The 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games are rapidly approaching and it was the decision of the event to use imported sand for the competition.
The beaches in Gold Coast are among the best in the world but the sand was deemed to be too fine for a wide-scale competition. This meaning, that the fine sand would not offer athletes the stability they need to play the sport at a high level safely.
This is not the first time that an event has brought in imported sand as the 2016 Rio Olympic Games required a coarser mix of sand on the famous Copacabana Beach. The imported sand will cost roughly $19 million for the Commonwealth Games.
“The advice from the FIVB is that the sand at Coolangatta and surrounds is fine that it requires a mix of coarseness to ensure that the athletes have a safe playing surface consistent with the requirements of the federations,” said Games organizer deputy CEO Brian Nourse. “That is why arrangements are currently underway to secure a coarser sand – approximately 1000-1200 tonnes for the competition and warm-up courts and an additional 500-520 tonnes for the Runaway Bay training courts.”
The competition is set to being in April 2018 with the construction of a 4000-seat stadium show court to begin in January 2018. The tickets for the beach volleyball events at the Commonwealth Games are already sold out, showing the popularity of the event in its first showing at the competition.
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