Here's a precurser as to what is happening this coming Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2009 at 8pm down at the 4th Ward Clubhouse....as per BigFred of the SJBCA
Guys,
At the SJBCA meeting on Wednesday, November 18, one of the agenda items will be our annual tournament date pick process. The process we use is detailed below.
This is an optional process that clubs may participate in if they want to reserve dates for open buddy tournaments (WMA or not) and/or club tournaments at NJ Wildlife Management Area lakes in 2010. Clubs have the option of scheduling these types of tournaments at a later date, but the dates they choose cannot conflict with any tournaments already on the schedule. At the meeting, we will distribute blank 2010 schedules (conflict lists) that indicate the weekend dates, the NJ closed bass season, major holidays, daylight savings time changes, the pick sequence and the list of WMA lakes.
The order of the pick sequence changes each year according to a formula. Clubs move up the list each year in blocks of four and, after reaching the top, move back to the bottom. New member clubs always start at the bottom. The SJBCA always has first pick for its June buddy tournament (June 20). Associate members must have attended at least four meetings during the year in order to participate in this process. The pick sequence we'll be using for 2010 tournament dates is as follows:
Seq Club
A. SJBCA
1. South Jersey Bass Stalkers
2. South Jersey Hook This!
3. Fourth Ward Bass Anglers
4. Tri-State Bass Assassins
5. South Jersey Hawg Hunters
6. Big Bass Fishing Club of Maple Shade
7. Riverside Bass Club
8. Garden State Bassmasters
9. Happy Hooker Bassers
10. South Jersey Bassers
11. Pine Cone Anglers
12. South Point Bassers
13. Barrington Rod & Reel Club
14. Gloucester County Bass Club
[15. Philadelphia Bass Busters]*
16. Cape May County Bassmasters
17. Tidewater Bassers
18 Delaware River Fishermen's Association
19. Top Rod Bassmasters
[20. Cedarwater Bassmasters]*
21. Rising Sun Bassmasters
22. Beavertail Bass Club
23. Kickin Bass Fishing Club
24. Bucketmouth Brigade Bassin Team
25. Atlantic County Bass Anglers
[26. Five Alive Bassmasters]*
27. Cumberland County Bassmasters
28.
* Associate members who did not attend four meetings during the year & cannot participate.
PICKS FOR OPEN BUDDY TOURNAMENT DATES
We will first have rounds of picks for dates for open buddy tournaments (at WMA locations and non-WMA locations). Participating clubs may select dates for their buddy tournaments during this phase. Dates they select cannot be on the same day as another already-scheduled buddy tournament. No buddy tournament can be scheduled for the Saturday before the SJBCA's June buddy tournament. In addition, buddy tournaments scheduled on Saturday & Sunday of the same weekend cannot be located within 50 miles of one another. For the purposes of this rule, we consider the "northern" locations (Assunpink, Delaware, Mercer, Carnegie, Cooper, etc) to be more than 50 miles from the "southern" locations (Union, Parvin, Maurice, Wilson, etc). The same-day and 50-mile rules may be waived if both clubs agree to it (usually because they don't believe the other tournament will impact their pool of entrants). Clubs are in no way obligated to waive these rules.
Please note that Top Rod Bassmasters always co-hosts a very popular open buddy tournament at the Cooper River on a Saturday in mid-July. They usually aren't informed of the exact date of the tournament until the late Winter or early Spring. At this time, I'm guessing the tournament date will be either July 10 or 17. In the past, other clubs have tried to be courteous by not scheduling a buddy tournament on those dates nor a "northern" buddy tournament on the Sunday following those dates. (For the past few years, Five Alive Bassmasters has picked "whichever Saturday Top Rod's tournament is not on" as the date for their July open buddy tournament at Mirror Lake.)
PICKS FOR CLUB TOURNAMENTS AT WMA LAKES
The second phase of this process is the selection of dates for club tournaments at NJ Wildlife Management Area lakes. Clubs may not select a date & location that is the same as one already picked. The WMA lakes requiring a permit that I'm aware of are:
Assunpink, [Audrey*], Clarks, Collier's Mill, Columbia, Delaware Lake, DOD, Elmer, Green Turtle, Maple, Maskells Mill, Menantico, Pemberton, Penbryn (aka Stellas), Prospertown, Rainbow+, Rising Sun, Round Valley, Shaws Mill, Stone Tavern, Union. *not available for tournaments at this time. +only one tournament per club and no open buddy tournaments in 2010.
Any tournament scheduled at a NJ Wildlife Management Area lake requires a permit if the number of participants exceeds 4 boats or 9 fishermen (whichever is less). We are assuming that the $17.00 permit fee will be waived again for 2010. Also, as in past years, we're assuming the State will issue the WMA tournament permits based on the info on our Conflict List (rather than requiring that individual permit applications be submitted) as long as we provide club contact info (i.e., to whom the permits should be mailed). So I'll need that contact information for any clubs that want me to handle their WMA permits. WMA tournament dates should not be considered official until you receive your WMA permits from the State. Non-SJBCA clubs also apply for these permits and it's possible that another club could get your desired date/location.
ANNOUNCING YOUR PICKS
When you announce your picks at the meeting, you should announce the information in the sequence that it's listed on the 2010 schedule you receive -- date, day, location, club name, open or club tourney, WMA?, tournament times {if buddy tournament or night tournament} and ramp being used {if at a large body of water with multiple ramps}.
SUBMISSION OF CLUB TOURNAMENT SCHEDULES
Following the rounds of date picks, clubs may begin submitting their club tournament schedules to the Conflict List coordinator (me). Club schedules, at a minimum, should include the dates and locations. It would also be appreciated if you could provide the tournament times and ramp location (if at a large body of water).
COMPILING THE INITIAL CONFLICT LIST
Following the meeting, an initial 2010 Conflict List will be created using the dates/locations picked during the two phases of the date pick process. The tournaments on club schedules will then be added. I will notify clubs if their tournaments conflict with other club's tournaments and they will be asked to work out a compromise. Two club tournaments at a large body of water such as the Delaware River or Susquehanna Flats is not considered a conflict for our purposes. Any club tournament schedule submitted after the creation of the initial 2010 Conflict List cannot have dates/locations that conflict with tournaments already on the Conflict List. You will be notified if this occurs. Any schedule changes you plan to make during the season should first be submitted to the Conflict List coordinator for approval. Copies of the latest version of the Conflict List will be available at all SJBCA meetings (and via email) before and during the season. Please keep in mind that this information is only for use by SJBCA member clubs. This is not public information (except for the open buddy tournaments).
PUBLICATION OF OPEN BUDDY TOURNAMENTS
If your club hosts open buddy tournaments and you provide information about them at the November meeting (or afterward), that information will be published on the SJBCA web site and on paper schedules distributed at local tackle shops. If you make changes to your tournament plans, particularly the tournament times, you should notify the Conflict List coordinator of the changes, so that the web site & paper schedules can be updated. We have problems with these types of changes every year. Your cooperation is appreciated.
Please ensure that this information gets into the hands of whomever will be representing your club at the November meeting. If anyone has questions about the information in this note, please let me know.
Thanks.
Fred Lentz
Director/Conflict List Coordinator/Webmaster
South Jersey Bass Club Assoc. www.sjbca.orgBN06, President
