(ATR) It’s been a good week for International Surfing Association (ISA) President Fernando Aguerre.
He was recognized for lifetime achievement in his hometown of Mar del Plata, Argentina on Sunday. Aguerre received the Lobo de Mar award for developing and growing surfing worldwide, including getting the sport into the Olympic Games beginning with Tokyo 2020.
Four days later, the Paris 2024 Executive Board approved Tahiti as the site for the surfing competition over four other options along the Atlantic coast of France.
Aguerre tells Around the Rings "I’m very happy" with the decision to go to Tahiti, comparing the waves at Teahupo’o to the iconic tennis venue that hosts the French Open and will host the tennis competition in 2024.
"You’re talking about one of the two or three best surf spots. It’s like if Paris had five tennis venues and decided on Roland Garros."
Aguerre says the decision is popular within the surfing community.
"The waves in Tahiti are exceptional waves so everybody is excited. It’s playing on the ultimate circuit, it’s playing on the ultimate court. And that’s how that place is looked upon by surfers around the world."
Paris 2024 reached its decision after months of analyzing all five candidate sites, in collaboration with the ISA and the French Olympic Committee (CNOSF). Despite being 15,000 kilometers (9320 miles) from Paris, Tahiti still won out in an evaluation that included five main criteria: competition/sporting experience, operational areas/spectator experience, alignment with the Paris 2024 vision for sustainable and spectacular Games, financial impact, and accommodation for athletes and accredited persons.
A strong point for the Tahiti venue is that it has hosted many international competitions over the years and Aguerre says broadcasters won’t have "to reinvent the wheel" to cover it. Paris 2024 plans to build temporary modular houses for the athletes’ village which will be dismantled and rebuilt as social housing in the islands after the Olympics.
Despite the 20 hour plane ride from Tahiti to Paris, the 24 male and 24 female surfers who will be competing in 2024 will still get to enjoy the full Olympic experience. Given the consistency and quality of the Teahupo’o wave during the middle of Tahiti’s high surf season, Paris 2024 expects the competition will take place over one week. The plan is for the competitors to spend the second week of the Games in Paris, staying at their respective Olympic Villages and attending the closing ceremony.
The Tahiti site, along with the urban sports site at the Place de la Concorde in the French capital, must still be approved by the IOC Executive Board when it meets next month in Lausanne ahead of the Winter Youth Olympic Games.
The IOC is not willing to say much about it, a spokesperson replying to questions from ATR with a succinct"We look forward to hearing Paris' presentation at an upcoming IOC Executive Board".
But Aguerre believes that the IOC will approve, despite comments earlier this year by IOC President Thomas Bach that he preferred a surfing venue as close to Paris as possible.
"I don’t have a worry particularly. It’s been a good process, completely open, completely clear… and I think the IOC will see through all of that."
Written by Gerard Farek
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