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john, again, this is not so much an sb.com issue as it is a tournament chairman issue. i will give sb.com credit as they have several members that keep involved and advise others here about issues. some even are on advisor panels, which is great. however, being that this and the fall mda club challenge are just that, club challenges. take sb.com out of the equation for a minute. you are the tourney chair or weighmaster at a shop. someone comes in w/ a fish to weigh in for a club. they ask the member, "who are you fishing for?" they say sb.com. great, now prove to me you are a member? one of the key parts that is hardly checked is that people are up to date/in good standing members of their particular club. it's easy when you are a familiar face at a shop you weigh in at, but what if you are not and are fishing this tournament? how do i know you are part of that club? you don't have membership cards. what's to keep the same person from later weighing in a different fish for a different club? how will i know? i personally am not involved with the rules for the risaa club challenge. that is risaa and bob mueller. i am giving my viewpoints from a tournament's chair position, which i am for other clubs.
ok, next issue. you invite sb.com into the tournament. what's to say website x cannot enter it? how about website w's ri forum if they want to enter it and their parent website is already entered into it? how about if i want a group of my friend's that all happen to fish rods i built for them want to enter. are all these still clubs? why can't they be? they paid the fees to enter. what if i want to fish for myself as a club. can i if i pay the entrance fee? do you see what and where this is going? originally, once a club signed up, all members of that club are eligibile to fish. there was no sign up. but, some are members of several clubs. how do you keep track of what club they fish for or if they enter fish for different clubs? so, they started to keep track of names of participants for that club so people couldn't fish for 2 or more clubs during the tournament.
now, as far as the majority of the participating clubs entered into the fall mda tournament not being true clubs, i argue that point. i'll give you a couple, one being sb. in more recent years this has been addressed.
ok, money. the entrace fee for the tournament and raffle prizes are all donated towards the charity. also, if people or clubs wish to give extra, they can make that donation as well. sure, it's all for a good cause, but it is also a club challenge.
now, off the serious note. fear? this has nothing to do w/ fear of sb.com. my reasons were said above, but go back and do some searches and see how many people said the same things about fear as some are saying here. then, go check the people that actually weighed fish for sb during those year. yes, sb won it one year, but i believe only 3-5 people even weighed fish! it's easy to talk behind the keyboard, but few have been able to step up to the plate and back it up.
now, onto the whole club issue. i'd be curious to see how many of the members here that want to fish for sb.com are actually members of another club. so, why would you not fish for that club? why sb.com? some clubs are in need of new blood and members, fresh with ideas and enthusiasm. why not get involved? when clubs start dying, as some have or are showing trends in that way, how are lobbyist going to use rec groups for their backing? does website x.com mean or hold any value to someone like asmfc? is sb.com affiliated with any other organizations? i said this last time john, and i'll say it again, sb.com could be a very important and vital voice in support of fisheries and other issues, but they way i see it right now, it's just a message forum. again, i stress, try and look at this as someone would who is outside of sb.com. then, ask the same questions.
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