The indoor track at the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex in Midland Beach gets a lot of use from people who never race. SILive's tenth-anniversary story on the facility described members coming in for recreation and group fitness and walking laps until they reach miles a day. The administrator it quoted called community use a core goal of the building.
On Tuesday, November 10, less than two weeks after this post goes up, those laps start working differently. The city's rule for the complex sets an "Indoor Track Season." During that season, use of the track is limited at certain times to patrons who paid a separate practice fee, and the track can go to whoever has booked a meet. A membership that covers the track in October covers less of it from November to March.
The rule draws the season from the calendar
The NYC Parks rule for Ocean Breeze membership fees doesn't set fixed dates for the season. It runs from the second Tuesday of November to the third Thursday of March every year. For the 2026–27 winter, that's November 10, 2026 through March 18, 2027, about eighteen weeks. The facility's own schedule puts the first high school practice on that same Tuesday, November 10, at 9 a.m.
The rule defines the track itself as the running track and the enclosed practice areas next to it on the second floor. The rest of the building keeps its normal schedule. NYC Parks lists building hours of 5:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 6:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Friday through Sunday. Those are the hours the building is open, not the hours the track is open.
Two prices for one membership
Every membership category in the rule includes the same language. Members can use the track "during designated times," along with the fitness equipment, recreation programs and group fitness classes. Every category also says the membership "does not include the Track & Field Practice Fee." The practice fee only applies during the indoor season and is charged on top of the annual membership.
| Category | Annual membership | Indoor-season practice fee |
|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | $0 | $10 |
| Ages 18–24 | $0 | $50 |
| Ages 25–61 | $100 | $150 |
| Seniors 62 and over | $25 | $25 |
| People with disabilities | $25 | $25 |
| Veterans | $25 | $25 |
The gap is widest for adults. Someone between 25 and 61 pays $100 a year for the membership and $150 more for track time during the indoor season. For the four winter months, the track costs more than the rest of the building does for a full year. Seniors, veterans and members with disabilities pay $25 for each. A 62-year-old who walks laps through the winter pays $50 in total. A 45-year-old doing the same laps pays $250.
The age discounts require documents. The rule asks seniors and young adults for government-issued photo ID. Veterans and members with disabilities can qualify with one of several listed documents, including an MTA Reduced Fare card, an Access-A-Ride ID or a DD-214 with photo ID.
Everything off the track stays included with membership. Ocean Breeze's fall group fitness guide runs from high-intensity workouts like Boot Camp at the Breeze to recovery and mobility sessions, Gentle Joints and Tai Chi. The rule lists group fitness classes as part of every membership. A member who skips the practice fee still keeps the classes and the cardio rooms from November through March.
These figures come from the city's rule text and are general information. NYC Parks staff at the front desk can confirm which category and fee apply to you before you pay.
Why a meet clears the track
The same rule explains the closures. A "Track & Field Session" is an event that gets exclusive use of the second-floor track, the ground-floor warm-up track and the ground-floor multipurpose rooms. Sessions are booked in two-hour blocks at $1,350 per block, and a longer meet buys several blocks in a row. One two-hour block costs nine times an adult's season practice fee, and the event gets the track, the warm-up track and the multipurpose rooms to itself for that time.
The track closes before and after meets too. The NYC Parks schedule page for the complex says the track may close during meets and for setup and cleanup on either side, and it points members to that weekly page for open track hours. In practice, the meet calendar decides when members get the track.
The 2026–27 meet calendar
The Ocean Breeze track and field schedule is already filled in. Busy blocks cluster on weekends and around school breaks:
- Sunday, November 15: the 2C2W Track & Field Fiesta for youth, starting at 9 a.m.
- December 2–6: the AAIS Invitational, the Fasttrack Season Opener, the Youree Spence-Garcia Invitational and the CHSAA Relays, with start times from Wednesday afternoon through Sunday morning.
- December 11–19: the Wagner College Seahawk Shootout, the Nassau County Invitational, the Speed Capital New York Invitational, the Shore Track Coaches Season Opener, the Section One Challenge, the Essex County Season Opener and the Bishop Loughlin Games. Meets are on the schedule for seven of those nine days.
- Tuesday, December 29: the Ocean Breeze Youth Holiday Festival, starting at 9:30 a.m.
- January 2–3: the Freedom Games, starting at 9 a.m. both days.
- Saturday, February 13: the CHSAA Intersectional Championships.
- February 27–28: the Ocean Breeze Elite Grand Prix on Saturday afternoon, then the USATF New York Youth Championships on Sunday.
- March 5–7: the New York State High School Championships on Friday and Saturday, then the New Jersey Meet of Champions on Sunday.
The last of these meets is March 7, eleven days before the season ends under the rule. Weekend mornings are when meets most often start, and the building's weekend hours are already the short ones, ending at 1:30 p.m. Members who want weekend laps will lose the most time.
Meet days at the curb
The meets fill the lots along Father Capodanno Boulevard. The facility's meet-parking page sends spectators to three free lots on the boulevard:
- Lot 5, directly across the street, about 37 meters away.
- Lot 4, about 383 meters away.
- Lot 6, about 437 meters away.
During special events, the covered garage is held for staff, officials, media and disabled parking, subject to availability. School buses go to Lot 9, about 2,000 meters away. They drop off on the west side of Father Capodanno Boulevard, pick up on the east side, and aren't allowed to park on residential streets or in other lots. The page marks the whole plan as subject to change. On a December Saturday, a member driving in for a class may have to park in the same lots as visiting teams and their families.
The cheapest track pass in the building
Kids get the best deal under these rules. A child's membership costs nothing, and a child's practice fee is $10 for the whole season. The facility's youth club, the Ocean Breeze WaveRunners, uses that structure. Registration for 2026–27 is open now. Practices start Tuesday, November 17 and run Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6 to 8 p.m.
According to the WaveRunners registration notice, runners can start at age seven, and the 2027 divisions go from 8-and-under to 17–18, grouped by birth year. Families need four things:
- A USATF youth membership with a verified birth date, listed at $35 a year or $38.88 after tax. It expires December 31.
- An NYC Parks membership form, which is free for athletes.
- A doctor's clearance note.
- A $35 check for the competition uniform.
The club pays meet entry fees and provides an Ocean Breeze membership and a T-shirt. It expects two practices a week plus competitions. The club's tentative meet list includes the December 29 Youth Holiday Festival and Ocean Breeze meets in January and February, and the club notes those dates may change. A WaveRunner runs in the same meets that close the track to adult members.
SILive reported in January that Ocean Breeze had hosted hundreds of high school meets over ten seasons, and it described upgrades to the scoreboards and timing technology along with a planned WaveLight pacing system. Open track hours are posted week by week on the NYC Parks schedule page, so check it before you drive over for laps.
Winter schedules like this one shape weekday life in Midland Beach, and we follow them the same way we follow the market. If you'd like to talk through life on the South Shore with people who know the area, GAMA. Team is happy to help. Get Started Today.
