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Remember when our own new Sovicos Beach fields were installed? That happened, thanks to Vincent Lugtenburg and Gemeente Den Haag, in June of last year. So 2022 was the first year we could play beach volleyball on our own beach court for an entire summer. And how much we enjoyed it!!!
The court was previously used for beach soccer and beach korfball, these proved to be no stayers. Nothing is as much fun as beach volleyball, right? It’s a keeper anyway, so the court was finally transformed into Sovicos Beach Court!
With your own beach court comes your own storage, right?
Our own waterproof storage
So we have already had the pleasure of enjoying it. And even though there were a lot of people from the party and the fields were often filled there was something missing. Namely a good waterproof storage room! Because, where we currently stored the equipment is as leaky as a basket. Basket. Yes really.
But, Feb. 14, it was then time for the start of a wind and waterproof storage shed so that our equipment will not be exposed to water and sand. The piles were driven into the ground at a spot (next to the playground) near the beach court (see photos). On February 15, the concrete went into the ground and the following week it was time to place the shed. Finally our own shed where our stuff can be stored dry, safe and well. Orrrrr…. right?
The pit turns out to be a treshold too high
Sporthal Steenwijklaan is the oldest sports hall in The Hague. And in the old days there were no thresholds, just potholes. Nâh, the Steenwijklaan also has such a pit. And unfortunately one of those which is (intended to be) a threshold for placing the shed. Because where Vincent Lugtenburg and I stood at the Steenwijklaan Sports Hall at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, February 23, in good spirits and saw the trucks with driving plates and the salvage yard arrive… It turned out not to be that easy. The trucks are heavily loaded (a driving plate weighs about 3,000 kilograms (x12) and the salvage yard weighs about 18 tons) and the beachcourt is located in a pit, which means that the trucks have to drive down a steep slope. After some measuring, walking back and forth, fussing and grumbling, a few things were tried but to no avail. The slope too steep, the trucks too heavy, the place too difficult to reach. And so after about three hours – by now I had big kâhwe klâhwe – the trucks left, with driving plates and salvage. Another delivery date will be arranged and hopefully then, with some adjustments here and there, we will manage to place the salvage. Of course we will do our best to have the shed furnished and ready before the new outdoor beach volleyball season begins. – To be continued.
Speaking of that outdoor beach volleyball season. Will you be playing beach volleyball on our beautiful Sovicos Beach Court this summer?
Nieuwe berging, nieuw beachvolleybal zand!
You do that not only with a nice new shed next to the courts but also on new good beach volleyball sand! Sand from the sandbox is obviously unsuitable. Even our wonderful Scheveningen / Zuidersstrand sand is not top notch. River sand it is! It is best if the sand does not drift, yet it must remain loose and not hard or sharp. This is because hard sand is not really nice to fall in, also it causes injuries faster. You also don’t want the sand to stick together into a rock-hard layer. On the other hand, loose sand makes the game tough, but it does make for a soft landing. What do you prefer? Hard sand and a less heavy beach volleyball game or soft and fine sand to fall into but heavy game.
Anyway, long story short…. we also have new sand in our beach volleyball sandbox! Nice and fine, loose sand that does not drift. Approved by FIVB and with certificate!
Soon, the beach committee (formed this season) will start preparations and will come out with information to members about the days and times for the summer program as soon as possible. So we are almost ready for beach volleyball season 2023! Now all that remains is the weather.
Want to know more about the storage, beach volleyball sand or anything related to this blog? Send an email!