Tahiti and the 2024 Olympic organisers have been working out the finer details of the Olympic Surf competition to be held in French Polynesia.
A Surfer training days out from Billabong's annual Tahiti competition at Teahupoo reef. TAHITI, FRENCH POLYNESIA - AUGUST 5 2018 Photo: Andrea Izzotti/123RF
This week in Papeete, the president of French Polynesia Edouard Fritch signed official documents for the competition with Tony Estanguet, the president of the Paris Olympic Games organising committee.
The venue for the surfing competition is a surfbreak off of Teahupo'o on Tahiti, which is famous for its heavy, glassy waves reaching up to seven metres in height.
The three official documents signed this week relate to the infrastructure required on the site and security for the surf events, as well as the passage of the Olympic flame.
"We are going to make it an event that meets your expectations," Fritch said during the signing ceremony.
"We are a small far away island in the Pacific who will host the Olympic Games. It is extraordinary. We had to convince the population but we have done it, everyone will look at us."
"Since last Friday we have met many actors on the site," said Tony Estanguet.
"Some construction will be necessary but a lot of it will be temporary to not ruin the sites."
The President of French Polynesia, Edouard Fritch Photo: AFP
The contracts were signed at the Federation of Tahiti surf in Papara which will host the fans.
Its president Lionel Teihotu told RNZ Pacific the event will be a way for local communities to witness and take part in the Olympics.
"Each will participate to the games to make it a green event. That is what Tony Estanguet and his team are doing. It's to make a clean event by utilising the existing infrastructure and focus on sport," he said.
Photo: 123rf
The Olympic organising committee delegation have stayed in French Polynesia for six days to locate future instalments such as accommodation for the athletes and fan zones.
They also observed the logistics of the 2022 Outerknown Tahiti Pro World Surfing League championships which were held at Teahupo'o from August 11-21.
Tahiti was chosen by the committee over other French surfing destinations including those in Brittanny, Hossegor and elsewhere.
Surfing made its Olympic debut at the Tokyo 2020 Games which were held in 2021 because of the pandemic.
Italo Ferreira of Brazil and Carissa Moore of the United States were the first man and women to ever be crowned Olympic surfing champions at Tsurigasaki beach, about 60 kilometres southeast of Tokyo.
Hawaiian born Olympic gold medalist Carissa Moore. Photo: 2019 World Surf League
According to the official games website Hawaiian-born Moore started surfing with her father when she was five on the beaches of Waikiki.