Ballgames on the Beach: Seaside Heights Residents Split Over Regulations, Enforcement

Beachgoers play football near the water. (Credit:
Jon Dawson/ Creative Commons/ Flickr)

Have beaches grown too crowded for ballgames to be safely played on the sand? Some residents in Seaside Heights say they have, and are causing a safety issue, while others believe people should be free to toss around a volleyball or play “sticky catch” with balls and velcro rackets and the like.

Those who believe common sense, rather than a strict policy, should prevail are more in line with the borough’s policies, which will continue to be reviewed after some residents voiced concerns over ball-playing converging with crowds seated on the beach who may not be expecting an errant ball to fly in their direction and potentially hit them.

“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.

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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.”

On crowded days, large groups of people playing ball near the dunes can produce its own issues.

“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,” Vaz said.

The resident who asked about the official policy said heavy objects, such as regulation footballs, are being thrown near unsuspecting beachgoers sitting in their chairs, even closer to the water.

“I really don’t think they should be playing ball, especially on the weekends,” Councilman Richard Tompkins said.

Another resident at the same meeting had a different take.

“I actually have a picture on my phone of an empty beach, and they were saying, ‘no ballplaying,'” he said. “If it’s an empty beach, why can’t they play?”

Vaz agreed, but said police officers and lifeguards often have to make a judgment call, and sometimes the policy is implemented across town if beaches are crowded.

“That’s pretty much how we’ve been doing it,” he said.

The resident said police have been diligent, but he did not favor a policy that would ban ball-playing altogether.

“On the Franklin Avenue end, the police are doing it and the lifeguards are really being responsible, but I do have a video where they’re saying you can’t, and they have an empty beach,” he said.

The ordinance is expected to remain on the books as-is, however Vaz said he will sit down with the police department and lifeguard supervisors to make them aware of the issue when it does come up.