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Montreal Beach Pro Tour to Feature Top-Quality Sand
The Montreal Beach Pro Tour is all set to continue for at least three more editions, and organizers have ensured that the sand used for the tournament will be of the highest quality. The sand will be stored in Montreal itself, and for the tournament site, a cost-effective solution was found by building it in the bend of the track.
The sand will be reusable at a high percentage for next year, and the organizers have chosen to buy the sand instead of renting it for the event. An Ontario-based sand supplier, who is also an important partner of the Volleyball World circuit, has been chosen to provide and validate the sand.
There are several recognized sand suppliers worldwide that offer tournament-grade sand for professional beach volleyball courts. Among them, VolleyballUSA.com and Western Materials (California, USA) are prominent suppliers. These suppliers provide sand that meets official specifications emphasizing optimal playing conditions, proper drainage, and consistent texture.
The standardized official specifications for professional beach volleyball sands used in tournaments typically include clean, uniformly graded sand with grain sizes between 0.3 mm and 1.2 mm, rounded grains preferred to avoid abrasiveness, high permeability to minimize water retention and avoid court flooding, and freedom from organic matter, clay, silt, and dust to ensure optimal playability and hygiene.
Suppliers typically provide official lab test reports confirming compliance with FIVB or other governing body standards. Prospective buyers should request particle size distribution, absence of harmful substances or debris, and drainage and compaction properties.
Tens of trucks have rolled onto Sainte-Hélène Island in the last six days to transport all the required sand. Each competition court requires 325 tons of sand, and with two courts set up in the hairpin turn, 650 tons of sand have been transported onto the circuit.
The success of the tournament depends on the quality of the sand, as it is important for the players who spend their days on it. The construction of molds and the purchase of sand cost approximately 80,000$, an investment that the organizers view as significant but necessary.
Plage M, an indoor beach volleyball center in Montreal, could potentially use the large quantity of sand after the tournament. The stands are always present in the crucial and legendary part of the track, and this year, the courts have been set up in the hairpin turn, not in front of the paddocks as in the first edition.
The Montreal stage of the Beach Pro Tour is taking place on the Gilles-Villeneuve circuit for the second time in three years, thanks to the political will and support from the city and provincial government. The organizers take "100% of the financial risks" but consider the current model as the best possible.
The Montreal Beach Pro Tour is not only meticulous about the quality of sand used in their tournament, but they also aim to reuse a high percentage of it for the next year. To ensure the sand's top quality, an Ontario-based sand supplier, who is a partner of the Volleyball World circuit, has been contracted to provide and validate the sand.
