Basking in summer sunshine, Perth’s North Inch has been transformed for an international beach volleyball competition with 240 tonnes of sand shipped in.
The inaugural European Small Countries Division championships finals are running in tandem with the 30th Scottish Open Volleyball Tournament.
There are 50 beach volleyball teams of two people taking part representing San Marino, Luxembourg, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Ireland and Malta.
Play will continue on Saturday with the finals on Sunday afternoon in the event which was designed to give athletes international competition to boost their chances of qualifying for the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
Among those taking part is Seain Cook from Perth who hopes along with beach partner Robin Miedzybrodski’s to qualify for the Commonwealth Games in Australia’s Gold Coast.
“Entry is free and anyone can come along and the weather forecast is great for the weekend,” said Margaret Ann Fleming, CEO of the Scottish Volleyball Association.
The Scottish Open will be returning next year and she hoped that the beach event may well do so as well.
She was particularly pleased with the support of Perth and Kinross Council in bringing the event to the city.
“We could not have done this without their support,” she said.
A mammoth operation to set up, the sand won’t go to waste – it will be used as dressing for the rugby pitches.
Hundreds more participants are involved in the 30th Scottish Open Volleyball Tournament with many local teams to the fore.
There are also teams from Germany, Belgium and the Faroe Islands.