I see why they could have taken it the wrong way, but I meant as soon as the UIL gets involved it will screw the whole thing up.

The 503c reference that gets thrown around doesn't mean some people are not making income from the high school fishing game, it just means the "trail" isn't a for profit business. Seems the 503c is Mr Haugh's go to on most threads where finances are mentioned. Who cares if him or others are getting paid for work done.
But, I assure as soon as the UIL gets involved it will be over regulated by people who have little to no knowledge of the sport and more than likely you'll see them pull some robin hood type bullsh!t with the money.

It’s all good guys. We do get defensive when people think Board Members are lining our pockets when it is definitely not that way with the THSBA. Being a member that has been here from the inception of the association and running the events before we were even getting reimbursed for gas or any other expenses, we do get sensitive to accusations. No worries with me.

I guess I would ask how many other sports, activities, clubs etc lean so heavily on the backs of school that dont fall under UIL. I wouldnt think this would be any different. I think once it becomes something that sports the logos, requires faculty, is broke up into regions by schools, requires students to be students of respective schools etc it's just a matter of time. If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck it must be a duck. If it was just a wide open deal where any kid of a certain age could compete regardless of school affiliation etc, basically an open situation than I would think the uil would have no position. Ie golden gloves, there are plenty of examples where you have organizations separate from UIL and while competing with UIL isnt exactly the right word they definitely represent and alternative. AJGA golf comes to mind, USTA tennis comes to mind, Soccer clubs, Select leagues in certain sports etc. It could just be that if the UIL decides to get involved organizations like THSBA and the group in south east texas will have to make a choice regarding their business model and whether they want to be under the umbrella and oversight of UIL or go the route of some other sports organizations I have listed above. In fact in a couple of examples like USTA and AJGA success in those platforms has always carried way, way more weight towards college recruiting for those sports than UIL success, granted the scholarship nature is different when you compare it to what is awarded by fishing. I look at the fishing scholarships more as deferred winnings, I'm not even exactly sure why they are deferred as I dont think they impact eligibility in other sports like football, basketball etc but I could be wrong about that.

Another organization that has not fallen under the UIL umbrella and done quite well for itself is powerlifting(THSPA). If you like things the way they are keep the UIL out of it.