I think a lot of people, including schools, are confused. We have this same type of situation in our club, despite it being explained over and over and over and over.
Speaking for the THSBA (I don't know about SETX but understand it's the same), this program technically has NOTHING to do with the school(s). The schools don't run anything and most don't seem to acknowledge the program. THEY can't control whether a youngster fishes or not.
THSBA has rules for playing that mirror some of the UIL rules. They are not UIL rules, they are THSBA rules. The kids use the school name while fishing - which means they represent the school and should act accordingly. A lot of teams have a school employee who is a go-between for grade gathering, etc.
There is a line here that people get confused with. We have parents who call the school looking for info all the time, the school says that they don't have a fishing team......
IMO, if SETX allows 7th and 8th graders to compete in their program it is up to the parents to allow them to fish, not the school.
What you say is 100% correct. SETX and THSBA are simply Non Profit Organizations that provide the medium for schools and clubs to compete. Both have adopted rules from the UIL, other tournament trails, and national "parent" organizations like BASS and the FLW to mold their own sets of rules and guidelines.
Every UIL sanctioned school sport at a school usually receives an annual budget from their respective district. These amounts vary depending on the sport. To my knowledge, I know of no fishing teams who receive a budget from their district.
So, the big question is this, if the schools are not paying advisors a stipend and the team does not receive any funds from the school, how do the schools hold anything over the kids heads as far as who can participate or who is eligible to participate? The first thing to understand is how the team is viewed by the school. The schools see them as "clubs" and NOT "extra curricular" like UIL sanctioned activities. In other words, there is not gonna be one hour set aside in the school day for fishing practice, like weightlifting or off season programs. Like chess club, spanish club, or whatever club, the fishing team simply is students from "that school" and that really is about it. The school itself simply provides a central "motherbase" if you will for all of those involved. It's the easiest way to get people together and to meet in a consistent way. If the club uses school facilities, wears the school name on the shirt, and calls that school its "home", then the school has every right to set forth rules and guidelines for the club to follow, including whether to allow 7th and 8th graders to participate.
Correct me if I am wrong, but I dont think THSBA or SETX have it written anywhere that its members must be from high schools and not individual clubs that originate independently. The bottom line is this. If you have insurance from BASS or FLW and pay your membership thru THSBA or SETX, you don't have to be a part of a high school club to fish, but I would think some hierarchy of leadership would need to be in place (in other words, an adult team advisor be in place)
