Beach volleyball players are usually shiny when playing a game or before the match. This has many reasons, and we are going to explore them in this article.
Reasons why beach volleyball players skin is so shiny?
The first reason is because of sunscreen. It is not mandatory to play beach volleyball with sunscreen, but it is highly recommended to do so.
There are many types of sunscreen that volleyball players prefer to use (Check the most common one) …
There are those that stick to the skin on heavy sweaters, for those with makeup, without makeup etc. Sunscreen is there to protect your skin from the sun, but it all depends on its level of protection and on its greasiness. The latter can determine the shininess of the player during gameplay.
The second reason is simply sweating. There are players that sweat less and other sweat more. Players that sweat excessively during a game are nearly always shiny.
The third reason is the combination of sweating and sunscreen application. When a player is covered in sweat and sunscreen he will shine like a diamond.
… Keep in mind that sunscreen is an important element of beach volleyball players gear!
This however does not mean that all beach volleyball players shine during the game. There are some players that do not have a sweating problem, but they use sunscreen nonetheless. Sunscreen is absorbed by the skin after some time and the shininess is lost during the entire course of the game.
What do beach volleyball players put on their skin?
Beach volleyball player needs to have a protective layer during the entire game. There are of course, different sunscreen variants that are of different protective levels, called SPF (Sun Protection Factor).
There are different levels of SPF: low, medium, high and very high. The lowest SPF is below 15, the medium SPF is 15 to 29, the high SPF is 30 to 49, and the highest SPF is above 50. The factor a player uses depends directly on his skin type, that is, on the lightness of his skin.
Another thing you should know is that players usually take their sunscreen off by applying different kinds of oil wash and active body wash after the game. The thing here is that sunscreen is meant for protecting the skin, and when its role is complete it is better to remove it off of your skin.
Sand is also an option for players to put on their skin during gameplay, but that does not make them shiny, but instead it dries them out, because the sand absorbs the sweat, but it does not stick to the skin of the players.
Why does the sand never stick to beach volleyball players?
The sand that is used for beach volleyball is a completely different and is carefully chosen for.
The sand goes through a lot of procedures that are there to determine the quality and if the sand meets the required conditions.
The FIVB strictly regulates the sand for every major beach volleyball competition. The sand is required to be fine, of small grain and without any pebbles or shells that can cause possible injury.
The sand that is used for beach volleyball does not stick to the players because it does not contain any dust or smaller, dust like particles.
The main reason sand sticks to you when you are at the beach is because of the dust it contains. Sand is basically rocks that are ground down to small particles through the course of millions of years. We all know that rocks do not stick to you when you wet them.
When you get rid of the dust that sand contains, you will get perfect beach volleyball sand that does not stick to your body parts. There are special tools that help when extracting bigger sand particles and pebbles out of the finer sand.
So, we have sand, that can be found on nearly every beach in the world and it is the main part of every desert on the planet. Many different kinds of sand exist and all of them can find their purpose. Beach volleyball sand is carefully chosen and inspected.
Beach volleyball sand is rid of pebbles, shells and dust in order to get the finest product, we can call it pure sand in this case. This process is overseen by the FIVB and is strictly regulated. Fine sand does not stick to you like regular sand does, because it has not dust.
This article on how to build a sand volleyball court, will help you better understand the type of required sand for this sport …
Why do the beach volleyball players rub sand on themselves?
In the gymnastics world there is a special type of chalk that helps the competitors have a firm grip on the objects they come in contact with …
By rubbing sand on their hands, volleyball players achieve the same result. It becomes easier to play ball with „sandy“ hands, because the risks of the ball slipping are low.
You can also see very often that beach volleyball players rub themselves with sand during the game or in between the sets, that is because the sand can absorb sweat, without sticking to the players. This trick is very handy when it comes to the neutralization of sweat and all its discomforts.
Players rubbing themselves with sand is nothing new to beach volleyball and it is an established practice in the beach volleyball world. Be careful not to rub low quality sand on you, it may stick to your body too much, and it can get very uncomfortable if it sticks to your entire body.
Important Tip: If you are an amateur and not used to hot sand while practicing, the you definitely need to use sand socks. They will also give you a more stability and strength when jumping which would results in better performance overall. For example, these quality sand socks are reliable and will help in that regard.
How beach volleyball sand should be?
The sand that is used for beach volleyball plays is required to be of fine grain, without any traces of shells or rocks, because there is a need to avoid injury, meaning small cuts and bruises.
There are a few types of sand like masonry sand, golf course sand and beach volleyball sand for example. The trick here is that all of them are different in composition and all of them serve one purpose.
For example the masonry sand has many pebbles and dust in it, and that is fine if you are engaging in masonry. Golf course sand passes different types of tests, like the fried egg test for example. The fried egg test is performed by hitting or throwing a gold ball on towards/on the sand. If the gold ball goes half way in it the sand is good, if it does not, the sand is bad for golf.
Beach volleyball sand is carefully chosen, for the top competitions it is sometimes even imported from far away because the place or country of the game does not have suitable beach volleyball sand. Sand was imported from Vietnam for the Tokyo Olympics in order to create a suitable environment for the players. 3500 tones off sand were imported.
As we have mentioned beach volleyball sand needs to be of fine composition, without dust, small shells and rocks, it needs to be perfect in a manner of speaking. What distinguishes beach volleyball sand from other types of sand is its color. The color of professional beach volleyball sand is white.
For amateur beach volleyball high grade professional sand is not mandatory, but the better the sand the better the performance of the players.
Final Thoughts …
In case you practice beach volleyball under burning sun, I highly recommend using sunscreen before every game. And even to use natural oils after the games to help protect your skin …
I’ve known some people who have suffered severe sun burns during games without being aware of it.