Don't Be Intimidated........"Just Shoot"

[Spear One]

I know many of you (especially the Greenhorns) are a little hesitant to enter open tournaments like the Spearboard Open, Hell Divers, or St. Pete Open. However, I strongly urge you to put your fears aside (as difficult as that may be) and enter on of these open tournaments. Regardless of your level of experience, these tournaments can be a ton of fun. Yes, the competition is quite fierce among the experienced shooters, but many of these tournaments have huge prize tables that allow even rookie shooters to win a very nice prize.

Yes, it is a great thrill to place high enough in these tournaments to win glass, but entering these tournaments is more about participating, networking, getting involved, and just having fun, than winning. The first major tournament on the west coast of Fla. is the Spearboard Open. This tournament has become one of the premier spearfishing events in the USA. Tony is advertising a prize table in excess of $75,000.00 this year and that is absolutely "off the charts".

On top of that, you will be eligible to win one of 4 prizes that total in excess of $10,000.00 by simply purchasing a $20.00 SBO T-shirt. Thats right, you don't even have to enter the tournament to be elidgible to win an incredible prize. The more T-shirts you buy, the more chances you have to win. So even if you cannot make it to the event, you can still win a killer prize. The SBO weighin and EXPO has become a must see event. I strongly encourage everyone who has never entered this tournament to "just do it" if you possibly can.

If you cannot enter the SBO, then try to make it to one of the upcoming tournaments in your area. Get involved, you won't regret it.

[FeAr_ThE_SpEaR]

Couldn't have been said any better! I was skeptic about joining the Key West Open. But I did it and I am so glad I did! I have learned that you ALWAYS bring your fish to the weigh in!!!! ALWAYS!!!!! I would have placed 3rd or 4th if I had brought them to the wiegh in. ANd 4th and 5th got sweet underwater cameras!!!!!! But it is DEFFINITLY a TON of FUN! Meeting awesome guys and great divers and getting ponters from everyone is the best. I just wish I was older so I coould travel up there and witness the SBO. But who do I talk to to buy a shirt??

[OceanEd]

Kevin is absolutely right. It doesn't matter what your spearing "level", you will have a great time and be accepted as one of the crowd. Come and join the fun and the experience.

[SpearMax]

I just wish I was older so I coould travel up there and witness the SBO. But who do I talk to to buy a shirt??

Corey, Get on someone else's boat in the Keys and catch a ride to the SBO. Use that SBO buddy search forum I set up. For shirts go to www.speatrboardopen.com Good luck! :cowboy:

[hogsniper]

Great encouragement from one of the most respected men in our sport. I commend your positive thoughts on competing.

[jerry1000]

this will be my first tournament i will be shooting with team fatal...

[SpearMax]

Kevin is absolutely right. It doesn't matter what your spearing "level", you will have a great time and be accepted as one of the crowd. Come and join the fun and the experience.

Stephen, you and Kevin are right about this. I am going to point something out to everyone watching this thread. Just go to last year's results posted by Mike Weinhard here:

http://www.spearboard.com/forum/showthread.php?t=29634

Please note position number 39 on the aggregate scores was held by my friend Steve Gillespie (aka Inlet Surf) with 80 pounds (aka points) of fish.

I am not sure what Inlet shot last year, but let's say it was two groupers over 20 pounds, one jack over 20 pounds, two hogfish at 5 pounds, two snappers at 5 pounds and no sheepshead/triggerfish. With the maximum points in each category at 20 points per fish, this point score scenario for Inlet is entirely plausible.

Inlet is a very good hunter. As either a new or experienced spearfisher, you have to ask yourself could I do that level of fish take in one day in the area I plan to hunt? The answer is probably yes!

This year's prize table should be pretty good in the middle scores. If you did that well or even substantially less, I know you will get a nice prize. The experience of competing in a big tournament will be great. You will not regret it!

[SpearMax]

Great encouragement from one of the most respected men in our sport. I disagree about it being the first major tournament in the Gulf Coast, but commend your positive thoughts on competing.

Howie, would you not think any tournament with over 250 contestants is really a major one as opposed to those tournaments with much less? I respectfully think Kevin is right about the calendar sequence of his statement. :cowboy: He was not talking about historical sequence as Hell Divers was first. ;) Oh...and he did mention St. Pete Open which is definitely "a Major" that I support and shoot every year. :thumps:

[jfjf]

I entered the Spearboard for the first time a couple of years ago. While first walking up to the site, I see guys holding up snappers so big, I wasn't even sure what kind they were. They looked red, but I didn't know that red snappers could get that big. Then I saw a few huge groupers being weighed and I quickly concluded that I had no chance to win anything. I misunderstood the rules and thought that only the top few contestants were eligible for prizes and that every one else could be eligible to win a raffle prize by weighing in just one fish.

So, even though I had a grouper and snappers and a few other fish in my cooler, I went back to the truck and grabbed the smallest snapper (hell it was easy to carry) and weighed it in. After the weigh-in ended and I watched the awards, I quickly realized that my understanding was totally wrong. I ended up getting a stringer from the prize table for weighing in a single 3 lb snapper, too bad I didn't weigh all my fish. I quickly calculated what my score would have been, with the fish in the cooler and realized that I could have been walking off with a complete backplate and wing BC system that was worth over $400.. What a DUMB ASS! I was unbelievably pissed at myself for not taking the time to understand the rules.

You can get a decent amount of points with a modest amount of fish. It is an aggregate tournament; you don't need trophy sized fish. Don't be a DUMB ASS. Read the rules! Weigh all your eligible fish, even if they look like they could have fallen out of the gut cavity of somebody else's Amberjack.

[bug_power]

are their any Floridians willing to shack up a couple of Texas guys who would drive or hop a cheap flight?

[Spear One]

are their any Floridians willing to shack up a couple of Texas guys who would drive or hop a cheap flight?

There was a post up about a week ago from a guy who said he had 2 spots open. Anyone have the link?

[hogsniper]

Howie, would you not think any tournament with over 250 contestants is really a major one as opposed to those tournaments with much less? I respectfully think Kevin is right about the calendar sequence of his statement. :cowboy: He was not talking about historical sequence as Hell Divers was first. ;) Oh...and he did mention St. Pete Open which is definitely "a Major" that I support and shoot every year. :thumps:



BTW, what type of FRA fund raising do you have planned for the SB this year? It is usually a gun raffle, right? Let me know if there is anything I can assist with along those lines.

[Spear One]

I was not insinuating that SB is not a major, I was suggesting that the Southern Open and Hell Divers are both major tournaments with good sponsorships, good prize tables, and do alot of good for diver's rights.

BTW, what type of FRA fund raising do you have planned for the SB this year? It is usually a gun raffle, right? Let me know if there is anything I can assist with along those lines.


When I said the SBO was the first major tournament on the west coast, I meant that it was the first of the year (2007) not the "first" as in historicaly. Sorry for the confusion.

[kitefisherman]

I was not insinuating that SB is not a major, I was suggesting that the Southern Open and Hell Divers are both major tournaments with good sponsorships, good prize tables, and do alot of good for diver's rights.

BTW, what type of FRA fund raising do you have planned for the SB this year? It is usually a gun raffle, right? Let me know if there is anything I can assist with along those lines.

Howie: I think he meant that the SBO was the first major West coast tournament of the 2007 season - not that it was the first in importance.

Tony is doing the ring toss again this year to benefit the FRA. See details at http://www.spearboard.com/forum/showthread.php?t=45319

[bhowell]

Listen to a "noobie" my first tournament was three years ago SBO. I didn't even weigh fish (stupid). I have since dove the SBO twice and the SPO once. I have only weighed fish at one. Won prizes at all, had a blast.

The rookies are really the ones who should come to the tourney's. You get to ask questions of the real pro's. If you have never been to a tournament, look at it as a great way to meet people that enjoy your sport, learn from the best (you will be amazed how friendly, knowledgeable and chatty some of the "legends" of this board are and realize how big some of the fish are that you may be after.

I can drink and eat enough to justify the registration fee! If you have ever dove with me, you know I have no chance to win a tournament, however it is the most fun you will ever have!

[SpearMax]

I was not insinuating that SB is not a major, I was suggesting that the Southern Open and Hell Divers are both major tournaments with good sponsorships, good prize tables, and do alot of good for diver's rights.

BTW, what type of FRA fund raising do you have planned for the SB this year? It is usually a gun raffle, right? Let me know if there is anything I can assist with along those lines.

Howie, that's right about the Southern Open. Here is a link to that FRA fund-raiser we are doing again at the SBO with Florida Freedivers. I went over to Mike's place a few days ago to take photos of the FRA Ring Toss contest board here.

http://www.spearboard.com/showthread.php?t=45319

Mike has asked for some volunteers to help with the ring toss for one or two hour shifts. It is actually alot of fun and really helps a good cause. We are publicizing this FRA fund-raiser much more this year as many people did not even realize it was happening last year. Please let Mike or me know if you can help him out. We love having volunteers from other clubs. Greg Krizman is volunteering to help this FRA effort from 11AM to 1 PM. Thanks, Tony :cowboy:

[hogsniper]

Let me take my foot out of my mouth long enough to say sorry for the mix up guys, I had my tourney dates mixed up and was thinking that SB was after Southern Open and Hell Divers. Sort of a weird dyslexic calander related brain fart. Sorry Kevin and Tony.

[Spear One]

Let me take my foot out of my mouth long enough to say sorry for the mix up guys, I had my tourney dates mixed up and was thinking that SB was after Southern Open and Hell Divers. Sort of a weird dyslexic calander related brain fart. Sorry Kevin and Tony.

No problem!

[one shot]

I know many of you (especially the Greenhorns) are a little hesitant to enter open tournaments like the Spearboard Open, Hell Divers, or St. Pete Open. However, I strongly urge you to put your fears aside (as difficult as that may be) and enter on of these open tournaments. Regardless of your level of experience, these tournaments can be a ton of fun. Yes, the competition is quite fierce among the experienced shooters, but many of these tournaments have huge prize tables that allow even rookie shooters to win a very nice prize.

Yes, it is a great thrill to place high enough in these tournaments to win glass, but entering these tournaments is more about participating, networking, getting involved, and just having fun, than winning. The first major tournament on the west coast of Fla. is the Spearboard Open. This tournament has become one of the premier spearfishing events in the USA. Tony is advertising a prize table in excess of $75,000.00 this year and that is absolutely "off the charts".

On top of that, you will be eligible to win one of 4 prizes that total in excess of $10,000.00 by simply purchasing a $20.00 SBO T-shirt. Thats right, you don't even have to enter the tournament to be elidgible to win an incredible prize. The more T-shirts you buy, the more chances you have to win. So even if you cannot make it to the event, you can still win a killer prize. The SBO weighin and EXPO has become a must see event. I strongly encourage everyone who has never entered this tournament to "just do it" if you possibly can.

If you cannot enter the SBO, then try to make it to one of the upcoming tournaments in your area. Get involved, you won't regret it.

And they don't get any more green than me! I entered in the tournament last year, very green and a rookie in all aspects. I actually even managed to place with double digits. I owe any and all of my success to Spearboard.com, and guys like you ,Kevin and my buddy Ben, Fishkilla. How else could a guy from the frozen tundra learn and enjoy this awesome sport, In such a short time. Most all of the other people, I dove with and speared with have been very helpful. Thanks to all of you, look forward to seeing at the tournament! :thumps:

[diverdave]

Just make sure my snorkle keeper is still there when I get a pick at the table Tony! :lol:

[SpearMax]

Just make sure my snorkle keeper is still there when I get a pick at the table Tony! :lol:

Yes Dave, we took in two snorkel keepers just for you! ;) Tony :cowboy:

[Spear One]

Yes Dave, we took in two snorkel keepers just for you! ;) Tony :cowboy:

Something tells me there will be a lot more than just snorkel keepers on the 2007 SBO prize table. I am pretty sure that prize table will include one of our new 52 Commercial HPL Laminated Spearguns.

[diverdave]

Ok Kevin I'll take that if I'm forced to!

[Spear One]

Ok Kevin I'll take that if I'm forced to!

Shoot the right combination of fish........... and she's yours!