A10
FRIDAY
August 16, 2019
Summer Sports
SeasideSignal.com
‘RUN TO BREAK THE CHAIN’
AIMS TO CURB TRAFFICKING
By EVE MARX
For Seaside Signal
On Saturday, Aug. 17, at 8 a.m., the registration
table opens for “Run to Break the Chain” a 5K run on
the Prom in Seaside.
The race starts at 9 a.m., the route beginning at 12th
Avenue and the Prom, continuing south on the Prom
to Avenue U. Runners will head east on Avenue U to
Downing Street, where they will turn around and head
west back to the Prom, following the Prom
north back to 12th Avenue and the fi nish
line. The cost is $30 … and you get a
tee shirt.
“We’re really excited about
the run,” said Skyler Archibald,
Executive Director of the Sun-
set Empire Park and Recre-
ation District. “It’s our second
year working with Shannon
Symonds and the awesome
volunteers from Operation
Underground Railroad. It’s
an amazing cause.”
The partnership to bring
funds to a well-deserved program and give people an
opportunity to run the beautiful Prom of our commu-
nity is a win-win, he said, with about 40 participants
in the 2018 run.
Proceeds from the run benefi t Sunset Empire Park
and Recreation District and Operation Underground
Railroad (http://ourrescue.org), whose mission is to
end human traffi cking.
Human traffi cking may not be readily apparent as a
problem in Seaside, but it is a national issue that can’t
be ignored.
“We are a tourist area with many hotels,” Symonds
said. “People come in and out. When you raise your
awareness, you can be those eyes and ears on the
ground and contact police.”
Symonds said this is the second time the race is
being run.
“It’s one of the few races done on the Prom,” she
said.
Operation Underground Railroad works here and
throughout Oregon. Working with Seaside Park and
Recreation helps fund youth activities that keeps them
in safer places.
Organizers and participants in the 2018 Run to Break the Chain in Seaside.
Symonds has been a volunteer with Operation
Underground Railroad for about two years and writes
their monthly newsletter.
Operation Underground Railroad has been in exis-
tence for fi ve years and has rescued 2,603 victims and
assisted in the arrest of more than 1,365 traffi ckers
around the world. The organization has been profi led
on nationwide media.
Grace Lee, Recreation Manager with Seaside Park
and Recreation, said, “When Shannon fi rst approached
us with this run, we were very interested,” Lee said.
“Obviously, human traffi cking is tragic; our job as a
community is to do what we can.”
Lee said providing community events and offer-
ing healthy activities can help keep potential traffi ck-
ing victims feel connected and lead healthy lives. “It’s
wonderful when our missions converge.”
For more information, check the Facebook page
“Run to Break the Chain” for more details.
Meanwhile, dust off those running shoes, and on
Aug. 17, hit the Prom.
Family participates in the 2018 Seaside Run to Break
the Chain.
Highlights from 2019 Seaside Beach Volleyball
The view from the off icial’s stand
Seaside Signal
By R.J. MARX
Seaside Signal
Thousands came to
Seaside last weekend to
participate and enjoy the
Seaside Beach Volleyball
Tournament.
Katie Spieler and Del-
aney Knudsen took first
place in the women’s vol-
leyball finals Saturday.
Julia Scoles and Carly Kan
took second place. Molly
Turner and Brittany Tiegs
took third place honors.
Bill Kolinske and Mike
Evans defeated Adam
Roberts and Andy Benesh
for the championship. Lev
Priima and Jake Landel
took third place.
Jeff Ter Har
Adam Roberts goes to the net in the men’s volleyball fi nal.
Along with Seaside Beach
Volleyball Head Off icial John
Rich, Greg Clark is the man
who makes the call: Is the ball
in or out? Did it touch the line?
Was it a carry or a hold?
We spoke with Clark on
the beach before Saturday’s
matches began.
Q: Can you tell me a little
about your role?”
Clark: For myself person-
ally, I got started about five
years ago and started work-
ing my way up the ranks, I got
national certification which
made me eligible me to work
AVP events.
Q: Do you travel frequently?
Clark: I pretty much stay
in the Pacific Northwest,
because I’m new around
the tour. John (King) travels
around quite a bit.
Q: Is it a full-time job?
Clark: It’s a side job.
Q: Where do you live?
Clark: I live in Vancouver,
R.J. Marx
Offi cial Greg Clark with
tournament
co-director
Deng Thepharat.
Washington.
Q: What will you look for-
ward today?
Clark: It’s a pretty straight-
forward event. We’ve got a lot
of those guys on tour or work-
ing to get into the tour. We’re
expecting some good play
through all of it. It’s been a
really good tournament so far,
and we’re expecting that to
continue.
Q: Volleyball is known for
its sportsmanship. Do you find
that here in Seaside?
Clark: Especially on the
beach, volleyball is really an
honorable game. You get a
lot of honor calls, where peo-
ple say, ‘I touched the ball.’ I
did something. A lot of times
on the beach, you don’t have
off icials, so it’s up to players to
police themselves.
Yesterday we had a play
right near the net. I was the
down off icial. I thought I had
seen it touch, but I wasn’t
100% sure — and the guy
goes, ‘it was me.’ They know.
Q: It’s unlike any other
sport.
Clark: True. And it goes
both ways. They know that if
they do it, they’re going to get
it back.
Q: How is the quality of
play?
Clark: We have some of
the great up-and-coming
players. We have some guys
playing Day One, maybe Day
Two, playing in some of the
major events. They come here
because it’s a great tourna-
ment, it’s a grassroots tourna-
ment and a way to get moving
on to get their AVP points. It’s
a win-win for them.
Jeff Ter Har
Picture perfect weather greeted the 2019 Seaside Beach Volleyball event.