Princes Street Gardens plays host to the Speedo Beach Volleyball Urban Tour

With the help of 200 tonnes of sand (15 lorry loads) dredged up from the bed of the River Tay, an urban beach was constructed in Princes Street Gardens for the Beach Volleyball – Speedo Urban Tour this summer.

The spectacular event got underway with junior coaching sessions from Scottish players Shauna Mullin and Jen Thom, and one of the UK’s most experienced Beach Players, Denise Austin from North Devon.

The top players demonstrated the cutting edge of UK beach volleyball.

Jody Gooding and Scot Morph Bowes, fresh back from playing in the early stages of the Spanish Open, were too experienced for the South African pair of Brett Goslett and Richard Payne in the men’s final.

The climax of the whole event was the women’s final between local girls Mel Coutts and Shauna Mullin and English pair Lucy Boulton and Zara Dempney.

After a fabulous athletic and enthralling display, Mel and Shauna took the honours beating the top English pairing for the first time ever to take the title.

The massive crowd, the sunshine, the setting, the organisation and the spectacular play on the beach proved very popular with everyone who attended.