Seaside Heights Could Ban Ball Playing On The Beach

Word on the street, or in this case, on the beach is that any kind of game that requires a ball could be banned on the beach in Seaside Heights.

That would suck, with teeth. WRAT morning co-host, Carl Craft is an avid beach volleyball player and there are thousands of people just like him who like to blow off steam with a good volleyball match on the sand.

Some residents in Seaside Heights think that the beaches are way too crowded for folks to engage in ball playing of any kind. They feel it’s a safety issue.

But there are plenty of residents who believe that folks should be able to toss around a volleyball, a football, or be able play a good game of sticky catch with those Velcro rackets or paddles.

Shouldn’t common sense dictate what may be hazardous to fellow beach go-ers?

If the beach is way too crowded, I would think anyone who wanted to engage in ball sports would be able to figure out that these activities should be scheduled for another day when the beach is less crowded.

“Is ball-playing actually allowed on the beach, because there are footballs all over the place?” one resident asked at a recent borough council meeting.

According to Lavalette- Seaside Shorebeat, The answer, according to Borough Administrator Christopher Vaz: “Technically, no.”

The prohibition on beachfront ball-playing, however, is generally enforced when officials determine the beaches are crowded enough to warrant it.

“How the lifeguards have been managing it is to push it back toward the dunes in the early-morning hours, and if it gets out of hand, they’re supposed to shut it down,” Vaz said. “At a certain point on Memorial Day weekend, I saw on the cameras that there were too many people playing ball, so I called [Lifeguard Capt.] Jay Boyd personally and just asked for them to shut it down.”

According to Vaz, “The other problem is that the balls are going onto the dunes, and the kids are climbing all over the snow fences and the railings, and that causes a problem.”

According to the borough, ball playing will be allowed on the beach in Seaside Heights for now.  If it gets too crowded, the local officials could decide to shut it down if they believe these activities aren’t safe for other beach go-ers.

Play ball my friends, and be kind to others.