We're building a funded Beach Volleyball court. What do we need to know & what should we avoid?

Question

What have been the best and worst features of beach volleyball courts you've played on? We're starting from scratch so we want to know what's worked well (and why). Anything from court design, positioning, orientation, etc, through to booking, maintenance and admin. We're not VB novices, but want to increase the likelihood of getting it right, so please chip in!

Answer 1

I assume you are building a sand court, not putting a court on the  beach.  Clearly the sun is going to be in someone's eyes at some point in time during the day thats why you switch sides every couple of points in outdoor volleyball.  Posts should be permanent, sturdy, and a decent distance off the court to avoid any injuries.  Drainage is the most important part of building a sand court, you can find some pretty good directions online.  Just search google for some.  Also decide if you want short court (the norm for AVP and everything else doubles) or full length indoor court.

Answer 2

I agree with what people are saying here (except the don't put it in the sun comment). One court I used to play on had about 6" of sand over a concrete base for the court. in some spots where the sand would get pushed away it would leave an inch or two covering the hard concrete........ needless to say, it HURT when diving after a ball sometimes. I would avoid that by not having concrete as a base, or making the sand a couple feet thick.

Answer 3

To help with the sun orient the court North South that way the sun should never be directly in one sides eyes (as it travels from east to west).

Having permenant sturdy posts is important.

You want to have enough room to move outside the court lines to chase shanked balls and jump serve...if you can manage 6 extra feet around the whole court that should do you well.

One thing people send to overlook when building a sand court is the potential for weeds and grass to grow on the court and for the sand to get packed down.  There are a couple things you can do to help avoid this:

A good clean crushed stone or peastone base at least 6" thick should be used below the sand to allow for drainage. You may want to include some piping here to help get the water out if you're digging this into the ground.

Next you want to install a good quality (I would recomend a contractor quality) non-woven fabric to seperate the stone from your sand.  This will do 2 things...1. keep your stone clean (which will allow it to keep draining the water out) and seperate the sand from the stone so it doesn't settle into the stone and 2. act as a weed control blanket.

You can put your sand on top of this fabric and I would recomend what's called a clean sand (less than 10% fines) if you're not going to use beach sand (which can be very expensive).  

I would use flat 1" nylon lines wite elastic straps at the corners to hlod ithem in place and you should be all set.

I know this was long but you should have a quality court that will last you many years without too much maintanence.

Answer 4

dont have it where the sun will be in someones eyes. I hate playing with the sun in my eye cause then i miss and people think the sun is an excuse. Also try to make sure its an area where there arent a lot of shells or anything in the sand that people can get cut on. And i like it when i go to play beach volleyball and there is some type of concession stand and bathroom around.

Good Luck

=)