Team Archisand Trains for Sand Sculpting Endurance with Weights and/or Beer

After a few brainstorming and practice sessions, the 2009 U.S. Open Sandcastle Competition champion Archisand decided that the design for this year's competition on Sunday will be different, said Team Captain Greg Lebon.

While not disclosing his design, the Mission Viejo resident said, "In the past we've gone for a piece that is quite tall, and this year's concept does not require that."

Whether the Archisand design is tall or short, Lebon said that over the years their rival I.B. Posse has "stepped up the bar. They say they're afraid, but they're not."

Earlier this year both teams were invited to compete in the Inaugural New Zealand Sandcastle Competition in Christchurch but after a 6.3 magnitude earthquake hit, the event was postponed.

"A marathon is three to four hours, but we're out there for five hours, like a triathlon," Lebon said, whose Archisand team members are using weight training, running and beer drinking to get in shape for this year's event. 

"When you put it all together, you get an interesting blend of energy and creativity."

Lebon describes the first of the five hours as a frantic feat of shoveling. At the competition's close, Archisand team members will have moved 15-20 tons of sand, a ton or more of sand per team member, he said.

"Everyone's perception of sand castle building is that it's child's play, but that is so far from the truth," Lebon said. The rigors of set up, competition, and cleanup require Archisand team members to be young at heart.

"It's really quite a Herculean effort," he said.
 
"We try to utilize everybody's strengths to their best ability," said Lebon. Some haul water and shovel sand, while others mix, "block out," or add finish details.

The perfect sand mixture involves "full saturation and full compaction," Lebon said.

"You're trying to take the sand and turn it into sandstone."

Some team members mix shoveled sand and buckets of water into slurry within a plywood box, then compact it using a square metal plate that weighs 20 pounds.
 
"It's messy, sand is flinging and water is flying," he said.

Other team member, better with "blocking out," use mason's trowels and large-tool skills to shape a big mound of sand into a blank slate ready for details such as eyes, ears, hair, fingers, and toes (in the case of a human design).

Team members who are good with details sculpt the finer aspects of design onto the blocked out mound using the very smallest tools, such as knives or straws to blow excess sand away.
 
Lebon said that he hasn't missed a year since the very first Sandcastles.

"We've travelled the world, and sand in IB is pretty good," he said. 

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