Volleyball Australia hopes a state of the art beach training centre at the AIS will lure the best athletes to Canberra when they relaunch their capital-based program.
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Trucks have started unloading 550 tonnes of sand in recent weeks in preparation for a new start at the national training centre.
Volleyball Australia is reshaping its scholarship program to include beach volleyball training for rising athletes given Australia has proven to be an international medal contender on the sport.
But the venue, which has previously been a clay tennis court, will also likely have real-time video updates for coaches and players to use and upgraded technology.
Volleyball Australia boss Andrew Dee joked it would be the "biggest indoor sandpit in Canberra", but also said it was a serious sign the AIS are still investing in the ageing Bruce campus.
The AIS was once a leader in sports science and training venues, convincing some of the world's best athletes to come to Canberra to fine-tune their performance.
But it has fallen behind and facilities have become out of date, prompting a major AIS asset review which will likely lead to cutting the 65 hectare base in half.
Volleyball, however, has no intention of shifting away from its traditional indoor courts and a new sand training facility.
"It's quite a commitment to do this and I think it reflects the AIS' commitment to the site again. They want to reinvigorate it," Dee said.
CANBERRA SPORT
"They're certainly working with us to make it better for our circumstances.
"We'll upgrade our technology. We'll have video and screens for replays almost immediately.
"It's pretty exciting. Having the beach courts in Canberra gives us a chance to have athletes do both and we can expose more athletes earlier."
The beach volleyball project is expected to cost more than $300,000 and will be officially opened in the coming weeks, which doubles as the start of a new joint scholarship.
Athletes have been trained in either indoor volleyball or beach volleyball in the past. But the new system will involve training in both, partly to ramp up the pursuit of beach volleyball Olympic Games medals and partly to give athletes more options for their careers.
Volleyball Australia has appointed Margo Wittens as the head coach, who is a beach expert.
"We're driven by Olympic results a little bit, which is where the government is directing funding," Dee said.
The AIS is yet to detail its plans for a site redevelopment in the coming years.
It is expected Canberra Stadium and the AIS Arena will be sold, allowing Sport Australia to generate revenue by offloading assets rarely used by Olympic sports.
The ACT government has been watching the developments closely as weigh up whether to build a new stadium in Civic, or redevelop Canberra Stadium.
Sport Australia will likely sell up to half of its 65 hectare footprint at the AIS and then invest in newer training and accommodation facilities for athletes.
