After making its Olympic debut at Barcelona 1992 as a demonstration sport, beach volleyball has garnered a lot of attention given the adrenaline-pumping action over the years that plays out in an aesthetic setting. 

There’s a lot more to a beach volleyball court than just a net strung up by the sea. However, in Tokyo Olympics, the federation has taken a different route as the competition won’t be playing out on a beach at all.

Instead, the venue is in the urban Shiokaze Park overlooking Tokyo Bay, with 3,500 tons of sand shipped in from Vietnam to create a 16-inch deep surface that is safe and consistent for the players.

But the venue is not a basic sandbox at your neighbourhood playground. The International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) “Sand Specification and Homologation Process” lists the requirements that all event organizers, including the Olympics, must follow.

Tokyo Olympics 2020: Indian athletes in action on Day 10

What are these criteria? Well, it’s the basics — colour, size, shape and odour.

So how are grains of sands chosen for the Olympics?

According to the FIVB guidelines, at every event, 80% to 92% of the sand grains must be coarse or medium grade, ranging from 0.5mm to 2mm. 

If the grains are too small, they would become dusty and compact during the match. But if they are too large, players would leave the match with their skins scrapped.

The colour of the grains matters too. It should be “an aesthetically pleasing, non-glaring colour, preferably tan, cream or pale brown.” Darker sand absorbs too much heat; if it’s too light, it gives off glare, according to WCNC Charlotte.

Coming to shapes, the grains must be rounded or “sub-angular,” naturally weathered and should not be acquired from a crushed rock source. The sand quality also ensures great drainage even if it rains.

Such fine-tunings make a difference in the end as although players practice on an actual beach, they rely on the competition surfaces to be consistent.