Beach volleyball gets new home at Edinburgh school
- Published
Scotland v Sri Lanka at the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast 2018
More associated with warmer climates, beach volleyball is not one of the first sports that comes to mind when thinking about Scotland.
But now players will be able to train in Edinburgh at Scotland's first permanent school-based beach volleyball hub.
Tonnes of sand has been used to create two courts at Liberton High School.
It will host international tournaments as well as being a training venue.
People of all ages and abilities will be able to use the site. It will also be used to train Commonwealth Games athletes.
The £35,000 project was inspired by the temporary Commonwealth training venue built in a farmer's barn in 2017. It was used by Scottish athletes preparing for the 2018 games in Australia.
The farmer needed his barn back, so the sand has now been relocated to the school.
The outdoor courts have an adaptable net for other beach sports.
The project is part of the Sands for Schools programme.
The new beach volleyball training venue is at Liberton High School
Project organisers hope that connecting performance athletes with young people in Edinburgh will help inspire new interest in the sport.
Margaret Ann Fleming, Scottish Volleyball's chief executive officer, said she was "extremely excited to get the venue up and running".
She said: "We hope that this is the first of many projects aimed at building capacity, profile and engagement for our sport, but most importantly, making a difference to the lives of those involved.
"This facility is the culmination of a lot of hard work.
"Scottish Volleyball is very excited about the potential that the project has to inspire the next generation of players, coaches, officials and volunteers, and the positive social impact that our sport can have on people of all ages and abilities."
Liberton High school head teacher, Stephen Kelly, added: "We are all incredibly excited to have this fantastic beach volleyball facility here.
"We all watched with pride the Scottish Commonwealth team competing at the Gold Coast.
"The best part of this project for us will be the opportunity for our young people to see close-up what it takes to achieve excellence in performance and then aspire to do the same using this facility."