Ocean City Gazette - Sept. 1, 2010
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VOL. 20 NO. 23
SEPTEMBER 1, 2010
Big waves roll in as beach patrol draws down
Gillian wants plan to keep all beaches open to Labor Day next year
By
ANN RICHARDSON
Staff Writer
OCEAN CITY –
With groundswells peaking and wave heights in the shoulder to head-high range, Sean Reilly spent eight hours riding the waves on Sunday. Surf Road boasted larger sets than most beaches, and the waves got larger as the day went on. “It was awesome, the waves were high overhead and lots of fun,” said Reilly, adding that it was a dream come true for surfers. Hurricane Danielle was hundreds of miles out at sea, but as she passed through the Atlantic she sent big waves and warm water to shore. The rough surf comes just as the Ocean City Beach Patrol is losing guards to school or teaching. The drawdown in staff has led the city to close a number of beaches starting this week. For Reilly, the weather is exactly what surfers here dream of all year long. “It was incredible, the hurricane was too far away to bring rain, and the waves were clean and hollow,” said Reilly. “We live for days like Sunday. We wait all year. You get favorable winds and warm water.” The conditions that lured surfers to the waves throughout the weekcontinued on Page 13
School board says it has not discussed converting 18th Street field to parking
By
ANN RICHARDSON
Staff Writer
OCEAN CITY – A
proposal to pave a soccer field to provide more parking at the Ocean City Intermediate School drew the ire of at least one local soccer coach last week. Speaking at an Aug. 25 meeting of the Ocean City school board, local soccer coach Diane Reese said she was opposed to eliminating open space for any reason, but to lose a soccer field to provide more parking for staff at the intermediate school and patrons of the community center was definitely not something she could support. “I’m asking you to leave it as a soccer field, it’s very important to the student athletes in this community,” Reese said. At issue is the fenced-in soccer field known as the “cage,” situated on the corner of 18th Street and Bay Avenue. The field has been partially converted into space for a construction trailer and parking for contractors working on the intermediate school renovation. Meanwhile, work continues across the street at the Ocean City Community Center. The Gazette reported two weeks ago about a discussion at a city council meeting in August that the school board and city work together to convert the field into a parking lot rather than restore it when both projects are completed later this month. Reese recently revived a long-dormant traveling youth soccer program for the city. She also serves as a marketing continued on Page 7
Shell game
School board approves new rules for student athletes’ concussions
By
ANN RICHARDSON
Staff Writer
OCEAN CITY –
Student athletes who suffer a concussion will play by a new set of rules concerning their return to the game this year. The Concussion Identification, Management and Return-to-Play policy, a sweeping set of guidelines recently instituted by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA), means big changes for high school athletes. Student athletes will now be required to wait seven days after symptoms disappear and pass a battery of tests before being cleared to return to competition. Dr. Christine Lentz, Ocean City High School’s athletic trainer, told the school board at an Aug. 25 meeting that the policy is designed to protect student athletes. “It’s one of those regulations I’m actually embracing,” said Lentz. “It’s going to help us make sure that we put them on the field or in the gym not a minute before they are ready.” Lentz recommended that the board approve the purchase of the ImPACT program, which provides computerized neuro-cognitive assessment tools and services for coaches, athletic trainers, doctors and other health professionals. ImPACT, she said, assists in determining an athlete’s fitness to return to play after suffering a concussion. The board unanimously approved the \$1,950 cost of the ImPACT program; \$650 to purchase it and \$1,300 to administer. ImPACT, Lentz said,
Jen Arthur
Neil Fowser, of Ocean City and Medford, teaches his group about gastropod shells holding up an operculum and explaining that it is like a trap door to seal off the snail’s soft body from harm during the last guided beach walk in Ocean City at Corson’s Inlet State Park. The group meets at 59th Street and the beach and slowly makes their way down the beach seeing old shells and learning new things. See page 15 for more photos.
NOTICE TO READERS:
Due to the Labor Day weekend, the Ocean City Gazette will be published and delivered on Friday next week. Starting the week of Sept. 13, Gazette delivery will be permanently moved to Friday.
has become a standard tool used in comprehensive clinical management of concussions for athletes of all ages. The standardized policy for treating and monitoring concussions would apply to athletes in every sport. Every high school athlete will be required to take a baseline test. Lentz said athletes would be prioritized by sport. Football players will be the first to take the test. “We’ll have a baseline for every athlete, if there is an incident we will see changes,” she said. “That’s what makes this program different.” Lentz said the district’s athletic trainer, Drew Breckenridge, was well versed in the ImPACT program. Breckenridge said he hoped to bring continued on Page 22
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