Photo: WSl/Poullenot

A smaller tower with less environmental impact will be used for the Paris 2024 Olympic surfing event, the Games website reported last Friday.

The new tower will be smaller, going from 150 square meters (50 less than the original plan), lighter from 14 tons to nine, will have fewer people working there, from 25 to 30 instead of 40, and will have internet and water connections that do not involve cables or pipes in the reef.

In the statement, the officials list one by one all the suggestions made by locals and protesters, and justify the reason why it is not possible to carry them out.

The wooden structure used by the WSL does not meet safety requirements, the base, they say, is deteriorated due to corrosion and “it is not an option to risk the lives of the people who will work at the event.”

They also do not believe that it would be best to reinforce the base of the existing structure because this would involve making a new base that would use much more concrete and would require digging deeper into the reef.

On the other hand, they do not believe it is possible to manufacture a new one made of wood that meets all standards and is done on time. “On the other hand, this option would have been more expensive (…) And aluminum was chosen because it is more durable and resistant, more so than wood, particularly considering the exposure to the ocean climate.”

They note that it is also lighter and easier to handle.

The option of having the judges on a boat or on the coast was also discarded because the frontal angle that they have always had is lost.

Finally, they point out that working with this lighter rig will reduce the depth of the drilling, and they will also use a smaller, shallower barge to transport the equipment without risking affecting the coral.

They will use a different drilling ring, “used in Polynesia for the installation of ecological anchors.”

The work, they explain, is designed by studies commissioned by IJSPF (Institut Jeunesses et Sports de Polynésie Française) and the environmental impact will be assessed by Créocean.