Nudity Ban At Bay To Breakers

[Fango]

Originally Posted by weshambler

I doubt it will seriously impact the Bare to Breakers folks.

Let's hope so.

Fango

[Slick]

Originally Posted by weshambler

Nudity has been officially disallowed at B2B for some time (certainly since ING took over) - the issue is just that nobody enforces it. Hell, there were even "Nudity is illegal" signs at Folsom in 2008, for all the good they did. The Exotic Erotic Ball also forbids nudity, though they always note that "does anybody listen? no."

The big change here seems to be disallowed floats and carts, which were, it must be said, little more than beer kegs with a little papier-mache attached. Cutting down on public drunkenness might not be a bad thing. I doubt it will seriously impact the Bare to Breakers folks.

Well, I don't think the big issue is "will the ban be enforced or not" but rather the actual idea itself. If you were a Bare To Breakers regular and all of sudden all these new rules/restrictions started popping up wouldn't that turn you off to even going?

Slick

[Fred6027]

well
according to their official website -

http://bare2breakers.com/

...it looks like business as usual - on May 17th ( 2009 ) -

I suppose that if one were to want to get the real " scoop " on what is going on with this , get in touch with the folks on that site ...

I believe their e-mail address is listed there somewhere -

[stevin6]

Another problem for Bay to Breakers could be the sponsorship by the Dutch Bank(group) ING (Internationale Nederlanden Groep). ING has anouncend that, due to the financial crisis and the some billion euros they got from the Dutch government, they will stop with more than 40% of their current sponsorships including the Renault formule 1 racing team at the end of the season. So ING could be withdraw as a sponsor. I hope to find out more in the next days. ING is also sponsor of the New York marathon.

[banditofrx]

These runners have been safe since 1993 if you'd actually take the time to read anything on their site, so much as they seem to make some sort of postive statement about body acceptance, courts will favor them so police dont bother unless they loiter so they make a point to tell their folk not to do so. The biggest problem is the runners consist of only 20% females ,that's the issue that should be discussed!

[C Dick]

My understanding is that it is not actually illegal to be nude in San Francisco, unless you are annoying people, is this not so? There was a guy that did nude yoga at Fisherman's Wharf, he got charged, but then they decided that he was not bothering anyone, so it was not illegal. So you would think running nude would be ok too, as long as you did not soil anyone's lawn, or anything like that.

[scramm]

I don't get it. Nudity isn't the same as drinking and puking. Just because your nude doesn't mean you'll drink. Morons.

[weshambler]

The note sent by ING today may clarify all this a bit:

NEW IMPROVEMENTS AND POLICIES 2009

We have listened closely to concerns from race participants, residents along the course, and civic leaders, and in response to safety, logistical, and trash issues, we are instituting new improvements and policies to enhance the race experience for everyone involved. ING Bay to Breakers is about promoting community and giving athletes and fitness enthusiasts the chance to compete in and enjoy one of the most exhilarating and scenic footraces in the world. We're still focused on the fun, vitality and unique culture of the race--we're just streamlining the course and removing the hazards in order to enhance the race experience for everyone involved.

What to expect:

* New corral system at the start line. The start line will be organized using corrals that are designated starting areas for participants with similar estimated finishing times. More details about the corral system are listed below.
* Zero tolerance policy on alcohol. Anyone openly drinking alcohol or displaying public drunkenness will be subject to fines and prosecution.
* All wheeled objects and floats are prohibited. Inappropriate equipment on the streets is dangerous and can prevent runners and walkers from completing the race in a timely manner.
* Leave no footprint. Help us keep the city clean by placing your garbage and recycling in one of the many dumpsters placed along the course.

...

RESTRICTIONS

For everyone's safety and enjoyment NO ALCOHOL or WHEELED OBJECTS will be allowed on the race course. Over-sized costumes cannot have wheels and must line up at the back of the pack in Corral E. Additionally, no pets, roller blades, skateboards, bicycles, or plastic bags for warm-ups are allowed on course. Nude participation is not sanctioned by race management.


>> So, the list of changes says nothing about nudity, and under restrictions, it hardly says nude is banned, just that it is not endorsed by ING (which is not a change from past years and, well, seems pretty plausible really).

[Slick]

Hoping that everything is the same, when it comes to the nudity anyway.

Slick

[testme97]

The local traffic/news radio station had an update yesterday - alcohol ban's really strict, and floats or other group costumes may need to be registered or checked to make sure they don't cause traffic hazards (had my own traffic to deal with when they were saying that :-), but non-wheeled silly individual costumes and nudity are still ok.