The International Surfing Association, which has no interest in seeing Olympic surfing fail, presented two proposals that they consider viable for the test to be successful in Paris 2024.

Two options that don't involve drilling another hole in Teahupoo Reef, two options that don't involve any barges damaging it, going back and forth, carrying absolutely nothing.

The ISA, which has already made it clear that it does not make the decisions on the construction of bridges or towers, said that the event can be done without a tower. And the ISA definitely knows a lot more than Paris 2024 and the government of Tahiti about the organization of surfing tournaments.

So, now what?

If the tower is built, which has already been said to damage the coral and the environment and which locals do not want to be built, it will be built knowing that there is an option that does not damage the coral; that is, it will be damaging to do so.

If the tower is built, the ISA is not involved in the decision. Or rather, the ISA itself should boycott it in any case… Knowing that there is a 100% viable ecological option, if Olympic surfing involves breaking everything that is supposed to be important to it, then it is better that there is no Olympic surfing, right?

What the ISA did with that proposal was a very brave move… They have criticised the ISA in the last few times, I think some of the criticism has been made, for example that they have taken so long to speak out about this. And, point done, once they did that they left Tahiti and Paris 2024 in a compromised position.

We must not forget what the ISA itself says: Getting along with Paris 2024 is getting along with the IOC, permanence in the Olympic Games depends on this, this permanence implies that from 2028 the ISA will receive 16 million dollars per Olympic cycle for television rights... The amount of money that coaches, surfers and other parties involved receive because surfing is Olympic is in line; not counting the million-dollar contracts with brands that are given since surfers now have Olympic visibility.

But the ISA stood up to the Tahitian government, to Paris 2024, to the IOC and defended the same thing that all surfers were defending and told them to stick the tower in their...

It's going to be interesting to see what happens now.

What is clear is that any protests from now on must be directed at the government of Tahiti, Paris 2024 and the IOC.