Hundreds of amateur sand sculptors from across the tri-state area on Wednesday gathered on a sliver of beach just off 18^th Avenue in Belmar for the 25^th annual New Jersey Sandcastle Contest.

With accompanying crowds numbering in the thousands, according to official estimates, most contestants arrived in the early hours of the morning to put their year-long plans into action in hopes that their creations would be declared “Best on the Beach” by the judges.  

But this year’s champions – a family of four -- will be taking NJ’s top sandcastle trophy to the western bank of the Delaware River in Yardley, Pa.

Diane Coyle, her daughter Susan and 7-year-old grandson Lucas Davis, along with Susan’s boyfriend Jamie Stough, were awarded the top prize for their miniature mini-golf course named “Belmar Remembered.”

“We were in shock,” Diane Coyle said. “We’ve been in four contests, but this was our first win — it’s wonderful.”

The team from Yardley, Pa., said they were not expecting to come close to winning after taking a tour of the competition while the judges were tallying their scores.

“I actually walked away to go look at the other sculptures, but they called us back,” Stough said.

“Belmar Remembered” was their way of paying homage to the days of Belmar gone by, when there was a McDonald’s on the boardwalk and an arcade with rooftop golf on Ocean Avenue, Stough said.

“We came up with the things that aren’t here anymore,” Stough said. “We had a house here forever, and I have some really great memories of being a kid in Belmar in the summer.”

And although not everybody could win first prize, some were just fine with that.

“It’s just fun — everyone has a good time,” Richard Isgard of Freehold said. “I like to have fun. Art isn’t about competition.”

Isgard said he and his son Paul come out every year to enjoy the excitement of the day, and that while they have placed second or third a few times in the past, they weren’t looking to win.

“I’m 50 years old, it’s hard enough being out here for five hours like this,” Isgard said.

A much younger team made up of four 15-year-old boys from Westfield were enjoying their first sandcastle competition ever.

Their creation “Rock Lobster” was just that – a giant lobster playing a guitar.

Dan Luzzi, one of its creators, said before the results were announced that his team was receiving plenty of positive feedback from spectators and other competitors.

“People have been saying a lot of good things, but we’ll have to see,” he said. “We threw a lot of things in last-minute.”

Those last-minute adjustments may have helped, because they landed third place in the 12-15 age group.

One of Luzzi’s teammates, Jason Colsanti, thanked the clouds that lingered overhead all morning.

“It’s good the sun wasn’t out — the sand stayed pretty moist,” Colsanti said.

The one sand sculptor not in the competition was still making his presence felt by attracting crowds of onlookers, admirers and even a TV camera or two.

Matt Long, co-star of the Travel Channel’s newest series “Sand Masters,” was on-hand to support McDonald’s summer beverages in the McCafe line, but the professional sand sculptor — who is competing in the world championships in November — took a break to encourage the hundreds of amateurs surrounding him.

“While it may not be ready for the world championships, their ideas are often as good as anything you’ll ever see,” Long said. “So I always look forward to inspecting what the amateurs have done, I know I’m going to see great stuff.”

Long began sand sculpting 18 years ago just for fun while vacationing with his children, but after some amateur competitions, he soon learned what it takes to be a pro.

“I think people don’t realize how much time you need to devote to it. It’s a three- to five-hour process for something that’s even still kind of mediocre. But it’s a fabulous family activity,” he said.

And when asked how the Belmar sand held up with what he usually works with, Long gave a bit of a mixed review.

“The sand is not very good,” he said with a smirk. “But it cuts clean and is very clean, not too many shells, so it has its positive points.”

But sometimes, he said, that is just the way it goes.

“Sometimes you have to settle, if the sand doesn’t want to work with you, you better do what the sand says.”