings in the world of surfing. We're always on the lookout for amusing, interesting and engaging surf-related videos to feature on our channels.
Whether you're a professional surfer or just an amateur, we want to see your best footage and help you share it with the world. Submit your video for a chance to be featured on SURFER and our social channels. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to watch high-quality surf videos.
