Sports Organizers Bring Groups To Gulf Coast Despite Oil

Sports event planners are keeping a watchful eye on any impact the Gulf of Mexico oil spill could cause along Alabama’s beaches. Yet several organizers have said they are not planning to cancel their events.

Officials with U.S. Specialty Sports Association (USSSA), a multi-sport organization, said three multi-day competitions are scheduled as normal for June—despite the oil spill. The 2010 USSSA Team Appreciation and King of Swing Baseball Tournaments brought 25 teams to the Orange Beach, Ala., Sportsplex June 5-6. During the 2010 USSSA Global Sports Sandlot Grand Slam June 11-13, travel teams will compete at the the Orange Beach Sportsplex and at complexes in Pensacola, Fla. The USSSA Baseball State Tournament will be held as planned June 18-20 at the Orange Beach Sportsplex, and the city’s ball fields will be used for two weeks during USSSA Global World Series games in July.

“The USSSA tournaments are on as scheduled for June and July,” said Alabama USSSA Director Scottie Mobley. “There has been little concern from teams about the beaches In Gulf Shores and Orange Beach. We are utilizing the CVB website, www.gulfshores.com, for updates and accurate information and ask people to check the site daily.”

June 24-26 will bring 64 girls’ All-Star softball teams to Gulf Shores and Orange Beach courtesy of the National Softball Association.

Thousands gathered in mid-May for the Bell Micro LPGA Classic held at Mobile’s Magnolia Grove course on the Robert Trent Jones Jr. Golf Trail, where women’s professional golfer Se Ri Pak birdied the third hole in a playoff to win the Golf Channel-televised event.

Bell Micro CEO Don Bell said the event was a huge success. “It was a great week, and the well-organized event exceeded my expectations.” In fact, Bell said the tournament was an improvement over the previous year “with a renovated golf course, better field of players, better press coverage and larger turnout.” Bell Micro also held a number of complementary activities throughout Mobile, including dinner at an antebellum mansion and aboard the USS Alabama as well as a home-run hitting contest at a ballpark, Bell said.

Also reporting successful results, Youth Basketball of America held its third annual Gulf Coast Challenge May 28-30, bringing approximately 30 boys’ and girls’ teams to several sites in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, Ala.

Set to draw crowds of thousands to downtown Mobile on June 11 will be the 16th Annual Hot Rod Magazine Power Tour. Organizers said they’re 100 percent committed to Mobile as the final stop on the national tour, which they describe as “the ultimate road trip for thousands of performance car lovers.” Jessica Hubley of The Promotion Co. and Family Events, said, “The Power Tour will definitely take place rain or shine and despite the oil spill.”

Leon Maisel, president/CEO of the Mobile Bay Convention and Visitors Bureau, said tour exhibitors and spectators in attendance would be able to see first-hand how the city is open for business as they experience “Mobile Bay’s attractions, convenient accommodations, delicious cuisine and happening nightlife.”

Alabama Tourism Director Lee Sentell said state and local agencies are closely monitoring environmental conditions and specific water quality monitoring is being performed at more than 20 public beaches. There have been swimming advisories issued, but all beaches are open to date.

Beth Gendler, director of sales for the Alabama Gulf Coast CVB, said sports events planners could also find the latest information about the oil spill on the website www.gulfshores.com. Gendler, who is keeping in close contact with planners about the spill, noted that the news in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach is that the destination continues to be ideal for sports events. “We want provide planners with all the current information so they may relay it to their attendees.”

Officials with the Mobile Bay CVB concur. Shortly after the oil spill, the CVB launched a special website updating travelers and attendees to the area of current conditions. The site, found at www.mobilebaytravelupdates.com, states the following: “It’s business as usual for the area’s many renowned attractions, hotels, restaurants and retail businesses. The seafood is as delicious as ever, the arts are alive, events are taking place as scheduled and our attractions are open for business...visitors are encouraged to keep their travel plans and enjoy this beautiful late spring season in historic Mobile.”

Groups of all kinds continue to book Caribe – The Resort, said Christie Crenshaw, group sales manager for the Orange Beach condo complex. “Caribe offers something for every group, including enjoying downtime at the lazy river or one of our many tiered swimming pools, and enjoying the gorgeous sunsets from a hot tub.”

Bill Lang, spokesperson for Alabama’s Robert Trent Jr. Golf Trail and Resort Collection, represents the Grand Hotel Marriott Resort, Golf Club and Spa, which is located along the eastern shore of the Mobile Bay, as well as two downtown Mobile properties: the Renaissance Mobile Riverview Plaza Hotel and The Battle House Renaissance Mobile Hotel and Spa. All three accommodations are open for business and welcoming groups of all kinds, Lang said. “The hotels remain open to guests and are currently under normal business operations. We continue monitoring the oil spill developments and are staying in close contact with local and state authorities.”

Daily Update

June 10, 2010

Following is an update by locale for June 10, 2010:

JUNE 10, 2010 – ALABAMA
Alabama Gulf Coast Convention and Visitors Bureau is reporting continued scattered oil impacts to varying degrees across Pleasure Island.

The Alabama Department of Public Health has expanded the swimming advisory. In addition to gulf waters off Gulf Shores, Orange Beach and Fort Morgan, individuals are discouraged from swimming in bay waters immediately adjacent to Fort Morgan, in Bayou St. John, Terry Cove, Cotton Bayou or Old River.

The cities of Gulf Shores and Orange Beach have persuaded BP to purchase 10 additional beach raking machines to facilitate faster and more effective clean up. The mechanical beach rakes are capable of sifting even very small contaminates from the sand efficiently and safely. Two machines are currently cleaning the beaches daily and the additional machines are due to arrive within the week.

The beaches are OPEN and visitors are still welcome to sunbathe and walk the beach, but we strongly suggest they swim in a pool or enjoy our many off-beach activities. To read advisory information and frequently asked questions, visit the Alabama Department of Public Health website.

NOAA's current closed fishing area includes federal waters eastward to Panama City, Florida. The Alabama Department of Conservation & Natural Resources has closed state gulf waters and some inshore waters. To view a map of the closed area, go to http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/.

The pier at Gulf State Park is closed for fishing. However, the pier is still open to sightseers.

Oil has been discovered in Perdido Pass, but skimming vessels are at work to contain and remove it. A more effective long-term system of piping that will funnel oil away from the pass into a collection area is under way and will be in place soon.

Perdido Pass will be closed for INCOMING tides to recreational boats. During outgoing tides, boats will be able to travel the pass. The closure is to allow for additional placement of boom. Boaters are asked to be careful navigating through the pass.

Ono Island has closed its canals and harbor. Ono Island is privately owned and its private neighborhood association, not any government agency, made the decision to close the canals and harbor.

Gov. Riley Announces Protection Project To Fill In Katrina Cut
MONTGOMERY?Governor Bob Riley announced Wednesday that a mile-wide breach on the west end of Dauphin Island known as the Katrina Cut will be filled in to protect Mobile Bay and the Mississippi Sound from oil as soon as the project gains the Coast Guard's approval.

The $15 million project will be paid for with funds provided to the state by BP.

"Filling in Katrina Cut is critical and necessary as a protective measure," said Riley. "This gap right now does nothing but provide an opening for the oil to flow into some of our most sensitive estuaries, marshland and oyster beds. We won't leave these areas exposed to oil when we can prevent it."

Some of the state's primary commercial oyster beds and estuaries that support a wide range of sea life lie just north of Dauphin Island.

The 1.3-mile gap on the west end of Dauphin Island did not exist until 2005 when Hurricane Katrina created it.

"We're going to return it to the state it was prior to Hurricane Katrina," said Riley.

The project has already been bid, and the contract requires the work to be completed in less than 80 days.

Riley said he believes the Coast Guard will grant its approval to the project very soon. After that, work to fill in Katrina Cut will start immediately.

Alabama Helpful Links:
Alabama Gulf Coast CVB
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association
Office Of The Governor
Deepwater Horizon Response
BP Global
BP Alabama Response
U.S. Small Business Administration
Alabama Department of Public Health

JUNE 10, 2010 – FLORIDA
Sporadic reports of dime-sized to six-inch-sized tar balls and tar patties were found in widely scattered areas from the Alabama/Florida state line east to Okaloosa County. Tar ball and tar patty findings are more concentrated in the westernmost Florida counties. Cleanup teams continue to be on the scene. Oil sheen has been reported off the Navarre Beach area and on the Alabama/Florida state line.

There have been no reports of Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill-related oil products reaching the shore beyond the Panhandle region. There is no indication that the rest of the state will have impacts from weathered oil products within the next 72 hours.

Multiple skimmers have been dispatched to collect tar mats and sheens. Impacts to the state's shoreline will likely be weathered in the form of tar balls, oil sheet, tar mats or mousse.

Observations by NOAA continue to indicate no significant amounts of oil moving toward the Loop Current.

The Escambia County Health Department has issued a health advisory for the area extending from the Florida-Alabama line to the entrance of the Perdido Unit, Gulf Islands National Seashore.

At this time, there are no beach closures, and Florida's state waters remain open to recreational fishing. Florida's 825 miles of beaches, 1,260 miles of coastline and 14 seaports, including cruise ships, remain open for business.

According to the NOAA plume model, the primary oil plume is 13 miles from Pensacola, 100 miles from Gulf County and 280 miles from St. Petersburg, with non-contiguous sheens and scattered tar balls closer. NOAA trajectories show direct on-shore impacts of tar balls and light sheen through Friday, mainly near Pensacola and East Bay.

According to the Emerald Coast Convention & Visitors Bureau, a few bits of tar were found at Henderson State Park last weekend. These were easily removed, and no further oil has been spotted. Our white-sand beaches remain open and our emerald-green waters remain clear. In addition, offshore fishing is still going strong, with captains simply taking a more easterly course and reporting great success out on the water.

According to the Panama City Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau, no oil or tar balls have made landfall in the area.

Florida Governor Taking Extra Precautions
Gov. Charlie Crist this week announced that the State of Florida is taking additional proactive measures to ensure the quick and timely discovery of oil from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Reconnaissance missions are being coordinated daily from the State Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee using air, land, and sea assets from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), the Florida Civil Air Patrol, and the Florida National Guard.

"While we acknowledge that the Coast Guard and BP, as the responsible party, are in charge of the response to this oil spill, I have asked our state team to use all available assets to proactively evaluate the potential areas of impact by air, land and sea," said Crist. "We have a responsibility to our residents, businesses and visitors to exhaust all possible avenues and to work to avoid the tragic scenes we have seen along the coastline in Louisiana. This level of response can be done only by using these aggressive reconnaissance methods from first light each day until dark. I want to thank the members of our state team for their dedication to this mission on behalf of all Floridians."

These reconnaissance missions that started last week are being conducted from Perdido Key in Escambia County to Cape San Blas in Gulf County. Search areas are divided into approximately five-mile increments, with all terrain vehicles (ATVs) patrolling the coastline looking for any evidence of land-falling oil products. Boats are patrolling the gulf waters in these areas looking for evidence of oil sheen or other oil byproducts, and air assets are evaluating waters out to nine miles from shore daily and further when directed. When evidence of oil is detected, the reconnaissance teams quickly report their findings back to the State Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee. Then teams hired by the responsible party, BP, can be dispatched to the impacted areas through Unified Command in Mobile, Alabama, to perform cleanup, skimming or other mitigation measures in a timely fashion.

The aerial teams are equipped with cameras that geocode the location of what are believed to be impacts from the oil spill. Aerial teams then send images to the State Emergency Operations Center, so they can be mapped and relayed to response teams who are deployed to that location to take appropriate actions. The attached map shows the area of operations, flight patterns and where the state's assets are deployed in these five-mile zones and actively working to mitigate the impacts of oil on Florida's beaches.

Two plans created by the United States Coast Guard, BP and the impacted states, including Florida, outline the steps for shoreline assessment and cleanup to ensure quick and efficient response to oil on our shores. Those plans include The Shoreline Cleanup Assessment Team (SCAT) Plan and the Mobile Sector Near Shore and Shoreline Stage I and II Response Plan.

The SCAT Plan outlines the role of SCAT teams and provides a process for collecting shoreline oil data used to create cleanup plans. SCAT teams consist of trained representatives from BP, the federal government and the state. The response plan addresses response in three stages: recovering oil in the water, placing boom and other protective measures along the most sensitive areas of Florida's coastline, and cleaning up any oil that does impact Florida's shores as quickly as possible, both while the oil discharge continues from Deepwater Horizon and after the leak is stopped.

The first stage of response involves oil removal from near shore waters using skimming devices, vacuum systems, booming and other appropriate methods. These removal methods are currently being used to prevent oil from reaching Florida's shoreline. Approximately 261,250 feet of boom has been placed in Florida along the most sensitive areas of the Panhandle, and several counties in the western tip of the Panhandle are moving forward with supplemental booming plans.

The second stage of the response plan outlines the cleanup methods for a variety of habitats, including beaches, marshes, and man-made structures such as docks and pilings. Boom will likely not prevent tar balls, tar mats and very sticky weathered oil from washing onshore. Therefore, the most feasible cleanup method in this stage is manual removal of oil with hand tools or mechanical equipment used by authorized and trained individuals. The third stage is intended to finalize shoreline cleanup in habitats that may be adversely affected by oil after the leak is stopped.

Florida Helpful Links:
Deepwater Horizon Unified Command
Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Deepwater Horizon Response
VISIT FLORIDA
U.S. Small Business Administration
BP Claims
Office of the Governor
Florida Division of Emergency Management
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission