Spring break really did begin in
Florida! Although what triggered it is much different than what you may have
expected.
Back in 1926 a hurricane now
named the Great Miami Hurricane devastated the Miami coastline and surrounding
shores. In an effort to rebuild the area
and attract visitors the city of Ft. Lauderdale built the state’s first Olympic
sized swimming pool.
A college swim coach in New York heard
of the swimming pool in Ft. Lauderdale and in 1935 took his swim team down to
Florida for training during the students Easter break. Within a few short years the College Coaches
Swim Forum was born. Three hundred swimmers attended the first forum with several spectators and classmates in tow.
Over two decades later the event continued
to gain momentum. In the late 1950’s a college professor overheard students
talking about going to “spring break” in Ft. Lauderdale and he decided to see
what the excitement was about. For college students it was a coming of age
experience and prompted the professor to write “Where the boys are”. The novel focused on the sun, sand, and
romance taking place on the beaches in southern Florida.
“Where the boys are” was then adapted
for the big screen and its popularity inspired college students to spring break
in Ft. Lauderdale! By mid-1980 Ft. Lauderdale was overwhelmed by the crowds and
wild parties that evolved. The Mayor of
the city publicly announced that spring breakers were no longer welcomed in
1985.
In light of this event the spring
break migrated North to Daytona Beach and once MTV got involved revelry ensued.
MTV began to advertise that you could spring break anywhere under the sun, which
prompted Cancun to rebuild its infrastructure to accommodate spring breakers
after being hit by a hurricane.
Spring break lived on in Daytona
Beach until bars and clubs started cracking down in the mid 1990’s. Once again spring break moved to a new location, Panama City where it is most popular today.
Who would have thought an Olympic
sized swimming pool would have started it all!
