Bay Sand Too Coarse for Volleyballers

FINE SAND being dumped on Oriental Bay beach will end that gravelly feeling in uncomfortable places for Kiwi volleyball star Anna Scarlett.

Wellington City Council is to truck in 250 cubic metres of soft Paraparaumu sand today to cover two courts before the weekend’s Wellington leg of the New Zealand Beach Volleyball Tour.

The fine sand, taken from an inland quarry, will provide a soft 300-millimetre top layer to cover the coarse sand Scarlett said causes irritation when it gets stuck in her playing uniform.

“It is not very fine so it doesn’t get into such places as much but when it does it is pretty uncomfortable,” she said. “It is not fine sand, it is gravel.”

The council has had a stream of complaints about injuries caused by the coarse sand since it redeveloped the beach in 2003.

“It is really rough on your body. Your knees, your arms and your sides all get quite grazed. Some people have some lasting reminders of Wellington,” Scarlett said. “But if they bring in soft sand then that will just make it the perfect location.”

The former Silver Fern said she would rather fall on a netball court than do a sliding dive on the Bay beach. “That sounds pretty bad. Wellington people are going to hate me.”

Oriental Bay sand was the roughest on New Zealand’s volleyball circuit, but small rocks at Ohope and sea shells at Mt Maunganui were also a menace.

About 17,200 cubic metres of Golden Bay sand was barged in for Oriental Bay’s 2003 redevelopment. It was double-washed to remove fine particles. The council used coarse sand at the request of residents, concerned that fine sand could be easily blown into their homes by winds.

Council spokesman Richard MacLean said residents had been told of the dumping. “We . . . are hoping for a wind-free weekend. We don’t want all the sand ending up at the Basin Reserve.”

The fine sand will be returned to Paraparaumu after Sunday.

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