Why was a new referee tower built at the Paris Olympics protested by 250,000 people?

Last week, the Paris Olympic surfing competition came to an end at Teahupoo Beach.

Teahupoo Beach is not in mainland France, but in the South Pacific, on the most famous island of French Polynesia, Tahiti (also translated as "Tahiti"). It is 15,730 kilometers away from Paris, making it the farthest venue from the host city in the history of the Olympic Games .

Olympic surfing competitions held in the South Pacific | Olympics.com

Teahupoo's waves are renowned as some of the heaviest and deadliest in the world, and it hosts world-class surfing competitions every year. However, in the run-up to the Paris Olympics, 250,000 people signed a petition against the IOC's plans - in order to protect the corals on the seabed .

No permanent Olympic legacy

Teahupo is located on the southeast coast of Tahiti, where waves can usually reach 2-3 meters, sometimes up to 7 meters high. Unique thick barrel waves are formed here, and the waves can maintain this shape under different conditions - the formation of this wave is due to the unique local natural geographical conditions, and coral reefs are one of the important factors.

Teahupo'o is named after a nearby village and literally translates to "place of skulls," a reference to a battle that took place nearby in the past; however, the waves and reefs here have killed surfers before. | Pablo Jimenez

The coral reefs in the shallows are about half a meter from the water surface. When the waves rush in from the depths of the ocean and hit the coral reefs, the rapid change in depth causes the wave height to increase , forming a hollow wave with a huge arc. Such huge waves are the excitement and challenge that surfers dream of; the size and frequency of the waves also make Teahupoo a surfing destination.

Teahupoo has hosted world-class surfing competitions for more than 20 years. However, when locals learned of the Paris Olympic Committee's construction plan, they were full of concerns - they were worried that the local environment, especially the coral reefs, would be affected.

Teahupoo's Waves and Reefs | Ryan "Chachi" Craig

Teahupoo is a small village. Although it is a surfing resort, there is no surf shop or hotel in the area. When world-class competitions are held, locals rent their houses to participants. In order to host the surfing competitions of the Paris Olympics, some people initially proposed to build an Olympic Village in Teahupoo for athletes, staff and media to live in. There were also plans to build a bridge over the river for cars to pass through, and even to renovate the hotel that had been closed for more than 20 years.

These were opposed by most local people. They did not unwelcome the Olympic Games being held in their hometown, but compared to leaving permanent Olympic heritage such as buildings, they valued the resources and wealth bestowed by nature on the local area more .

Teahupoo's local bus stop | Ryan "Chachi" Craig

Destroy the corals and no more waves?

The most controversial aspect of the match was the referee tower .

The waves in Teahupoo are usually several hundred meters from the shore. In order for the referees to be able to clearly see the performance of the players, a referee tower needs to be built in the lagoon. In the past 20 years, when Teahupoo held world competitions, a wooden referee tower was used, which could accommodate 10 to 20 people; but for the Olympic Games, the Olympic Committee believed that the referee tower would need to accommodate 40 people, and the existing wooden tower no longer met the current safety standards. Therefore, they planned to rebuild a three-story aluminum referee tower, which will also be equipped with air conditioning and toilets.

New Referee Tower Finally Built | Ryan "Chachi" Craig

But the locals are more concerned about the coral reefs in the lagoon than the referee tower.

According to a study in March this year, the 322 square meters of the referee tower contain 1,003 corals from 20 different species , indicating that the area is a thriving coral habitat. Coral reefs are also one of the most biodiverse ecosystems, providing homes for many marine creatures.

In this surfing resort, the coral reef is one of the factors that create the unique waves; but now, in order to anticipate the four-day competition, a referee tower needs to be built on the coral reef. People suspect that the coral reef will be damaged by drilling holes in the coral reef when building the new tower , and the shape of the waves may also change. They are even worried that the shadow cast by the referee tower may affect the growth of corals. Moreover, the Paris Olympics has set environmental protection and low carbon as its goal since the bidding stage, and destroying natural habitats is obviously contrary to this.

Locals hold protests | Ryan "Chachi" Craig

After learning of the plan to build a new referee tower, local residents and environmental groups quickly held protests against the tower and launched an online petition in October last year, calling for the original wooden tower to be used instead of the new tower. The petition received 250,000 signatures, including professional surfing athletes.

After the construction of the referee tower began, the International Surfing Association also publicly stated in December last year that they did not support the construction of a new referee tower. They had previously proposed building a tower on land, or using a digital camera in an existing wooden tower to shoot and then broadcast the images to the referees; but the Olympic Committee believed that these options would not allow the referees to observe the competition clearly and accurately.

Simplified New Tower

After months of consultation with local residents and environmental groups, the IOC finally decided to minimize construction work in Teahupoo .

Instead of building an Olympic Village or a hotel , the Olympic Committee arranged for staff and media to live in local people's homes. The athletes needed to live closer to the competition venue, so the organizers prepared a small cruise ship for the athletes. But this also brought a new environmental problem - although the cruise ship would not leave a permanent mark on Teahupo, the harmful gases emitted by the engines running all day could pollute the air and the ocean.

There are 103 rooms on the cruise ship, and athletes can stay in single rooms and sleep on real beds instead of cardboard beds, so some people say it may be much better than the Olympic Village in Paris｜Carlos Barria / REUTERS

The original plan to build a bridge for cars was eventually simplified to a bridge for pedestrians only. The number of spectators entering Teahupoo was also limited, with only about 600 spectators on the beach. The Olympic Committee also planned to provide treated water to the local community - local taps are still connected to untreated spring water, but this idea was opposed by many locals and was ultimately not implemented.

Bridge for pedestrians to cross the river safely｜Atea Chip Lee Sao

However, after evaluating the most controversial new referee tower, the Paris Olympic Committee still believes that it needs to be built and that drilling holes in the coral reef is unavoidable. Last November, the Olympic Committee issued a statement, giving a simplified version of the new tower plan with less impact on the environment .

The Olympic Committee believes that the land is too far from the waves, and the referees need to be in the lagoon to fully and accurately observe the performance of the athletes; moreover, the previous wooden tower is old, and aluminum is more resistant to corrosion by wind and waves than wood, so the newly built aluminum tower will have a longer life. The number of people accommodated in the new tower has been reduced from the planned 40 to 25-30, the surface area has been reduced by 50 square meters, and the weight has been reduced from 14 tons to 9 tons. The foundation of the new tower is permanent, but the tower can be disassembled and assembled, and can be removed when there are no events; the underwater cables that transmit electricity will also be removed after the Olympics.

However, during construction last December, it was discovered that a construction barge had become stuck on a coral reef, with its propeller cutting through the colorful corals , revealing the white skeleton inside. The IOC mentioned in its new proposal that they had significantly reduced the size and weight of the new tower, which would reduce the depth of the foundation drilling and allow the use of shallower barges during construction, thus reducing damage to the coral reefs. The photos of the cut corals seemed to break the IOC's beautiful promise.

Cut coral｜ingtagram: @matahidrollet

Today, the controversial new referee tower has been completed and completed its first mission in the surfing competition. The Olympic fever has gradually faded with the closing ceremony. It will probably take more time to know what impact this construction will have on the unique waves and coral reefs of Teahupoo.

But while the waves continue to surge in Teahupoo, the coral reefs inevitably bear permanent traces of human activity.

In the women's shortboard semi-finals, a whale also watched the Olympic competition | X: @BrouilletJerome

Author: Mai Mai

Edited by: Yellowtail Pollock