Teen beachgoers try to beat Belmar’s beach badge rules

<p>In most towns along the Jersey Shore, beach badge rules apply to anyone age 12 and up. But in Belmar, the age is 16 and older – which means some teens try to beat the system by claiming to be 15 even when they aren’t.</p>

News 12 Staff

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Jul 14, 2018, 2:38 AM

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Updated 2,107 days ago

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In most towns along the Jersey Shore, beach badge rules apply to anyone age 12 and up. But in Belmar, the age is 16 and older – which means some teens try to beat the system by claiming to be 15 even when they aren’t.

News 12’s Brian Donohue sat with a beach badge collector on the Belmar boardwalk and noticed that there seemed to be an unusual amount of 15-year-olds. Many seemed to be much older.

“Fifteen years old and looking like that? I don’t think so,” said one Belmar woman as a group of teen boys, many with full facial hair, walked by.

Belmar officials say that they don’t take too large a line with the teens – badge checkers do not ask for identification when the teens enter the beach.

Donohue did find some honest teens. Trinity just turned 16 and could have probably still passed for 15. But she paid for her badge anyway.

“I would have felt bad,” she said.

Donohue did witness one badge checker call police on a group of clearly overage kids. Police checked their IDs and made them go back to the boardwalk to pay the fee.