Take today for example. While attending my first ever SportAccord International Convention in the Turkish holiday resort of Belek, I find myself swapping my suit, and particularly infamous insidethegames tie, for something a little more "beachy".

The reason for this?

Well, while most of my colleagues, and 98 per cent of the delegates at the convention, continued to delve into the political underbelly of the Olympic, and non-Olympic, Movement, I was making my way to the resort's private beach to try my hand at a spot of volleyball.

Why? You may ask. And here is where it gets interesting. I promise.

As part of the International Volleyball Federation's (FIVB) sports demonstration, a group of us "journos" and an incredibly enthusiastic member of Jon Tibbs Associates were given the opportunity to try our luck against international pros from the German and Turkish national beach volleyball teams.

Although not the bikini-strung girls that manage to draw such "passionate" crowds time-after-time at the Olympic Games - disappointing I know - it was still in disbelief that I meandered my way onto the beach to join these giants of the sand for a leisurely, if somewhat competitive, game of volleyball.

Delegates, myself included, join with the Turkish and German men's national beach volleyball teams at the FIVB Beach Volleyball Demonstration ©JTA



It's in these moments, when I find myself diving for a shot by Beijing 2008 Olympian Eric Koreng, that I tend to wonder what a life without journalism would be like. And how I could cope without the sense of excitement and unbeknown that makes this lifestyle so unique and incomparable to anything else in the world.

You may be wondering why four of beach volleyball's elite sportsmen found themselves playing against the slightly less professional delegates of the SportAccord International Convention - plus the one British tourist who jumped on the opportunity to show off his skills in front of the many cameras that had followed us to the court.

The reason being, fortunately for us, was because, as explained by Koreng, the German team, which consisted of him and teammate Finn Dittelbach, was completing a final train camp with Turkey's number one men's beach volleyball team of Selçuk Şekerci and Murat Giginoğlu before the start of the season in two weeks.

The Turkish and German beach volleyball pros take time out of their training camp to put on a live FIVB demonstration for the SportAccord International Convention ©JTA



Now, my week in Belek is not all about prancing - the only true way to describe the fashion in which I bumbled across the court - around in the sand with some of beach volleyball's elite sportsmen.

The convention itself, for those of you that don't know, sees more than 2,000 delegates from the world of sport, be it International Olympic Committee (IOC) members or consultants for major bid cities, come together in one place to hold general sports assembly's, executive meetings, negotiations with other firms or federations, and, maybe most importantly, to network.

With news breaking left, right and centre, and information seeping out of every crevice of the rather spectacular Susesi Convention Centre, it's a particularly busy week for the likes of an international sport news website like insidethegames.

Something I would learn incredibly fast.

After a day of jumping from press briefing to press briefing, general assembly to general assembly, I realised the true nature of working hard and working fast.

But, despite a bewildering lack of sleep, something that has made the abysmal taste of coffee seem like honey to the lips, it's still an experience that is simply impossible to hate.

The SportAccord International Convention has a number of weird and wonderful exhibition stalls that leave you wandering aimlessly around the Susesi Convention Centre should you find the time to do so ©SAC2014


Mind-boggling games of beach volleyball aside, the sheer scale of the SportAccord International Convention, which could soon treble in size should SportAccord President Marius Vizer get his way, leaves you wandering between the impressive array of exhibitions and stalls - should you have five minutes to spare, as people from every corner of the sporting world gather to show the world what they have to offer.

Being among the most important figures in sport - seeing the likes of IOC President Thomas Bach casually plating up his breakfast at the hotel as if on a family holiday - these experiences, normal as they may be to the majority of delegates here in Turkey, still leave me in utter disbelief over the situation I find myself in life.

Paul Osborne is a reporter for insidethegames. To follow him on Twitter click here.