Georgia high school athletic association just announced that it will partner with FLW/TBF to offer bass fishing as a sanctioned high school sport..article in paper also mentioned that Georgia was 5th state joining Louisiana,Illinois,Kentucky and Mississippi sanctioning bass fishing as a high school sport...
I think it is a good thing getting high school kids involved in fishing however not sure what the impact will be on our fisheries...
it also looks like a very smart move Boyd Duckett and owners of Major League fishing made when they bought FLW...

I hope this never happens in Texas. I don't see it helping the kids one bit by UIL taking it over.

what is UIL and what is your reasoning behind your statement?

UIL is short for University Interscholastic League and is our state governing body for high school sports created a long time ago by UT.
https://www.uiltexas.org/

As HS fishing stands today, in TX, the kids can win prizes, cash and/or scholarship money. They also can compete freely in events that pay cash (i.e - adult tourneys) and not affect their standing in HS nor College. IF the UIL gets involved, it WILL affect eligibility for those competing and receiving prizes/prize money.
I also know that most of these HS circuits are run by a board of volunteers that aren't paid, with maybe only one or two actual "paid" people in the program. This allows them to put almost all of the money back into the program in the form of scholarship money or prizes - and they do. (THSBA gave almost 1/2 mil away in scholarship and prizes last year alone)
I have a hard time believing that an entity (Schools in TX) that have proven they cannot manage money will effectively run a fishing program better than it has been done. I think that the UIL 'will" make an attempt just as soon as they see the money that is out there for HS fishing, just another thing that they can mismanage and line their pockets with someone else's money. Imagine "no child left behind" applied to fishing.....
I also believe this will cause captain numbers to plummet, it's hard enough now to find enough captains.

I agree 100% with every point you make, but also believe there is no way to stop it from happening.

I can only hope that orgs such THSBA will continue to run if UIL get involved. That would allow an option for those so inclined. I think the schools will have a much tougher time organizing, ,hosting and holding these events than they think so they may die on the vine or be so watered down that no one will mess with it.

High school fishing is a mess

You finally said something that makes sense

Wawi and 21xs
I’m curious what you think is “a mess” about it?

Have you been involved in it? If so what happened?

I don't think UIL in Texas will ever sanction fishing. There is simply no way to make it a sport that everyone can have equal opportunity to participate in. Few if any schools have the resources to buy/rent boats or equipment for the kids that don't have a captain or the financial resources to buy gear. Therefor it can never be equal opportunity. I'm told as long as that is the case UIL in Texas will never even consider sanctioning it. Like many have said above that is a good thing. No need to get UIL involved in my opinion.

As to WAWI's comment, I actually think that the THSBA events are run far better than the majority of the adult tournament trails. Their communication is good, information is easy to find, polygraphs at every event to ensure as much fairness as possible...I could go on. That's way more than I can say about 75% of the adult tournament trails out there. Now the FLW/TBF and BASS high school events are truly a disorganized mess. No argument there.

Yes, and that's all I have to say about that

I don't want my tax dollars buying bass boats and paying teacher/coaches to go fishing. I love working with teenage kids and have given thousands of hours on a volunteer basis through my church for over 20 years. I love fishing and have done it basically my whole life. If you are ever on a lake leading up to a HS fishing event(practice) or during an event, it is just not good. Ever see a hyped up or angry parent on the sidelines at a kids sporting event? Now put that guy in the drivers seat of a bass boat as a captain and there you have the problem with HS fishing tournaments IMO...

We are in our second year as program at Sherman and we set it up as a school sport. Most schools on the other hand are 100% club based and ran outside of the district. We actually get a transportation/meal budget and equipment budget. We have local companies donate money for jerseys and we're all set. We have doubled in size in 1 year, and are on pace to double again. Our kids get to participate in Spring pep rallies and Spring Sports Banquets. We are really happy with how its being ran, and with our without UIL it's going to continue to be a success here. I agree that UIL would probably make some changes that nobody would like if they took over...but I don't see them messing with it tbh. Powerlifting has been around for a while and it's not UIL sanctioned.

THSBA is doing a phenomenal job and if you think it's a mess you don't really have a clue. I speak from experience that every high school sport has its issues but that doesn't mean it's a "mess".

the only thing the uil would be interested in is the money that it generates .