Cover photo: WSL/Poullenot 

They have just confirmed a WSL stage in Uruguay, after almost 25 years. I was 19 when I last saw a surfer in my country wearing lycra from the league (ASP at the time), I must be 43 now. I always say that my country is boring because nothing ever happens, but every now and then there are people who prove me wrong (although I am right, because a couple of decades passed between stages, what a country, my God!)…

The issue of the Paris 2024 tower is for me the one of the moment. There is an internal bidding war that nobody knows anything about that I am sure is taking place. Looking at it from afar, it seems to me that the ISA does not want anything that even comes close to harming a coral (whatever the position of the reader, it is not in the ISA's interest to break everything it preaches), Paris 2024 is in the middle (it wants everything to turn out more or less happy for everyone) and, paradoxically, those in the Tahiti government, who negotiated the construction contracts, are the ones who are most interested in the damage being done... Or the tower...

I think that although there is a lot of fear-mongering going on, there will certainly be damage if the tower is built as planned. It won't be chaotic, the Chopes ecosystem won't disappear, but something will be done that is avoidable.

At an Olympic Games that prioritizes television, are you going to tell me that there is no way to film and judge the tournament remotely? Is that tower necessary? Of course not!

We are witnessing a whim, not to say an act of corruption, by the Tahitian government.

And here I am with the locals, who, before going to ask for help outside, should go ask for it inside, speak to their president, who is the one who, in the end, is creating all this mess.

Everyone is complaining about people who have nothing to complain about, when everyone has already made it clear that the tower is being built by Tahiti and its government. In other words, the owners of the land and each coral are the ones who want to destroy them.

Below are some of the top stories from this week on DUKE:

-Uruguayan stage of the WSL longboard tour confirmed: https://dukesurf.com/confirmaron-etapa-uruguaya-del-tour-de-longboard-de-la-wsl/

-Costa Rica has already announced its team for the Puerto Rico World Cup: https://dukesurf.com/costa-rica-ya-anuncio-su-equipo-para-el-mundial-de-puerto-rico/

-Lele and his trip to Ireland with Curren: “Watching him surf is like watching Jimi Hendrix playing the guitar”: https://dukesurf.com/lele-and-his-trip-to-ireland-with-curren-watching-him-surf-is-like-watching-jimi-hendrix-playing-the-guitar/

-Five accidents and five rescues in Pipe of five professionals that almost cost them their lives: https://dukesurf.com/cinco-accidentes-en-pipe-de-cinco-profesionales-que-casi-les-costaron-la-vida/

-Alonso Correa's tube show in northern Peru: https://dukesurf.com/alonso-correa-tube-show-in-northern-peru/

-ISA again distances itself from the Tahitian government and from Paris 2024: https://dukesurf.com/isa-vuelve-a-desmarcarse-del-gobierno-tahitiano-y-de-paris-2024/

-A praise to the CT competitors who competed in the Pipe Masters: https://dukesurf.com/a-praise-to-the-ct-competitors-who-competed-in-the-pipe-masters/

-Beyond the edge of tolerability: https://dukesurf.com/beyond-the-edge-of-tolerability/

-Julian Schweizer: “Without a doubt, the Latin title was one of the highlights”: https://dukesurf.com/julian-schweizer-without-a-doubt-the-latin-title-was-one-of-the-highlights/

-Heavyweight Eimeo Czermak also hospitalized after Pipe accident: https://dukesurf.com/heavyweight-eimeo-czermak-also-hospitalized-after-pipe-accident/

-Another amazing human creation called wave pool: https://dukesurf.com/another-amazing-human-creation-called-wave-pool/

-Filipe Toledo invested in an American brand of healthy snacks: https://dukesurf.com/filipe-toledo-invested-in-an-american-brand-of-healthy-snacks/

-Kolohe Andino critical of the WSL: https://dukesurf.com/kolohe-andino-critico-con-la-wsl/

-John John Florence and Moana Jones won the Pipe Masters: https://dukesurf.com/john-john-florence-and-moana-jones-won-the-pipe-masters/

-Hawaiian scientists raise alarm over Olympic tower impact: https://dukesurf.com/hawaiian-scientists-raise-alarm-over-publication-of-impact-study-of-the-olympic-tower/

-Sol Aguirre and Adur Amatriain were invited to the WSL Junior World Championships: https://dukesurf.com/sol-aguirre-and-adur-amatriain-were-invited-to-the-wsl-junior-world-championships/

-Joan Duru won the Quemao Class 2023: https://dukesurf.com/joan-duru-gano-el-quemao-class-2023/

-The mystery of the surfers who left RVCA in a gang has been revealed: https://dukesurf.com/develado-el-misterio-de-los-surfers-que-se-fueron-en-banda-de-rvca/

-Kainehe Hunt: “When I came out I felt like I was reliving my birth or something”: https://dukesurf.com/kainehe-hunt-when-i-came-out-i-felt-like-i-was-reliving-my-birth-or-something/

-This week work will resume on the new aluminum tower in Teahupoo: https://dukesurf.com/this-week-work-will-return-on-the-new-aluminum-tower-in-teahupoo/

-The final stage of ALAS 2023 will be in Arica this weekend: https://dukesurf.com/etapa-final-del-alas-2023-sera-en-arica-este-fin-de-semana/

-Radziunas and Jarisz are the new Argentine champions: https://dukesurf.com/radziunas-y-jarisz-son-los-nuevos-campeones-argentinos/

-Ottado and Morosini are the new Uruguayan champions: https://dukesurf.com/ottado-y-morosini-son-los-nuevos-campeones-uruguayos/

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