Why does the sand never stick to beach volleyball athletes in Tokyo?

Fans watching the beach volleyball in Tokyo this week were scratching their heads over an unusual abnormality with the athletes.

Mariafe Artacho del Solar of Australia competes during the women's preliminary match of beach volleyball between Mariafe Artacho del Solar/Taliqua Clancy of Australia and Marta Menegatti/Viktoria Orsi Toth of Italy at Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, July 28, 2021. (Photo by Li Ga/Xinhua via Getty Images)

If you’ve watched any of the beach volleyball in the Olympics this week, you’d have quickly realised the sand at Tokyo’s Shiokaze Park is very different to the sand at Bondi Beach.

Australian duo Mariafe Artacho del Solar and Taliqua Clancy defeated China’s Chen Xue and Xinxin Wang on Sunday evening in straight sets (22-20, 21-13) to qualify for the women’s quarterfinals.

But eagle-eyed fans were left baffled by the lack of sand on the athletes’ bodies throughout the contest.

Artacho del Solar and Clancy were literally dripping with sweat, but the sand never stuck to their bodies following a dive into the turf.

Viewers also noticed the Brisbane-based pair rubbing sand into their hands between points, a tactic that gives the players better grip on the ball by absorbing sweat on their palms.

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Where’s all the sand?

According to Business Insider Australia, the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) has ensured the sand used at the Tokyo Games contains no pebbles or fragments of shells.

Rule 1.2.1 of the FIVB regulations reads: “The surface must be composed of levelled sand, as flat and uniform as possible, free of rocks, shells and anything else which can represent risks of cuts or injuries to the players.”

The FIVB guide specifies that 80 to 92 per cent of the grains must be 0.5mm to 2mm in size – any larger, and the sand will scrape the players’ skin when they dive.

Subsequently, the smoother grains in the sand can touch the person’s skin without sticking to it, falling right off instead.

Taliqua Clancy and Mariafe Artacho will feature in the quarterfinals on Tuesday.

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“The sand quality is great here,” America’s Alix Klineman said last week after a match in Tokyo.

“We just have to kind of keep an eye on what the sand is doing based on the weather.”

Tokyo organisers imported 3500 tons of sand from Vietnam to create the playing surface at Shiokaze Park.

However, the hot conditions in Tokyo this week has caused the sand to be scalding hot, with temperatures at one stage exceeding 50C.

Artacho del Solar and Clancy will next face Canada’s Sarah Pavan and Melissa Humana-Paredes on Tuesday evening at 11pm AEST for a spot in the semi-finals.