New Jersey Beaches - Syringe Accident-Free Since Friday

The one element of beach volleyball no major sport has to endure is the ability to move around, with great ease, on shifting sand. Sure, turf toe can be a concern for football and baseball, but mobility is severely curbed on beach volleyball courts, because the playing surface moves around. To boot, if a beach volleyball tournament is being held in Seaside Heights, New Jersey, there's also the added challenge of avoiding potentially hepatitis-laden needles.

The harrowing accident occurred to such an AVP competitor Friday:

Jason Ring had that very experience on an outer court when he sensed the uneasy feeling in his left foot Friday and then reached down to find he'd been stuck by a syringe. Ring said that, five minutes later, a second syringe was discovered on the same court.

Doctors will have to keep a close eye on Ring for potential hepatitis, tetanus, or — very unlikely but possible — HIV outbreaks. Any premonitions I had about the pristine seaside shores of New Jersey were vaccinated away. Although if I need some cheap medicine, I know which sporting event to attend.

Also, the report was written by Mike Scarr. Nope, nothing funny about that name.

And now, a song:

♬ We were at the beach Everybody had volleyballs Somebody went into the sand And there they found a shot But it wasn't a shot It was a shot lobster! ♬

Syringes Surface At Seaside [AVP.com]