Never thought about it that way, your 100% right

They’ve come a long way from where it started, I think they’re doing a pretty darn good job with the beast it has become. No other tournament trail in this state deals with the number of anglers and events THSBA has…. My experiences this year during the 3 tournaments on Roberts in 7 days were all pretty good. Respectful anglers that would wait to come in and fish a spot till we were done. We had one run in in those 3 days, had nothing to do with the kids… it was a captain being an absolute asshat.

We all hate showing up to our favorite lake and it being absolutely hammered with boats, or the lake just getting beat to death for 3 weeks straight. There’s a real simple way to avoid having to deal with any of that… go to the THSBA website and look at their schedule before you decide what day/lake your going to fish. Only takes a couple of minutes and can save you a full day of frustration.

Not a problem at all…it’s 100% HS fishing. At our school, it is a sport just like any of our other sports. Managed and paid for by the school. In addition, fishing is not our only sport that isn’t governed by the UIL. You’re taking a few liberties here in your assumptions that clearly aren’t true.

Every single student on our team hasn’t paid a nickel to participate since we’ve joined.

And to your point about growth, there’s no doubt it has grown fast….but THSBA has done a good job of managing the growth and using the money appropriately. But no sport is ever going to be bigger than football, and it’s controlled quite well.

Clif notes?

👍

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Not a problem at all…it’s 100% HS fishing. At our school, it is a sport just like any of our other sports. Managed and paid for by the school. In addition, fishing is not our only sport that isn’t governed by the UIL. You’re taking a few liberties here in your assumptions that clearly aren’t true.

Every single student on our team hasn’t paid a nickel to participate since we’ve joined.

And to your point about growth, there’s no doubt it has grown fast….but THSBA has done a good job of managing the growth and using the money appropriately. But no sport is ever going to be bigger than football, and it’s controlled quite well.[/quote]

So what does your school pay for? Do they pay the entry fee's? Do they buy the jersey's? Club sports are NOT managed by UIL but other sports are like football, baseball, Basketball and others are... I am glad UIL is not over highschool bass fishing.

we do not need the schools paying for fishing of any kind they already whizz enough money away .

My son's school did not pay for anything..

So what does your school pay for? Do they pay the entry fee's? Do they buy the jersey's? Club sports are NOT managed by UIL but other sports are like football, baseball, Basketball and others are... I am glad UIL is not over highschool bass fishing.
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I thought it was pretty clear when I said that the school manages and pays for it and that the students don’t pay a nickel to participate. To answer your question again….the school pays for everything. We raise money for extra stuff, no different than the football team.

It looks like you’re not clear on club designations either. School districts have “sports” that are not “clubs” that operate outside of UIL jurisdiction…Fishing, Powerlifting, Lacrosse for example. Football, Basketball, Baseball, Volleyball, Tennis, Swimming, Powerlifting, Cheer, Fishing, Lacrosse, Soccer are all “School Sports” (not clubs) and are not all “UIL Sactioned”.

My son's school pays for nothing. The fishing team has a booster club that sells sponsor spaces on the jerseys. That income pays for everything except for a small membership fee ($25) for each angler.

I can't speak for anybody else, but I do not have a problem with high-school tournaments per se, however, I do have a problem with how many high-schoolers are being taught to act during tournament competition. Honestly, I feel like major competition at that age is ruining bass fishing because those kids aren't being taught how to love the sport like many of us were. They see it as a "job" or "all about getting sponsors", instead of a pastime that many of us grew up enjoying. I didn't fall in love with fishing because of tournaments. I fell in love with fishing because of what it entails. Too many kids now are being taught that it is all about having the latest and greatest equipment, the most patches on your jersey, and hashtagging as many people on social media as possible. The sport is breeding a win-at-all-cost mentality in the younger generations that has already begun suffocating the sport into a rich man's game. The sport as a whole is not going in a direction that I find appealing.

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Also a big problem, it is billed as HS fishing but it really has nothing to do with HS other than the age of the participants. The association, even though it’s intentions are noble, is a private company not the UIL. Because the teams are basically after school fishing clubs they can and do charge to belong. A super cool experience for a kid that I would have been all over were it available when I was in school, but I believe it has gotten bigger than can be reasonably controlled.
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Not a problem at all…it’s 100% HS fishing. At our school, it is a sport just like any of our other sports. Managed and paid for by the school. In addition, fishing is not our only sport that isn’t governed by the UIL. You’re taking a few liberties here in your assumptions that clearly aren’t true.

Every single student on our team hasn’t paid a nickel to participate since we’ve joined.

And to your point about growth, there’s no doubt it has grown fast….but THSBA has done a good job of managing the growth and using the money appropriately. But no sport is ever going to be bigger than football, and it’s controlled quite well.[/quote]

Not taking liberties at all. When my Son was in HS he was on the "HS" shooting team and after captaining a couple of fishing tournaments the model is exactly the same. The sponsoring organization is likely a 501C3 probably with a few paid employees that bills itself as a HS sport. The fees that are paid to that organization to participate in the events I am guessing will mostly be used for the good of the kids but some will also be used to pay employees unless it is an ALL volunteer organization. It is most definitely a private club sport though with HS kids as participants,not an official HS sport. If you have a school that is sponsoring the kids that is cool but I would guess most are not. The kids I took out were pay to play, all on the families dime. Again I would have loved to have something like this when I was younger so not faulting those who participate.

Back ground checks and a youth protection class are required to captain, a boat safety and tournament ethics class for adults and kids could easily be required as well.

I mean, I think it’s pretty apparent that the sport itself has evolved away from what we grew up accustomed to. But I think it’s a reach to say high-schoolers are being “taught” to act any certain way. I believe the overwhelming majority are being mentored by good dudes and parents and people are using the outliers as a means to cast blanket statements at the whole group. And as much as you don’t like it….Bassmasters and MLF are all about the sponsors, product placement and electronics. A young angler idolizing Jacob Wheeler is no different than football players idolizing Tom Brady. They’ll mimic what they like.

Where I don’t disagree with you is that the sport is going in a direction not all of us are necessarily comfortable with….but it’s a situation of what can you control. I for one can evolve with it to the point where I feel like the sports still able to maintain its integrity, and I don’t feel like it’s at that point where it’s lost it yet.

There bad apples in all areas, sports and platforms…from the participants to the coaches to the parents, and you have to learn to navigate it without getting so pissy you ruin it for other people.

Not a problem at all…it’s 100% HS fishing. At our school, it is a sport just like any of our other sports. Managed and paid for by the school. In addition, fishing is not our only sport that isn’t governed by the UIL. You’re taking a few liberties here in your assumptions that clearly aren’t true.

Every single student on our team hasn’t paid a nickel to participate since we’ve joined.

And to your point about growth, there’s no doubt it has grown fast….but THSBA has done a good job of managing the growth and using the money appropriately. But no sport is ever going to be bigger than football, and it’s controlled quite well.[/quote]

Not taking liberties at all. When my Son was in HS he was on the "HS" shooting team and after captaining a couple of fishing tournaments the model is exactly the same. The sponsoring organization is likely a 501C3 probably with a few paid employees that bills itself as a HS sport. The fees that are paid to that organization to participate in the events I am guessing will mostly be used for the good of the kids but some will also be used to pay employees unless it is an ALL volunteer organization. It is most definitely a private club sport though with HS kids as participants,not an official HS sport. If you have a school that is sponsoring the kids that is cool but I would guess most are not. The kids I took out were pay to play, all on the families dime. Again I would have loved to have something like this when I was younger so not faulting those who participate.

Back ground checks and a youth protection class are required to captain, a boat safety and tournament ethics class for adults and kids could easily be required as well.
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…and I do understand that not all programs are set up the way ours is. And I’m 100% with getting new boaters/captains educated on the ethics and courtesies of the water. I’m not trying to be an [censored], I’m just speaking from my experience, and ours was originally set up as a club and we as a district decided it was unfair for students to have to pay out of pocket to participate since they don’t have to for football…so we made it a full blown “official” sport.

We require background checks and all of our captains operate under the school district, so anyone who violates our athletic/school code of conduct can be subject to removal.

Yall should hear what non tournament people say about all the adult tournament guys. Bunch of adults complaining about kids being out on the water. Everything isn't rainbows and unicorns but the attitude from the adults seem to be the problem, not high school fishing. This is the same thing I say about all youth sports, do not complain unless your willing to go out there and coach or captain.