SCOTTISH VOLLEYBALL ASSOCIATION

When I’m not road testing cars or writing about property for this newspaper I’m often found in St Andrews or Broughty Ferry playing beach volleyball.

I got into the sport 15 years ago and was Scottish Champion way back in 2013. Even at the advanced age of 41 I still sometimes find myself reaching semi-finals at national level.

Beach volleyball has been an Olympic sport since 1996 and made its Commonwealth Games debut in 2018, where it was one of the big successes of Australia’s programme – Perth’s Seain Cook was among the Scottish athletes competing on the Gold Coast. This month it was confirmed as one of the sports at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

It’s fantastic that Perth is to get a permanent beach volleyball centre ahead of hosting the Small Countries Association finals next month.

The Fair City already hosts the UK’s largest volleyball tournament, held on the North Inch each May, and this is sure to attract more players – as well as drawing new people into the sport.

High winds can make beach volleyball tricky, so the sheltered inland location of the Perth club will make play possible even on blowy days.

At the highest level, the game combines explosive power, superb cardiovascular conditioning, and technical skills comparable to topflight tennis.

Try running, jumping and diving on sand for just five minutes and you’ll get an idea how fit professional beach volleyball athletes are.

I can’t wait to try out the new courts myself and I’d urge people to go and watch the tournament from September 19-22.

To find out more, visit scottishvolleyball.org