The Beach Games is slightly different from other major multi-sport events this year
©Getty Images



I had the misfortune to arrive at exactly the same time as seemingly every team competing in the Games. So after boarding an airport bus alongside a hotchpotch of sporting equipment and athletes from Oman, Laos and Hong Kong, I was - understandably - left waiting at the airport as they took priority.

As the minutes ticked by and no one seemed to know what to do with me, I saw a volunteer had a sheet with my hotel written on, alongside which was written "Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) President and secretary general" (I'm not sure why as they were not staying there).

With English language use not too much better than my Thai, I decided to gesticulate at my hotel name and then at myself for a while in a bid to tell them where I wanted to go. This led to some frantic conversation and a lot of bowing, before someone said: "Oh, I'm so sorry, we did not realise you were the OCA President".

After a brief look at the queue behind me, I decided this was no time for honesty and stayed quiet. Sure enough, my transfer to said hotel was organised soon after...

When the following morning we arrived at the wrong venue for a photo opportunity with the real OCA head - cue a thrilling and terrifying tuk-tuk taxi journey over the hill from Patong to Karon Beach - I was getting slightly concerned.

But since then organisation has been virtually flawless. Volunteers and transport drivers have been efficient and helpful, events have been easy to find, and the Games website has been rich in information and detail.

Although the promotion cannot be compared with that seen in Nanjing, where Youth Olympic adverts were plastered everywhere wherever you went in the city, there has been impressive engagement from the local population. A smattering of foreign tourists curious to catch a glimpse of the action can also be found at every venue.

As in so many other parts of the world, sport here is seen as a way to boost the profile of the country, particularly with regard to invigorating the tourism industry. As the nation's very friendly Minister for Sport and Tourism Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul has said, Thailand is now interested in hosting more major events, including, perhaps, the inaugural edition of the World Beach Games.

A great example of this efficiency came at the Opening Ceremony, where moments before it was scheduled to begin, terrific monsoon-like rain began to fall of the kind that was off any scale of anything I, as a European, was used to. As virtually everyone was sitting in the open air for the beach-side Ceremony, this was hardly ideal.

But barely anyone left their seat and, instead, everyone was handed waterproof coverings, for themselves and their bags. So rather than ruin the spectacle, the rain actually added something, a sense of togetherness and unity among the spectators.

After the shortest of delays while the storm ran its course, the Ceremony began. While the scale was smaller than seen elsewhere, it was rather good: with a unique seaside ambience and a good blend of history, culture and entertainment.

The Opening Ceremony of Phuket 2014 was packed full of beach-side fun - despite the torrential rain beforehand ©ITG





The sport since has been equally compelling.

Although some of the disciplines only rather loosely embrace the "beach" principle, such as air sports and others taking place off the sand, it is great to see so many that are little known and are never likely to be at the Olympic Games. These include pétanque, kurash, and woodball, a blend of golf and croquet which would have many middle aged Englishman of a certain taste purring in delight, as well as kick-volley, essentially a game of "keepie-uppie" played by thousands on beaches around the world every day.

Other sports have been transported onto the sand, such as the specially constructed glass court seen in squash, while innovative beach versions of existing ones are also taking place. Among those I've attended so far is beach handball, where players are awarded double points if they shoot successfully while in the air, or if the goalkeeper scores.

It was exciting stuff, and I am looking forward to seeing others, like beach athletics and beach modern pentathlon, later in the Games.

OCA President Sheikh Ahmad Al Fahad Al Sabah was unsurprisingly delighted when speaking about the concept of the Games, and now hopes the Asian precedent will be replicated at the World Beach Games, something he has pioneered in his other role as Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) head.

"It will be a landmark Games in the world," he said of the global event, expected to be held for the first time in 2017.

"We are lucky in that we are starting late, so will have better chance for modernisation, as we don't have a tradition to follow, and will look for the messages of youth. We can scope our strategy in ways others can't do because they are related to tradition and the style of the Games, and they cannot afford to change."

I did not tell Sheikh Ahmad of my brief attempt at occupying his role when he spoke this week ©Phuket 2014



There are certainly challenges ahead, particularly with regard to finding a place in an already congested sports calendar. Even this week, a World Championships is also going on in squash, meaning some of the best performers in the sports are not here. And at a time when there are major problem with attracting bid cities, will they be able to generate sustained interest in hosting the event?

In answer to this latter question, the Beach Games will require far less development and expenditure than the Olympics, and I would imagine many countries would considering a beach event more viable and sustainable than an Olympic one. In addition to Thailand's public utterances, multiple cities have already privately expressed interest in hosting the first edition, Sheikh Ahmad revealed.

Although he insisted the Games will compliment rather than rival other multi-sport competitions, It would be interesting to know what organisations like the International Olympic Committee really think about this new event essentially outside their control. With the project initially billed as a collaboration between ANOC and SportAccord, the umbrella body for International Federations, it will also be interesting to see how much influence the latter body really have.

But the event is now here to stay and, after experiencing all that the Asian version has to offer this week, I for one am certainly very happy with this. And if it means there are more chances to top up the tan in the name of work, I think most other people will be as well.