I'm assuming that it would be available somewhere through TPWD. Just like hunting accidents.

Quick Google search led me to this - https://tpwd.texas.gov/fishboat/boat/media/texas-boating-incidents-statistics-2023.pdf
I'm not going through it but the info is out there.

Your the one that has talked about how dangerous the high school and college fishing boaters are so I figured you knew something about what you talk about.

To my knowledge there has been zero high school fishing accidents in Texas with injuries. I cannot recall any college tournaments in Texas with any either. If there are any maybe you can tell us all about them. However, there have been numerous adult tournaments with serious injuries. For example, wasn't it just last month that two adult anglers were taken to the emergency room from Sam Rayburn for running up on Snake Island. There was another adult angler seriously injured by running into a dam. There has been an adult tournament on Conroe where an angler ran into an anchored boat with numerous adults and kids on it that resulted in at least one death. I have been in an adult tournament in Texas where two boats collided and killed one of the drivers. From what I have seen the adult tournaments are the more dangerous tournaments, but that doesn't fit your narrative.

So please fill us in on the high school and college tournaments in Texas where people have been injured or killed.

Heck- after reading the TFF for a while I figured there are about 5 guys here that know everything about everything. At least they seem to think so.

That shows what you know....there are 6...

Taking the time to read through this, the TD fumbled the ball, the boat captains that launched and stayed out in this are not too bright or a combination of the 2. It has to be one or the other right? No how about a combination of the 2. It has been brought up about lightening an other HS sports, I believe the rule is if lightening is detected in the area you clear the field for 30 minutes then resume play unless lightening happens during that time then the clock starts over. The TD and the boat captains should both be held responsible for this charlie fox trot. TD should either have delayed the event or sent out a text calling for all to take shelter immediately. If there is no cell service then this falls on the boat captains and not the kids, even if they are ultra competitive and going to be the next KVD. Remember this are only kids and kids don't always make the best decisions and in this case Adults should be making these, but what I've witnessed over the last couple of years of "Growing the Sport" Adults is a term best used loosely! Mi Dos Centavos

Of course there are more accidents in regular tournaments. The number of total tournaments fished by adults cant even be compared to the number of HS tournaments. More tournaments equals more accidents, obviously. That is a stupid argument. Like comparing the total number of motorcycle wrecks to the number of car wrecks. dumb...

THSBA is a good organization overall. Like any organization they are not perfect. One area they need to improve on is their weather decisions and ability to communicate with captains. Their app was supposed to have the capability to do mass communication to boat captains. They tried to use this once at the State Tournament at Texoma and I think maybe half the captains got the message. The reality is there are many many good apps out there that make mass text communication very very simple. They need to get one of those and make captains use it for situations like this.

With all that said I do not envy tournament directors of any organization when it comes to making weather calls. It's a thankless task that is guaranteed to piss of at least half the people involved. If you postpone the event you get all the gripes about people losing money on their VRBO they cant reschedule or cancel. If you don't cancel it you get yelled out for making little Suzy fish in the rain. Add to that the fact that weather forecasting has actually gotten worse with all the technology instead of better and you have the makings of a really difficult situation. However, when it comes to lightning there needs to be a better policy. Hopefully they address that this offseason.

One last thing many of you probably don't know is the fact that all of the THSBA tournament directors with the exception of one are volunteers. They use their own vehicles and donate their time. So I doubt firing one would end their life as they know it. I have no idea who the TD at this particular tournament was, but just throwing that out there for those ready to hang him.

It would seem kind of easy to just enact the same policy that the UIL uses for outdoor athletic contests.

Establish a chain of command that identifies who is to make the call to remove individuals from the field.
Name a designated weather watcher (A person who actively looks for the signs of threatening weather and notifies the chain of command if severe weather becomes dangerous).
Have a means of monitoring local weather forecasts and warnings.
Designate a safer shelter for each venue. See examples below.
When thunder is heard within 30 seconds of a visible lightning strike, or a cloud-to-ground lightning bolt is seen, the thunderstorm is close enough to strike your location with lightning. Suspend play for thirty minutes and take shelter immediately..
Once activities have been suspended, wait at least thirty minutes following the last sound of thunder or lightning flash prior to resuming an activity or returning outdoors.
Avoid being the highest point in an open field, in contact with, or proximity to the highest point, as well as being on the open water. Do not take shelter under or near trees, flagpoles, or light poles.
Assume that lightning safe position (crouched on the ground weight on the balls of the feet, feet together, head lowered, and ears covered) for individuals who feel their hair stand on end, skin tingle, or hear "crackling" noises. Do not lie flat on the ground.

Pk is about 17,000 acres as opposed to about 1 acre for a football field. You can’t manage them the same way.

Sounds like the app they use isn’t very good, and they don’t have a good way to send communication to the captains.

A TD is always going to be in a hard place and won’t ever make everyone happy. A TD could look at the weather, make a decision to postpone, and it might not transpire, that’s life. I think the quote “it’s better to be safe than sorry” applies here.

Plenty of tournament anglers have not agreed with a TD for postponing an event.

Sounds like someone took notice.
Heard a rumor that a tournament for this weekend has been canceled on PK due to the weather forecast.

Observe weather, follow THSBA Weather Rules and make the call. Pretty simple.

sounds like they should have just canceled it and rescheduled for another day like any of the other large tournaments do.

Of course you can. The UIL doesnt make the call on the field, the coaches do. The captains would be responsible for making the call in the boat. It doesnt matter how big the lake is, or communication from the TD. A set of rules/guidelines agreed to in the pre tournament registration would give a solid gameplan for everyone to follow, and take the decision making aspect out of the hands of those who are unsure of what to do.

So what about the teams that stayed out and fished in a lightening storm verses the ones that decided to put it on the trailer and be safe when it comes to this tournament being a make or break for state? The weather weathered the entire tournament. It's not like one little storm came through unexpected. It was sporty the entire time.

TD should have followed weather policy. TD is ultimately responsible for the call. It was clear that lightening was close enough to call or suspend.