Drones rather than a judges’ tower in Tahiti for the Olympics? “It’s a little late to wake up”

The President of French Polynesia Moetai Brotherson deplored on Tuesday the position considered late by the International Surfing Federation (ISA) which proposed to do without the Teahupo’o judges’ tower for the Olympic Games in Tahiti.

“We must not wake up at the moment of the buzz,” Moetai Brotherson told an AFP journalist. “The ISA has been associated with these Olympic surfing events from the start. It’s a little late to wake up.”

In a press release on Tuesday, the ISA said it had proposed to the government of this French community in the Pacific, as well as to the organizers of the Olympic Games, to do without the tower on the Teahupo’o site and to judge the event via aerial images and taken from the shore and the sea.

“They should have positioned themselves from the start by telling us: We believe that we can judge from the ground. At that time, we would have put ourselves in working order to find technical solutions,” Mr. Brotherson told AFP, adding that he had not obtained more details “on the drone models” nor on “the camera models” considered.

“What the ISA is proposing to us is to nevertheless use a platform located at the level of the judges’ tower, because from the ground, it is not possible to film (…) Only, this platform must be 6 m above the water (…) and men are needed on board. This therefore brings us back to the initial problem which is that of security (…) Ultimately, it does not provide any real solutions,” he regretted.

“We made the decision to take the only realistic technical option that allows us to both meet deadlines and operate with minimal damage to the environment,” he said.

Tests of the new lightweight barges intended for the work were carried out on Friday and “went very well”, continued Mr Brotherson, although markers were removed on one of the channels. A complaint against X was also filed by Polynesia.

“The drilling work will begin (…) There is no plan B. The Games will be held in Teahupo’o,” insisted Mr. Brotherson.

For several months, the project to build a new judges’ tower located on the reef, at Teahupo’o, has raised concerns from environmental protection associations and certain local residents. Big names in surfing have also opposed this aluminum structure.