Warwick team wins Belmar sand castle tournament

Warwick — Throughout the year, John Hill is a hard-working stone mason by trade. Using stone from the earth, masons build long-lasting structures — cathedrals, monuments, even ancient cities — that withstand all that Mother Nature can bring. When summer rolls around, though, Hill likes to use another of the earth’s substances to build with — sand. And he does it well. Hill, his son, Brent, and three of Brent’s friends, traveled to Belmar, N.J., earlier this month to compete in the 21st annual Sand castle Contest. It was Hill’s sixth competition and his second first-place trophy. “I didn’t have a clue how to do this the first time I went,” said Hill. “But I set up next to a master sand castle maker and he gave me pointers.” Yes, believe it or not, there are professional sand castle makers. Hill happened to set up next to the Chuck Feld, a professional who was hired by the contest sponsors during Hill’s first competition. The guy basically taught him how to do it. Knowing a good thing when he sees it, Hill set up next to Feld every year since, and along the way became pretty knowledgeable in the art of sand castle sculpting. “It’s the details that get you noticed,” said Hill. Hill won that first competition with a sculpture of an alien. And it was imagination and fun that helped him and his team of young men win the prize this year. Hill’s project was titled “Are we there yet?” He and his helpers—son Brent, Justin DiMartini, Tony Giannone and Billy Jackson, all 17 and soon-to-be seniors at Warwick Valley High School—built a Volkswagen, filled with a family, in a traffic jam that went all the way down to the beach. Brent Hill and his pal Giannone are veterans of the sand castle contest. Brent won his first ever contest when he was just eight years old with a sculpture of a turtle. He and Giannone go to Belmar with Hill every year. All the young men, who have been friends since they were five years old, are consistent honor roll and high honor roll students. It’s not all fun and games in the sun and sand. Hill said the group arrived by 7 a.m. They have four hours to complete the sculpture. The first hour and a half is basically hauling five-gallon buckets of seawater and digging the sand. They started the sculpture with a pile of sand six feet high for this year’s contest. It takes a lot of water to keep it moist. “Sand is very unforgiving,” said Hill. “Over time you get the idea.” And you learn the techniques. Hill said he uses a straw to carve delicate lines into his sculptures. His pro pal taught him that. And he also suggested that Hill might consider some other competitions where you can win even better prizes. Their structure drew quite a crowd. Belmar’s sand castle competition is well known and well attended. Last year there were over 500 entries, 150 of them adults. And there are even more spectators. One year, Hill said there were over 3,000 people on the beach looking at the sculptures. This year’s crowd was certainly an inspiration to the team. And the prizes are not too shabby, either. Hill said this year’s prizes included dinner for eight at D’Jais, a very nice restaurant along the beach, a camera and lots of beach stuff. “At first I thought it was silly for a grown man to play in the sand,” he said. “Now, I realize it’s really a nice family day. And I’m going to another tournament in Asbury Park in August. If I do well there, I might consider getting more serious about it.”