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Partly Cloudy with Haze City suspends adult volleyball league play
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Adult volleyball league play, one of the biggest summer attractions in Long Beach, has been suspended indefinitely after spectators and those waiting to play continued to block an emergency lane designated for lifeguards, city officials announced Wednesday night.
John McNally, executive assistant to the city manger, said city and league officials will meet to work out a way for play to resume shortly.
The city's action is dramatic in Long Beach, where about 1,000 people participate in the adult leagues, which consist of two teams.
Officials said on the city's website that after "repeated warnings" to players and spectators, they were being "uncooperative in keeping the emergency lane clear on Ocean Beach Park."
While the beaches were expanded by the Army Crops of Engineers following Sandy, there are now dunes, keeping spectators further back and stepping onto the emergency lane.
"These are people watching," or waiting to play, McNally said. He said spectators have been blocking the emergency lane this volleyball season.
League officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Long Beach officials said they plan to work with organizers from both leagues to "devise ways to remedy the situation" with hopes to resume league play "in short order," but the city wrote, "The choice between recreation and public safety is clear."
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