‘Crazy’ obstacles to putting ‘death defying’ surfing event on TV
Exclusive: When your sporting event takes place in the middle of the South Pacific Ocean, lunch arrives on a paddleboard.
Slotted back-to-back in the middle of the World Surf League (WSL) season, the Tahiti and Fiji Pro present absolute logistical nightmares for organisers.
Fiji’s judges tower is nearly five kilometres off the shore. Cait Miers
Cloudbreak is a historic stop on the tour and is a natural marvel of the surfing world. A rolling wave that barrels off a shallow reef some five kilometres off the coast of Nadi in Fiji, it is every surfer’s dream to tame the beast.
But first, everyone has to actually get there.
“The logistics of this is just the funniest thing. It’s wild. Even bringing lunches out here every day, there’s a whole staff to paddle it over,” Jesse Starling, host for the WSL at Cloudbreak, told nine.com.au.
“The judges need to eat. Little things that you would never think about. You essentially need to pack a day bag and then you set up (for the day).
“You’re working from the middle of the South Pacific Ocean, which is wild. It’s not a bad place to be your background. It’s very unique though, it’s the most unique stop on the (Championship Tour) for sure.”
To reach the ‘field’, athletes, crew and VIPs rely entirely on boats and jet skis.
The setup sits over a massive coral reef, with competitors living scattered across neighbouring islands or moored on private boats directly beside the break.
Unsurprisingly, that means tracking people down and coordinating schedules is no walk in the park.
Even the judging and broadcast operations are a monumental feat.
Officials sit in a permanent tower erected by WSL atop the reef - a setup mirrored in Tahiti – only that one is temporary and was originally built for the Paris Olympics.
A central blackboard displays priority, acting as the only signal surfers have in the ocean to follow the judges’ calls.
“It’s quite an enigma as far as a work scheme goes. The judges’ tower...has five judges and a priority judge. The blackboard in the middle will be the priority, so surfers just have to look at that (as) all the calls are made,” Starling added.
“The actual broadcast itself is crazy. We have to bring out cameras in the morning, set them up, and because we’re in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, it takes ages.
“It’s such a hard job, only a small group of people can actually get this done.
“But it’s pretty wild when you watch the broadcast, how many different angles we have. We have a camera on Tavarua that films as well, which is crazy.
“As far as a broadcast perspective, it’s the craziest one we have on tour, just considering we’re in the middle of the ocean.”
Weather dictates everything in surfing.
Tahiti suffered two straight weeks of rain during the competition, while Fiji’s notoriously picky Cloudbreak forced a two-day pause, leaving surfers waiting around for days while the ocean refused to cooperate.
WSL’s waves of consequence have raised the bar for the women’s side. Cait Miers
For those unacquainted with competitive surfing, it doesn’t run to a standard.
Unlike almost every other major sport, the WSL doesn’t have a fixed schedule, each tour stop instead has a 10-day waiting period.
With only three to five days needed for actual competition, organisers will meticulously watch the conditions and the swells for the best moments.
Athletes regularly have chaotic stories from their ocean commutes. Australian surfer Isabella Nichols spoke to nine.com.au about her disaster in Tahiti immediately after winning her heat.
“I finish my heat, it was round two - I was so soaked, and I’m getting carted back to my rented boat, water safety drove me to my boat (and) as I got there - my boat was half underwater,” Nichols recalled.
“I was starting this motor every day and driving this boat to work. Legit and I...I’d gone from such a high (after winning the heat) to ‘oh f--- this boat is an expensive boat’.
“I had a helmet in the boat, and I was there shovelling water out the boat with a helmet. It was the biggest downpour during my heat, and I had four water safety crew with buckets helping me to shovel water out my boat.
Isabella Nichols’ heat in Tahiti was in the middle of one of the worst downpours. Matt Dunbar
“I (thought) today is a hard day on the job.”
Despite the conditions, these tour stops that boast ‘waves of consequence’ have sparked a new era for the women’s side of the WSL.
The heavy barrels have lifted the competition to new heights, with ample opportunities for young stars like Aussie Molly Picklum and American-Canadian Erin Brooks to exponentially raise the bar.
Felicity Palmateer, WSL commentator and big-wave champion, notes that while the boat-based events are exhausting, the payoff is unparalleled.
“People don’t see that side. (It’s) gnarly being on the water the whole time out there on boats, this is the height of weather being scary,” Palmateer told nine.com.au.
“These events are hard. I’m ready for the boat events to be finished.
“But also, only in the last few years have these waves been a reintroduction onto the women’s world tour and which means we see these performances be pushed.
“Although it can be extremely scary sometimes, death defying and you’re (thinking) ‘oh my god, there’s a lot of risk associated with what I’m doing right now’, you see so many cool moments.
“It brings out the best in people.
“I just love that as a commentator and as someone who is like a big wave surfer as well. I really love watching that, so I feel like these two events for me - Tahiti and Fiji - back to back are really cool to commentate.”
