Volleyball body backs sand move

VOLLEYBALL Australia has backed the decision to truck hundreds of tonnes of sand to the Gold Coast for the Commonwealth Games beach volleyball competition.

As revealed by the Bulletin, Games organisers are negotiating to buy sand from a supplier after tests revealed Coolangatta’s version did not meet technical requirements.

“The simple fact is the Gold Coast sand is beautiful and pristine but too fine for elite international beach volleyball competition,” Volleyball Australia’s Steve Hart said.

“There are precedents all over the world and here in Australia where sand is brought in to ensure the coarseness of the sand meets international standards for beach volleyball.”

GOLDOC deputy chief executive Brian Nourse said it was looking to secure up to 1720 tonnes of coarser sand for the Games competition, warm-up and training courts.