In the later stages of their match I remember seeing King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of The Netherlands appear on the big screen and appearing to be enjoying the atmosphere at the floating Hofvijver Stadium.

They were fully entitled to be joining in with the packed crowd who were celebrating every point block and official being struck in the face by the volleyball, although in my three days here that only happened on one occasion.

The idea of a King and a Queen being present at a beach volleyball match did not really fit in with my pre-conceptions of the event before I arrived, which was that the vast majority of the crowd would be a youthful and predominately male bunch. THat simply wasn’t the case across the three-days on action as the men’s and women’s tournaments drew a close.

International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) President Ary S. Graça was keen to stress this point, claiming that volleyball “is the sport of the family”, with its lack or violence and party-like feel in the venue contributing to getting people of all ages and sexes into the venue, to make the most of the constant supply of entertainment throughout matches, both on and off the field of play.

As though to illustrate his point I saw the 72-year-old Brazilian throwing one of the dozens of large inflatable balloons that were released into the crowd during a break between the women’s bronze and gold medal matches. Although his notion of a lack of violence was briefly let-down by the tournament mascot Spike playfully dumping a volunteer to the ground with a martial arts-esque move.

Those moments, though, highlighted the atmosphere over the weekend with the crowd seemingly coming for the entertainment just as much as they were turning up in large numbers for the World Championship of an Olympic sport.

Led by a quartet of MC’s who kept pounding out the latest house music and dancers directing moves for the crowd were constantly involved throughout the duration of the event. Breaks in play were often also met by the addition of the bikini-clad "beach girls", who inevitably met some criticism, while also being also enjoyed some other attendees.

Even as the matches progressed various recorded phrases such as “this is beach volleyball”, which always followed a long rally, were the cue for the crowd to on mass break into a synchronised dance routine. They did so while waving or making noise with a variety of inflatable items provided on route into the stadium by volunteers.

It was unlike any sporting event I have attended.

With the huge level of audience involvement it seemed clear why many people will surely come back to beach volleyball in the future, while those able to watch the scenes at home on television would certainly have been treated to an excellent showcase of how to put together a sporting event.

Even outside the venue a couple of small beach volleyball courts were set up in one of The Hague’s six squares to allow people to try their hand at the sport while also being home of live music throughout the day.

Despite only attending the final phase of the tournament in the floating Hofvijver Stadium, I imagine the set-up would be similar at the three other venues – Amsterdam, Apeldoorn and Rotterdam - which hosted matches earlier in the tournament.

In a time where sports like athletics and the two candidates for the Presidency of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), Ukraine’s Sergey Bubka and Britain’s Sebastian Coe, have made noises about needing to evolve to attract a more youthful audience, the set-up produced by the FIVB could be a worthwhile template to look at.

It also will not come as a surprise when the sport receives a huge showcase in beach volleyball-mad Brazil during the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro next year when the sport will be held on the iconic Copacabana. With demand for tickets high for next year's event it is not hard to see why after Brazil's clean sweep in the women's competition here, as well as their gold and bronze medals in the men's event.

Also on show was the sheer athleticism of many of the beach volleyball stars, who are understandably extremely tall individuals, but their ability to dive to prevent losing a point and consequently be lying on the sand to then be back on their feet in time for the next point was a remarkable, yet possibly overlooked, feature of the matches.

I would often lose count of how many times during a match one team would appear to be on the verge of losing a rally only for some acrobatic action to turn the point back into their favour.

That certainly adds to the appeal of the sport, with the crowd constantly unaware of who may win a point with action happening rapidly in front of their eyes. Additionally, the speed between one point ending and another beginning helped to keep them on tenterhooks in every match that was played. 

The whole package of the event was impressive with top quality sporting action, crowd participation and an opportunity to take part in activities near the stadium providing a good experience for fans.

To use one of the many recorded phrases at the event... "This is beach volleyball."