Lisa Lindqvist and Rachel Stubbs are set to take part in race against the tide, the new six-part Two competition that turns sand sculpting into a timed test against the incoming sea. The first episode begins on Monday August 17 at 8.30pm on Scotland, with the series following on Tuesday, August 18 at 7.30pm on Two.
Lindqvist will compete with Shane Green, a retired art teacher and chainsaw sculptor from Otley in West Yorkshire who spent more than 40 years teaching art before moving into wood, stone, and ice. Rachel Stubbs is paired with Athena Cauley Yu, a Bristol-based stationery designer and hand letterer who runs a luxury stationery and calligraphy business in Bath and called the challenge “utterly random and niche.”
SandWorld names in the field
For SandWorld, the line-up stretches beyond a single appearance. Lindqvist is the resident sculptor at the festival and has created a number of major works there over the years, while she is also responsible for SandWorld’s Minecraft-inspired sculpture at this year’s festival. Stubbs brings a large dragon sculpture into the mix, giving the series two sculptors already known for building on a big scale.
The competition format is stripped to the essentials. Seven teams will build sculptures from tonnes of sand, using only sand and water, and each pair has six hours to complete a themed beach artwork before the tide returns it to the beach. One team is eliminated after each challenge, and the winner of each round is named Sand Champions.
Sadie Clayton and Jamie Wardley
The judging sits with Sadie Clayton and Jamie Wardley, who will score the work for technical skill, creativity, and the wow factor. That mix sets a narrow path for the teams: the sculpture has to hold together under pressure, look sharp enough to stand out, and be finished before the water does its work.
That is the hard edge of Race Against The Tide. The sculptures take hours to build, but the incoming sea is designed to erase them, so every round forces the artists to balance speed, detail, and a finish that can impress before the tide takes back the sand. After six builds, one team will be crowned the first-ever Race Against The Tide champions.
