2008 Spearboard Open Bitch Thread

[The Collector]

Tony, I can no longer sit on the sidelines for this show. I must commend you on what I think are misdirection skills rivaling David Copperfield. The real story of this tournament is the fact that so many parts of it appear, to an admitted outsider who did not attend the tournament, to have been a complete disaster.

How long did people wait in line to weigh fish?
How long did people wait for the results?
How accurate were the results?
After years of steady growth in attendance & sponsors, how did it go this year?
In the middle of this disaster, someone on YOUR boat was SHOT????????????

HOW THE HELL DO YOU RUN OUT OF PRIZES AT A $100K TABLE WITH HALF THE CONTESTANTS FROM PREVIOUS YEARS???????

I heard a rumor that DAVE CARMICHAEL stepped up when this happened and offered ADDITIONAL PRIZES from ARMOR BAGS for contestants? If this IS true (knowing Dave I imagine it is as he has got to be one of THE BEST tournament sponsors our sport has ever had) how is it I have not heard anything about it from you or your site??

How long did you wait to post the results?
How long did it take to even address the cheating stuff?

The fact that you have managed to ruin a great website can be left up to debate. You and your many employees and Kool-Aid drinkers may believe it is better.
However, the fact that you have single-handedly managed to destroy a tournament that was the favorite event of the year for many is no longer debatable.

You have managed to spin this into a story about how great you are for FINALLY pulling your head out of the sand and doing something about cheating, while at the same time deflecting criticism to other tournaments and even Doc.

There is only ONE reason why the OTHER website started.
There is only ONE reason Team Spearboard changed it’s name.
There is only ONE person ever nominated for removal from our club.
There is only ONE person with the ability to screw up the best tournament of the year.

There is no question that I do not like you Tony, but, it is not only your fault. I am also immensely frustrated that our community has allowed itself to be bought, coerced, and otherwise hoodwinked into believing that you might in fact be good for our sport.

To all the employees and Kool-Aid drinkers, importantly JFJF, how ‘bout you let Tony speak for himself.

[Bill McIntyre]

The fact that you have managed to ruin a great website can be left up to debate. You and your many employees and Kool-Aid drinkers may believe it is better.


I can't address any of your other points regarding the tournament because I wasn't there, but since you insist on taking an unrelated cheap shot about the site, I will respond.

I'm not an employee, but I drank the Kool-Aid and I do believe the site is better after many of the most disruptive people left. There is an improved atmosphere of civility. In particular, there were formerly moderators engaging in bashing people and starting trouble rather than fixing it. That is no longer the case.

For months after the new site was created, a large proportion of the posts were simply bashing Spearboard and Tony. I never see posts here bashing the other site.

Not all of us live in Florida and are privy to your private fights, but stuff like this

There is only ONE reason why the OTHER website started.
There is only ONE reason Team Spearboard changed it’s name.
There is only ONE person ever nominated for removal from our club.
There is only ONE person with the ability to screw up the best tournament of the year.

looks petty from a distance, and has no place in a discussion of the tournament.

If you have facts about the conduct of the tournament and suggestions for improvement, then state them. Please leave out all your personal animosity.

[The Collector]

If you have facts about the conduct of the tournament and suggestions for improvement, then state them. Please leave out all your personal animosity.

Facts? Here are some accounts either on this board or told to me:
3 1/2 hours sitting in the heat to wait for results?
The wrong guy anounced top freediver?
People giving up on the line to even weigh their fish in the first place?
Running out of prizes after boldly announcing $100k in prizes?

Suggestions for improvements:
Listen to all the people who ran the tournament before and for the first 2 years after you bought it!
Never shoot the tournament yourself, there is too much work to do, let alone the possibility that you may be involved in a SHOOTING incident.

I completely agree that the board is a better place for both cantankerous old men and Californians than it was in the past. I simply disagree that it is, therefore, better for all. This issue is not really relevant, I have somewhere else I can go.

My frustration is in the fact that Tony has managed to destroy something many of us enjoyed, while trying to sell himself as a hero.

[diverik]

In the middle of this disaster, someone on YOUR boat was SHOT????????????



There is only ONE reason why the OTHER website started.
There is only ONE reason Team Spearboard changed it’s name.
There is only ONE person ever nominated for removal from our club.
There is only ONE person with the ability to screw up the best tournament of the year.

. I am also immensely frustrated that our community has allowed itself to be bought, coerced, and otherwise hoodwinked into believing that you might in fact be good for our sport.



Since I was the one shot I hope you will let me speak since you quoted my accident. It was a novice shooter that shot me and Tony was in the water and no where around. So blame him if you must.

If you all didn't want things to change you shouldn't have sold the board and any rights you people think you had.

For all his shortcommings Tony is outspoken trying to fight for your rights even on the westcoast. He fights for all our rights to harvest fish.

I have a friend a commercial diver from Bradenton named Larry Borden. In my opinion he's one of the top three or four feeshafters and a pioneer of the Middle Grounds spearfishing. I don't expect you to know him. He tells me all the time how Spearfishing needs Tony someone with the money, time, and education to conduct a proper leagal fight for our rights instead of the," rabel rabel" that goes on today.

For everyone bashing the lie detector thing. I haven't herd the accused or their friends saying it's false. (and you know they would)

Didn't you see the usual Suspects," You arrest 3 guys on the same charge and observe them for the night . The one who accepts his fate and gets some sleep is your man.
Rick

[The Collector]

Since I was the one shot I hope you will let me speak since you quoted my accident. It was a novice shooter that shot me and Tony was in the water and no where around. So blame him if you must.


You do not need my permission to speak. Tony shows poor judgment spending all day Saturday shooting fish on the east coast when he is supposed to be running the FORMERLY world's largest spearfishing tournament. Additionally, there becomes a point at which they are no longer refferred to as 'accidents'. I think a very good poll on the subject would be to ask how many people that have been on his boat would do it again?



If you all didn't want things to change you shouldn't have sold the board and any rights you people think you had.



"You people" did not own the board, Scott did. Scott did what he thought was best and it made sense at the time. I could care less if the board dissolves or thrives, I am pissed that he destroyed a tournament that many, including myself, worked so hard on.


For all his shortcommings Tony is outspoken trying to fight for your rights even on the westcoast. He fights for all our rights to harvest fish.


I'll leave this to Richt.

For everyone bashing the lie detector thing. I haven't herd the accused or their friends saying it's false. (and you know they would)


I agree. Something had to be done. Using the lie detector thing as an excuse for the delay when it was really a result of lack of preperation and complete ineptitude in compiling scores to determine rankings is a flat out deception.

[KWspearClub]

I don't want to get involved with this situation but for research purposes, What is the name of that other site?

[Bottom Dweller]

.....
Since I was the one shot I hope you will let me speak since you quoted my accident. It was a novice shooter that shot me and Tony was in the water and no where around. So blame him if you must.

Rick, I don't know you, I only know Tony and the strange things that regularly happen on his boat the "Enterprise". I am pretty sure that is all Mike was getting at. However, since we're talking about lie detector tests so much lately, would you care to take one to simply clear the air as to what some people might think?

If you all didn't want things to change you shouldn't have sold the board and any rights you people think you had.

"We" or however you are speaking of above did not have a choice as to the sale of Spearboard. Scott McPherson was the original owner of the board. I am sure he would not have sold it to Tony if he knew it was going to turn out the way it has.

For all his shortcommings Tony is outspoken trying to fight for your rights even on the westcoast. He fights for all our rights to harvest fish.

I remember a while back when the FRA got thrown under the bus due to not attending a meeting that was invitation only in southwest florida. Tony attended and put up a report. Then Denny and the FRA got thrown under the bus as usual for not being there. Well, I am just curious, but did Tony make it to any of he week long South Atlantic meetings a few weeks ago. I may be wrong but I do not believe so. I believe he was too busy trying to scramble to get the SBO together at the last minute. No one threw Tony under the bus for this.

I have a friend a commercial diver from Bradenton named Larry Borden. In my opinion he's one of the top three or four feeshafters and a pioneer of the Middle Grounds spearfishing. I don't expect you to know him. He tells me all the time how Spearfishing needs Tony someone with the money, time, and education to conduct a proper leagal fight for our rights instead of the," rabel rabel" that goes on today.

The "rabel rabel" that goes on today by the FRA seems to be doing a pretty good job last time I looked.

For everyone bashing the lie detector thing. I haven't herd the accused or their friends saying it's false. (and you know they would)

Didn't you see the usual Suspects," You arrest 3 guys on the same charge and observe them for the night . The one who accepts his fate and gets some sleep is your man.
Rick

[fishkillapro]

The only good reading on spearboard is this crap! I fisrt got on spearboard when I was in high school, and would purposely take computer classes so I could get all my work done and look at spearboard. Now the tournament, the board, and everything about it is just a mess.

This SBO '08 compared to the past years that I have shot was pretty much a cluster**** in every way....O well tournaments come and go.

43 years is proof enough that the guys who used to be on here know EXACTLY what they are doing...

[jfjf]

Tony, I can no longer sit on the sidelines for this show. I must commend you on what I think are misdirection skills rivaling David Copperfield. The real story of this tournament is the fact that so many parts of it appear, to an admitted outsider who did not attend the tournament, to have been a complete disaster.

How long did people wait in line to weigh fish?
How long did people wait for the results?
How accurate were the results?
After years of steady growth in attendance & sponsors, how did it go this year?
In the middle of this disaster, someone on YOUR boat was SHOT????????????

HOW THE HELL DO YOU RUN OUT OF PRIZES AT A $100K TABLE WITH HALF THE CONTESTANTS FROM PREVIOUS YEARS???????

I heard a rumor that DAVE CARMICHAEL stepped up when this happened and offered ADDITIONAL PRIZES from ARMOR BAGS for contestants? If this IS true (knowing Dave I imagine it is as he has got to be one of THE BEST tournament sponsors our sport has ever had) how is it I have not heard anything about it from you or your site??

How long did you wait to post the results?
How long did it take to even address the cheating stuff?

The fact that you have managed to ruin a great website can be left up to debate. You and your many employees and Kool-Aid drinkers may believe it is better.
However, the fact that you have single-handedly managed to destroy a tournament that was the favorite event of the year for many is no longer debatable.

You have managed to spin this into a story about how great you are for FINALLY pulling your head out of the sand and doing something about cheating, while at the same time deflecting criticism to other tournaments and even Doc.

There is only ONE reason why the OTHER website started.
There is only ONE reason Team Spearboard changed it’s name.
There is only ONE person ever nominated for removal from our club.
There is only ONE person with the ability to screw up the best tournament of the year.

There is no question that I do not like you Tony, but, it is not only your fault. I am also immensely frustrated that our community has allowed itself to be bought, coerced, and otherwise hoodwinked into believing that you might in fact be good for our sport.

To all the employees and Kool-Aid drinkers, importantly JFJF, how ‘bout you let Tony speak for himself.

First of all, who the flip are you to tell me that I can not respond? You have left the board, left the tournament and have done everything possible to destroy the site and the tournament. You sound like an angry little adolescent.

Since you have chosen to not support the tournament, why should you care how it goes? Apparently you are unable to just “walk away”.

I suspect that in actuality, you are very disappointed that the “show went on “ without you. Your bitching on this board is reminiscent of the Grinch-who- stole-Christmas. You and some others have tried to take everything possible away and yet on “Christmas morning” people were still gathered and having fun. Face it, there is NOTHING that Tony could do that you would be happy with.

I promise you, you will never see Tony going over to another site and ranting and raving and demanding answers about a tournament that he did not attend.

Go away.

[SkremenGSXR]

I don't want to get involved with this situation but for research purposes, What is the name of that other site?

www.Spearfishinglanet.com

[Seacidal]

You hear this kind of stuff all the time from people who couldn't make it (Spearboard.com, et al) work, so they sell off the project and then when the new owners are successful, they start screaming every chance they get.

Seems like another effort to derail a thread, slander this board and promote a site that was created seemingly out of resentment and envy.

Bill's comments are very insightful. Spearboard is discussion of divers about all things diving (with some good "off-topic" subject matter on the side). On "TOB" (the other board), it's difficult to read a thread without somebody hurling insults at Spearboard or its mods.

Like others, I've tried TOB and found the finger-pointing and chest-pounding mentality to be a bit much. Such juvenile rants quickly become tedious.

As a buddy used to say, "if you think you can do better, go ahead." Rather than complain and degrade, simply host additional events directed toward improving this sport and its valuable community.

Just some things to think about. Thanks.

[The Collector]

First of all, who the flip are you to tell me that I can not respond? .

I am not telling you that you cannot respond. You are predictable and were guaranteed to respond. I simply wanted to point out ahead of time the standard response to such fact based statements would either be complete deletion, or a JFJF attack. Good job.

You have left the board, left the tournament and have done everything possible to destroy the site and the tournament. You sound like an angry little adolescent.
Since you have chosen to not support the tournament, why should you care how it goes? Apparently you are unable to just “walk away”

Left the board, yes. Left the tournament (my favorite), yes. Done everything possible to destroy both? You have lost your mind.
First, at the conclusion of last year’s tournament I told Tony I would no longer help him with it but that I would leave a copy of the scoring database (my business partner & I spent a great deal of time developing) on his computer for future use. I DID. The fact that he last minute chose to throw something together that did not work, is yet another example of his lack of good judgment which is resulting in the destruction of a great tournament.
Second, I agreed to run a crew of four guys to the grounds on MY boat for this tournament. I was not going to shoot it, but I was going to run them out as they did not possess a grounds capable boat. I spent much of Friday preparing it and filled it with $1,300 in gas & oil only to have a motor go out Friday night. The guys managed another ride and did in fact shoot it.

You are as ignorant as you are predictable.


I suspect that in actuality, you are very disappointed that the “show went on “ without you. Your bitching on this board is reminiscent of the Grinch-who- stole-Christmas. You and some others have tried to take everything possible away and yet on “Christmas morning” people were still gathered and having fun.

As I said, despite what I think of Tony and what I imagined would happen, I agreed to support 4 guys in shooting it. Your lumping me in with the others is misguided.
How long did everyone wait for the results? 1 post about Rob’s great win and how many about cheating or other problems? If that was Christmas, I need to look into Judaism.
What did the kids near the end of the results think when Santa ran out of presents at your Christmas?

Face it, there is NOTHING that Tony could do that you would be happy with.

He could go ahead and cancel next year’s tournament so that we will not be accused of a whole bunch of stuff if we try to build another one that is WELL ORGANIZED and WELL INTENTIONED. That would make me happy.

I promise you, you will never see Tony going over to another site and ranting and raving and demanding answers about a tournament that he did not attend.


Sorry for the rant & rave. Tony f’d up something that I worked hard on and liked a lot. A very good friend of mine was actually heart broken as he had been involved with the SBO since year #1. Tony did not call him until it was too late and he was unable to help due to another commitment. Another example of poor judgment leading to this disaster.


Go away.

I imagine, as I have yet to say anything untrue, or violate any policies, you will come up with something and ban me.

[The Collector]

You hear this kind of stuff all the time from people who couldn't make it work, so they sell off the project and then when the new owners are successful, they start screaming every chance they get.

Seems like another effort to derail a thread, slander this board and promote a site that was created seemingly out of resentment and envy.

Bill's comments are very insightful. Spearboard is discussion of divers about all things diving (with some good "off-topic" subject matter on the side). On "TOB" (the other board), it's difficult to read a thread without somebody hurling insults at Spearboard or its mods.

Like others, I've tried TOB and found the finger-pointing and chest-pounding mentality to be a bit much. Such juvenile rants quickly become tedious.

As a buddy used to say, "if you think you can do better, go ahead." Rather than complain and degrade, simply host additional events directed toward improving this sport and its valuable community.

Just some things to think about. Thanks.

Couldn't make it work? We weighed twice the people in half the time, had real time electronic leaderboards and had infallable results in 10 minutes under the CURRENT ownership.
I am not screaming about his success, it is about his failure.

[SpearMax]

Tony, I can no longer sit on the sidelines for this show. I must commend you on what I think are misdirection skills rivaling David Copperfield. The real story of this tournament is the fact that so many parts of it appear, to an admitted outsider who did not attend the tournament, to have been a complete disaster.

How long did people wait in line to weigh fish?
How long did people wait for the results?
How accurate were the results?
After years of steady growth in attendance & sponsors, how did it go this year?.

Just so everyone new to Spearboard knows, The Collector is a character from the past named Mike Weinard who used to pretty much run the weigh in at the SBO. His animosity towards me is well known to insiders of the tournament. And, of course he was not there at the 2008 SBO event, but still puts up this destructive and angry post out of frustration that the tournament went on without him I can only imagine. In spite of all the bold proclamations from certain angry people that the 2008 SBO would not succeed, Mike and his cohorts must be green with envy that it did, even though it admittedly had a few bumps just like in prior years when he was around.

I will address a few of his comments, but I honestly do not want to enable him to derail the cheating allegations thread. So I have split it off into a new thread for dealing with those who want to bitch about the 2008 SBO. Anyway, here goes my response to Mr. Weinard.

How long did people wait in line to weigh fish?

The weigh-in did take longer than in last year because we did not have the fancy Access database computer program and networked system that you The Collector (and friends) had developed in prior years. However, we are in the process of developing a new one that will be ready soon. The usual weigh-masters were also not there, but I must commend the great job done by the new weigh-masters John Biggs and Mark DeWayne. I ended up working the computer with Estelle and we got through the weigh-in fairly well, although not as efficiently as The Collector would have done. Sorry we did not have your help this year Mike, but, we managed to get the job done. I have been to several big tournaments where the weigh-in and results tabulation took much longer than ours for sure.

How long did people wait for the results?

Lunch started at the same time as in prior years when I instructed Pitt Boss BBQ to begin serving. The general time table of weigh-in between 9:30AM to line cut-off at 11:30 AM was maintained. Everything was pretty much on track except for the start of the formal program. But, you would not know that since you were not there. :rolleyes:

People did wait quite a while for the results BECAUSE we were dealing very carefully with the cheating allegations. For that delay, I have apologized to the attendees in the opening line of the Cheating Allegations thread. Cheating has not been dealt with like this in any major spearfishing tournament that I am aware of. We were breaking new ground with the lie detector expert and the feedback to me about our approach in dealing with it has been very positive.

Concerning the timeliness of posting of the results on Spearboard, let's look at two threads as follows:

Last year, you posted the results on May 22 - two days after the weigh-in event with a lame excuse that it was someone else's duty. It had been your task the year before.

http://www.spearboard.com/showthread.php?t=46282

And, let’s look at my 2008 results posting here at this thread with partial results one day after the weigh-in event and full results three days after the event.

http://www.spearboard.com/showthread.php?t=63342

I guess we both could have done better with that timing. :p

How accurate were the results?

You mention the misnaming of the top freediver (which was corrected rapidly), but you fail to remember the same thing happened with best boat a prior year concerning Sheri Daye's team.

Mike, these things happen at tournaments and all we can do is strive to be more accurate in the future.

After years of steady growth in attendance & sponsors, how did it go this year?.

I am very happy with the results of this year's SBO considering the weather forecasts which made many people wait until the last minute to sign up. In fact, the winner this year, Rob Harding did not sign up until around 30 minutes before midnight on Friday night. The last few days of sign-ups by dozens of contestants threw off my estimates of how many prizes to allocate to this event’s prize tent versus the other two tournaments. I explained that at the event over the PA system when great sponsors like Armor Dave and Pat Bennett (Thanks Dave and Pat!) helped out by adding more prizes to the prize tent at the last minute. But, you were not there to hear that, were you Mike?

The prize tent was fairly rich with many high dollar items and plenty of mid-range items. Pretty much all the major sponsors of past years donated at equivalent or higher levels for the three tournament series. Some sent just one third of their total commitment by UPS. That is their decision on how to handle it and I do not question their generous ways. It is still amazing to me that someone can go to these tournaments and finish in position 100+ and complain they did not get a Riffe Speargun or the like. :eek: But we will probably continue to hear such comments in the future.

As far as the expo goes, I was disappointed with the number of expo participants, but, again I do not question their decisions. Several sponsors like Zeagle and Spearfishing Specialties had prior commitments to other shows or activities. They still supported the event and donated their prizes. Kevin was at the Captain's meeting and Dennis was at the weigh-in, but neither had tables. That does not mean they were not supporting the event. Mike from Florida Freedivers had a similar situation, but should be at the Palm Beach event and doing his ring toss to benefit FRA. One new sponsor called me two days before the event and cancelled his attendance at this expo because he had a blood clot medical emergency. Such is life in the expo aspects of a large spearfishing event.

Again, I do not question the decisions of sponsors about expo attendance or prize-giving. I simply thank them from the bottom of my heart for their support. But, since you were not there and not involved as a volunteer this year, you would not know any of these inside details, would you Mike?

Lastly, I went back through all the spreadsheets just for you and did a comparative analysis of contestants registered and contestants weighing fish as follows:


Spearboard Open 2005 - 233 registered - 190 weighing

Spearboard Open 2006 - 302 registered - 233 weighing

Spearboard Open 2007 - 260 registered - 178 weighing

Spearboard Open 2008 - 210 registered - 129 weighing (+5 DQ)

The 2008 SBO numbers bounce around from year to year and may be down some this year due to weather forecasts and the attitudes of some people like you. Most major tournaments have up and down years. For example, the St. Pete Open had 240 weigh fish in year 2003 and 196 in year 2007. But, all things considered, I think this year's SBO event continues to be a pretty solid foundation to build on, especially for the Blue storm Tournament series around the state. There will be many exciting announcements about that in the near future.

I know from past dealings with you that this is the last thing you want to hear. I would just ask you to please restrain yourself and temper your anger. Spearboard does not appreciate such animosity, especially from someone was not even at the event.

Thanks, Tony

[PrimeTime]

Spearboard Open 2005 - 233 registered - 190 weighing

Spearboard Open 2006 - 234 registered - 231 weighing

Spearboard Open 2007 - 260 registered - 178 weighing

Spearboard Open 2008 - 210 registered - 129 weighing (+5 DQ)



Those numbers do not look like nearly 300 entering as proclaimed.

[SpearMax]

You are right, I just fixed that 2006 result above. Look at the strange way The Collector posted the 2006 results here at this thread with number 234 next to all those below that number. So I hand counted them and revised the above post of mine as follows.

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

Lastly, I went back through all the spreadsheets just for you and did a comparative analysis of contestants registered and contestants weighing fish as follows:


Spearboard Open 2005 - 233 registered - 190 weighing

Spearboard Open 2006 - 302 registered - 233 weighing

Spearboard Open 2007 - 260 registered - 178 weighing

Spearboard Open 2008 - 210 registered - 129 weighing (+5 DQ)

[ny_er]

I'm a little rusty on VBA programming but an application to do the weight in calculations, seems like it would be pretty simple

[Bulit7]

Tony, don't waste your breath. Ban this EDIT! and delete this thread. These assholes at SP like to start shit cause their site does not and never will share the same success as the SB due to it being run by a bunch of angry bitches. It's funny that the threads that get the most traffic there are the bitch and moan threads.

I go there no longer due to the tone of that site. F#ck Spearfishing Planet.

[The Collector]

Tony,
I stand by by compliment of your misdirection skills rivalling David Copperfield. I mostly like your comment about my 'lame' excuse for a 2 day delay because my 2 year-old was sick. Does that make it fair game to bring up your 'lame' excuse for not providing any paid subscribers their magazines? Didn't you say that was because your mother was sick?

Good luck Tony.
Mike

[Smudge]

Reguardless of whether or not Tony did a good job in the 2008 SBO he sure does a fine job of making Mike "The Collector" look like a donkey.

Of course even though I'm a native Floridian, I joined SB while living in CA, so my opinion, according to Mike "The Donkey" doesn't count....

[100days-a-year]

I'll give Tony a lot of credit for standing up to criticism this time instead of mass bannings and deletions:thumps:.For all the good weather and press the tourney was less than advertised,instead of excuses I'd love to see positive suggestions to improve it and our status in the world.These tourneys have the potential to open the eyes of many to what kind of stewards we are for the resources we enjoy.Sticking your head in the sand or shooting the messenger won't produce a better tourney.
My suggestion would be to require a land-line phone call in at some point prior to shooting starting..maybe 8pm the night before.

To the rest of the kool-aid drinking brown-nose:cone:heads...:talker: Tony has f'd up in a few areas and needs to take the heat.If he is going to represent us in a big way he'll have to man up when the real opposition starts really going after him.Pansy apologists demean him(Tony) more than the people you are defending him from.He has demonstrated he is fully capable of presenting his point of view without trying to make this a board war.

I had intended to shoot but had issues:moon: and work to do,I am very happy for Rob,Len,Gary,Shatzie etc.. and wish most of the shooters well even though many of you pontificating experts were outshot by a kid in NE Fla who weighs less than a #100 and isn't legal to drive yet.:loser:

[Bottom Dweller]

Hey Tony or moderators, aren't Maverick's (Bulit7) posts a personal attack on a person and or several persons. Calling someone a politically incorrect name like "fag" can't be acceptable. Please delete his post. Also, aren't personal attacks grounds for being banned. Well, we will see if it is the one way street that it normally is when questions like this are raised.

By the way Bulit7, I have money that says the Collector will woop your pretty boy ass if you are ever man enough to say it to his face.

[Speargun]

http://h2oaddiction.net/icons/pop2.gif

[StabbinBoy]

Tony,

Given the challenges you faced, the tournament was fine. When I heard why it took so long to announce winners, I was fine with the delay. Thanks for taking the time to send a clear message that cheaters will be disqualified.

I waited and registered Friday night, only because there was no refunds or rain dates. Hopefully that will change next year. The lack of prizes was also due to your spreading the prize tent over not one but THREE tournaments.

As for the complaints of former board members, it's time to go home folks
There's nothing to see here, just someone who came back to beat a dead horse

[SpearMax]

Tony,
I stand by by compliment of your misdirection skills rivalling David Copperfield. I mostly like your comment about my 'lame' excuse for a 2 day delay because my 2 year-old was sick. Does that make it fair game to bring up your 'lame' excuse for not providing any paid subscribers their magazines? Didn't you say that was because your mother was sick?

Good luck Tony.
Mike

Mike, I was referring to the lame excuse you wrote in your post about you thinking it was someone else's job, nothing else. If you would respond intelligently to my rebuttal comments, people might start taking your criticism seriously. As it stands now, you are flogging a dead horse and making yourself look like the cantankerous old man you mentioned to Billl McIntyre above. Petty....petty...petty....

Please bottle your anger and frustration....perform a great disappearing illusion act and go back to the place where you feel you are loved.

Signed David Copperfield :D


Hey Tony or moderators, aren't Maverick's (Bulit7) posts a personal attack on a person and or several persons. Calling someone a politically incorrect name like "fag" can't be acceptable. Please delete his post. Also, aren't personal attacks grounds for being banned. Well, we will see if it is the one way street that it normally is when questions like this are raised.

By the way Bulit7, I have money that says the Collector will woop your pretty boy ass if you are ever man enough to say it to his face.

Scott, he has been warned now. I will also warn the guy who called Mike a "donkey."

Please review our personal atack policy at this link.

http://www.spearboard.com/showthread.php?t=27005

Thanks for calling our attention to these infractions. Tony

[Gradyman]

Tony, Since constructive suggestions could turn this thread to the positive here's three little things I noticed from photographing a lot of events & having been at previouse SBO's...Over all I think it went fine.

1) Music or a DJ to keep the party rolling while the weigh in & results are being done.

2) That food donation truck to give away some fish.

3) An ice destributor suppling free or at cost ice as a sponsor so we can re-ice the fish we want to bring home.

I have some time to make calls for you and line some of this up if you need more help on the organization committee.

[SpearMax]

Tony, Since constructive suggestions could turn this thread to the positive here's three little things I noticed from photographing a lot of events & having been at previouse SBO's...Over all I think it went fine.

1) Music or a DJ to keep the party rolling while the weigh in & results are being done.

2) That food donation truck to give away some fish.

3) An ice destributor suppling free or at cost ice as a sponsor so we can re-ice the fish we want to bring home.

I have some time to make calls for you and line some of this up if you need more help on the organization committee.


Yes Len! That list is a great example of constructive criticism instead of angry destructive criticism. I hired a great DJ last year who was positioned over near stage right. I failed to do that this year and I regret it especially because that would have eased the cheating delay. DJ is definitely on next year's to-do list. The food charity did not get enough donations last year to warrant doing it again they told me back then. The prior year was the first time we had ever done that. I will note the ice suggestion for next year too. I really appreciate your offer to help next year as a volunteer. I think I might institute an new Team Spearboard volunteer organization like we had in the past. Thanks, Tony

[Bill McIntyre]

As it stands now, you are flogging a dead horse and making yourself look like the cantankerous old man you mentioned to Billl McIntyre above.

I'm so glad I could contribute something meaningful to the discussion.

[Bill McIntyre]

Hey Tony or moderators, aren't Maverick's (Bulit7) posts a personal attack on a person and or several persons. Calling someone a politically incorrect name like "fag" can't be acceptable. Please delete his post. Also, aren't personal attacks grounds for being banned. Well, we will see if it is the one way street that it normally is when questions like this are raised.

I guess personal attacks are supposed to be grounds for banning, but lets look at the big picture. The Collector came over and made personal attacks on Tony, and said essentially that Spearboard sucks now that he and his buddies are gone. As long as Tony permits him to keep making attacks (and I would not), then it would hardly be equitable to ban Bulit7 for his rebuttal.

By the way Bulit7, I have money that says the Collector will woop your pretty boy ass if you are ever man enough to say it to his face.

Oh great. That's the manly way to settle it. Why rely on reason or exchange of ideas when you can just kick ass. It works for individuals, and it works so well for countries too. We are still in the Dark Ages, aren't we? If I'm bigger than you are, then I'm right.

[diverlen]

Hey Tony or moderators, aren't Maverick's (Bulit7) posts a personal attack on a person and or several persons. Calling someone a politically incorrect name like "fag" can't be acceptable. Please delete his post. Also, aren't personal attacks grounds for being banned. Well, we will see if it is the one way street that it normally is when questions like this are raised.

By the way Bulit7, I have money that says the Collector will woop your pretty boy ass if you are ever man enough to say it to his face.

Scott, I hope you are not suggesting that the Collector settle his differences with anyone by using his fists. In our society, this is legally known as assault and the legal remedies usually result in a vacation at the "crossbar" hotel.

[joelovesfishin]

Tony, I can no longer sit on the sidelines for this show. I must commend you on what I think are misdirection skills rivaling David Copperfield. The real story of this tournament is the fact that so many parts of it appear, to an admitted outsider who did not attend the tournament, to have been a complete disaster.

How long did people wait in line to weigh fish?
How long did people wait for the results?
How accurate were the results?
After years of steady growth in attendance & sponsors, how did it go this year?
In the middle of this disaster, someone on YOUR boat was SHOT????????????

HOW THE HELL DO YOU RUN OUT OF PRIZES AT A $100K TABLE WITH HALF THE CONTESTANTS FROM PREVIOUS YEARS???????

I heard a rumor that DAVE CARMICHAEL stepped up when this happened and offered ADDITIONAL PRIZES from ARMOR BAGS for contestants? If this IS true (knowing Dave I imagine it is as he has got to be one of THE BEST tournament sponsors our sport has ever had) how is it I have not heard anything about it from you or your site??

How long did you wait to post the results?
How long did it take to even address the cheating stuff?

The fact that you have managed to ruin a great website can be left up to debate. You and your many employees and Kool-Aid drinkers may believe it is better.
However, the fact that you have single-handedly managed to destroy a tournament that was the favorite event of the year for many is no longer debatable.

You have managed to spin this into a story about how great you are for FINALLY pulling your head out of the sand and doing something about cheating, while at the same time deflecting criticism to other tournaments and even Doc.

There is only ONE reason why the OTHER website started.
There is only ONE reason Team Spearboard changed it’s name.
There is only ONE person ever nominated for removal from our club.
There is only ONE person with the ability to screw up the best tournament of the year.

There is no question that I do not like you Tony, but, it is not only your fault. I am also immensely frustrated that our community has allowed itself to be bought, coerced, and otherwise hoodwinked into believing that you might in fact be good for our sport.

To all the employees and Kool-Aid drinkers, importantly JFJF, how ‘bout you let Tony speak for himself.


You didn't attend the tournament and your complaining because...???

[ITSABOUTTIME]

here is some constructive critism the focus needs to be on a getogether for spearfishermen, the prizes just to be clear were not great, Dennis finished 20th and got a mask. The bass fishermen MC was painful to endure after a 3 hour wait. Forget about making the sbo a backdrop for a tv show and focus on the enjoyment of spearboard members.

[ITSABOUTTIME]

The best thing about the SBO was it was a tournament for people who don't do tournaments, if the people that only stand a chance of finishing between 20 and 100 are just expected to be a fan base for tv teams and the usual winners I will not be there again.

[SpearMax]

The bass fishermen MC was painful to endure after a 3 hour wait. Forget about making the sbo a backdrop for a tv show and focus on the enjoyment of spearboard members.


Interesting observations Brian. I will take them to heart and try to do better. The usual SBO MC Chris Hudgens had a work conflict that day and told me even though he wanted to do it again, he could not. Chris does a really good job.

Many people told me that the new MC was very entertaining and turned things around after the delay although he got long winded a few times. He conducted a few on-stage interviews with winners that drew out some good stories. We did film it all this year just like we did last year (2007) when we had three cameras rolling.

The host was Byron Velvick who is very well known in the Bass fishing and television world. Byron was a spearfisherman in California as he explained and made fun of himelf. In conversations with me and my crew he likened the SBO to Nascar before television discovered it. We will have to wait and see if that is a prophetic statement or not.

Here is his website:

http://www.byronvelvick.com/

[huntinfish]

Brian, I finshed 35th. I always end up with a $1000 mask(or so it seems LOL).

[jfjf]

Brian, I finshed 35th. I always end up with a $1000 mask(or so it seems LOL).

:confused::confused:

I scored 80th and I took home an EXCELLENT zippered dry bag made by Armor Bags. :thumps::thumps::thumps:

Thanks Dave!

You are a class act.

[seahunter49]

Mike, I was referring to the lame excuse you wrote in your post about you thinking it was someone else's job, nothing else. If you would respond intelligently to my rebuttal comments, people might start taking your criticism seriously. As it stands now, you are flogging a dead horse and making yourself look like the cantankerous old man you mentioned to Billl McIntyre above. Petty....petty...petty....

Please bottle your anger and frustration....perform a great disappearing illusion act and go back to the place where you feel you are loved.

Signed David Copperfield :D




Scott, he has been warned now. I will also warn the guy who called Mike a "donkey."

Please review our personal atack policy at this link.

http://www.spearboard.com/showthread.php?t=27005

Thanks for calling our attention to these infractions. TonyTony, I like that you're taking a stand and enforcing the personal attack policy. I believe that in little time it will make for a more civil and positive board. Also kudos for growing some etesticles and responding in kind to those who would bash you. I thought that the collector's mention of your mother was a very low blow in light of your recent loss and didn't say anything because he mentioned his sick two year old. I thought there must be a history there that I'm not aware of but now it appears to not be the case. What a low individual, this should give some perspective on the motivation behind his posts.

[StabbinBoy]

Tony,

Another suggestion is to have a professional MC host the tournament. Have him work the stage, and put the TV interviewer offstage. That way the tournament is professionally hosted by someone who is an experienced MC and who knows something about spearfishing, and the TV interviews are done offstage in a manner that doesn't interfere with the tournament.

[ITSABOUTTIME]

the emphasis needs to be on keeping it for the participants is my main point and getting everybody involved.

[SpearMax]

Brian, I finshed 35th. I always end up with a $1000 mask(or so it seems LOL).

Dennis, you are getting better dude! :D :beer:

The records from last year show the following:

Rank = 150

Name = Dennis Tonge

Boat = Spear-Addict

Points = 4.57

Prize selected = Shaft


I guess with rising fuel costs those Middle Grounds trips make the cost of participation more valuable.

That is dedication for sure! :thumps:

Thanks, Tony :)

[SpearMax]

the emphasis needs to be on keeping it for the participants is my main point and getting everybody involved.

I agree Brian and will try to do much better. Thanks, Tony

[SpearMax]

I scored 80th and I took home an EXCELLENT zippered dry bag made by Armor Bags. :thumps::thumps::thumps:

Thanks Dave!

You are a class act.

Jim, many years ago on the trip on my boat at the time Armor Dave told me Spearboard was for sale, he gave me one of those same bags. I continue to use it constantly today. What a phenomenal and sturdy product! Dave, your company Armor Bags makes the very best dive bags in the entire industry based on my experience with this one bag. Way to go! Tony

[Bulit7]

First of all, my apologies to any homos that I might have offended.:p I did edit my original post in the name of civility. Speaking from the perspective of someone that has been diving since age 10 and only recently joined this board and the Planet, I feel the need to say that I am tired of the bitching that goes unchecked with regards to this group of people that migrated to start the other board. I am a member of both boards even though I not so long ago asked the owners at the Planet to delete my account. They did not do so after various requests so I just gave up on it. Maybe they need to keep the member numbers up… The reason I do not go there is because of the negativity associated with that place. It is run like a private little click for the FL West Coast boys. It hardly gets any traffic and when it does it is in regards to how bad Tony and Spearboard are. Whenever you say something that they do not like, they close your thread and then go on with their moderator access and continue to attack you without letting you reply. Kind of cowardly, eh… My choice: I do not go there anymore. Now to come on here and read assaults on a guy that in my opinion has really done nothing wrong other than run his business as he sees fit, kind of pisses me off. I am not one to appease or tiptoe, I say it as I see it. These people act like b#tches. Come on here starting s#it, moaning about this and about that. Get a life. Don’t like Spearboard, don’t like Tony, don’t like the tournament? Go start your own and do better. In the mean time GTFO!

[jeepshapes]

[QUOTE=Bulit7;715022]First of all, my apologies to any homos that I might have offended.:p

class act there maverick

[Bulit7]

[QUOTE=Bulit7;715022]First of all, my apologies to any homos that I might have offended.:p

class act there maverick

Hehehe! All in good fun Brah. Having a gay person in my family, I am not at all insensitive to them. Lighten up. If I ever meet one of you in person I'll explain better. Trust me, I have earned my right to be light hearted regarding this matter!!:beer::beer::beer:

[Bottom Dweller]

Scott, I hope you are not suggesting that the Collector settle his differences with anyone by using his fists. In our society, this is legally known as assault and the legal remedies usually result in a vacation at the "crossbar" hotel.

Damn Len, don't you have anything better to do than try to put words in my mouth and try to turn it into Mike threatening Maverick. I said something, not Mike. Give me a ****ing break. Thanks for letting me know the laws so I don't get into any trouble... having just fallen off the turnip truck last night.

Bill, same goes to you as well, I simply thought it lame of Maverick to call Mike a fag. Isn't that a little schoolgirlish to you. By the way Mike was not calling Tony names and attacking him. Simply stating facts as I could see it. I don't think Tony even thought it was a personal attack but rather a dislike for the way he was handling things.

[Omerbrother7]

I think in the future, people who are having indifferences with each other should fist-fight.

[herefishyfishy]

I did not attend (and could not). Those bitching and crying did not either. Whoever did not attend should not take liberties in posting anything that involves their ego. As a matter of fact, Tony, I'd recommend there is a rule to exclude those who show poor sportsmanship and comradery...

Rules are made to make things work. I can see where some people would protest and say that they want their freedom of speech. Guess what... whoever says that... your freedom ends other people's start. That's freedom, otherwise it is chaos... chaos... exactly what happened with the original thread...

Tony, keep on doing what you are doing... no need to answer those who do not show up and like to spend time to waste ours...

By the way, Tony, who cheated?

[herefishyfishy]

LOL Omerbrother!!!

[OceanEd]

I really didn't want to get involved in this thread but I am just sitting here in amazement.
I guess in today's society no matter how much you try and no matter how well you do, you are going to get complaints.

Tony:

As I have said to you before, I think you are going a great job. Nothing is perfect, but you continue to put in a tremendous amount of time and effort and expertise with the goal of improving the Board and the SBO. I just don't see how we can ask for more than that. Everything you are trying to do is an ongoing evolution that will grow and change and become better. I really do salute you for what you are trying to do.

Sure, some things will be tried and then revised if they don't get the desired result. That's just part of the process. I am glad to hear some constructive ideas as well as all the childish crap. I know you are smart enough to separate the two.

I'd like to share one very positive result of what Tony is trying to do with the filming of the SBO. On two different days we have had film crews on the Emerald with us. One of the film crew was the same person both days. While they were filming us and getting their interviews I was watching them and their reactions to everything they were seeing and hearing and LEARNING.

I saw a very big change in their attitude toward what were were doing underwater. As their knowledge base grew I could see there was a lot of very positive mental change going on with all of them. They gained a new respect and understanding, personally, for our sport and what we are doing. (And that's while they were with us old farts. Imagine what they could learn from some team that can actually shoot fish).

Isn't this one of our main goals at this point, to protect and further our sport by developing a better understanding of what we do? I would hope so.

At the end of the second day two of the film crew asked me if they could come back and dive with me so they could really learn more about spearfishing. I would call that a big win for Tony and for all of us.

[Mobile Diver]

Great story, OceanEd!!:thumps:

[westpalmspearo]

I think in the future, people who are having indifferences with each other should fist-fight.

:beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::b eer::beer:

[SpearMax]

By the way, Tony, who cheated?

Thanks for your positive words. :cool:

The cheating issue is discussed right here at this link:

http://www.spearboard.com/showthread.php?t=63487

[scubajobert]

you people need to go and shoot something quit the bickering and go diving......

[OceanEd]

Jobert:

A perfect statement to end this thread.

[junior]

It will be interesting to me the direction in which the graph of the previously posted statistics trend over the coming years:sleep:

[Themasochist]

Instead of people being so vague as to who they think cheated and why, why not post who did it and let them defend themselves if they feel the need. So many people sit behind their computers thinking they are safe to type whatever they want without any repercussions. Calling someone a cheat is a fairly serious charge where I am from and it had better be backed up with a lot of solid facts and/or witnesses or else the accuser is about to get puched in the mouth by the accusee.

[diverlen]

Instead of people being so vague as to who they think cheated and why, why not post who did it and let them defend themselves if they feel the need. So many people sit behind their computers thinking they are safe to type whatever they want without any repercussions. Calling someone a cheat is a fairly serious charge where I am from and it had better be backed up with a lot of solid facts and/or witnesses or else the accuser is about to get puched in the mouth by the accusee.

That is an excellent post. I hope those folks who are constantly making those vague allegations, and believe me, they know who they are, take this to heart in their future posts.

[Chad Carney]

the prizes just to be clear were not great, Dennis finished 20th and got a mask.

I just got a call from Joe Scozzafaua, who picked my $200 SBO Gift Certificate prize. He finished 53rd, with a little over 46 points. (I don't know who picked my other 2 prizes worth $340 combined.)

I can remember one of my buddies picking a hoop stringer ($19 MSRP) from a past SPO table when there were $150 to $200 prizes up there. He was something like 20th pick. It was what he wanted... a back up stringer!

Later I told him... what were you thinking? I have several, and would gladly have given you one of them. Another buddy then picked a $300 value prize from FL Freedivers... go figure!

Chad

[SpearMax]

I just got a call from Joe Scozzafaua, who picked my $200 SBO Gift Certificate prize. He finished 53rd, with a little over 46 points. (I don't know who picked my other 2 prizes worth $340 combined.)

I can remember one of my buddies picking a hoop stringer ($19 MSRP) from a past SPO table when there were $150 to $200 prizes up there. He was something like 20th pick. It was what he wanted... a back up stringer!

Later I told him... what were you thinking? I have several, and would gladly have given you one of them. Another buddy then picked a $300 value prize from FL Freedivers... go figure!

Chad


Good point Chad! :beer: :cool:

Another good example is Captain Mike Newman of Team Dykoke from the east coast. He finished the 2008 SBO in 43rd place with a score of 55.38 and walked up there and chose the Duofast Nail Gun with a retail value of $399.00. Not bad for such a ranking! Thanks go to generous sponsor Stephen Sanders of Fasteners Southeast! Way to go Mike Newman! :thumps:

[sandman12]

I didn't have time to read all the BS but here are my thoughts.

The guy who started this thread obviously has some type of grudge against you, w/e.

Now regarding the 2008 SBO.
1) Prizes, When I saw the prize "tent" I decided to weigh my fish, eat, and leave. I was expecting a tent double the size as last years but it came about to be about 1/3 of 2007's
2) "The series" from my understanding there are now 3 tournaments in the series. These tournaments are the EXACT same with different weigh in position's? That just doesn't make sense at all. Why not have the Tampa weight in for upper gulf, West palm upper Atlantic, and the keys lower Gulf and Atlantic. Maybe it's just me but the way it is now just totally doesn't make sense, please address this.

The long wait in line sucks but o well, shit happens and I assume you guys are trying your hardest.

Tony I have not met you personally but am good friends with Larry Borden over here and he speaks very highly of you as far as protecting are sport but on the flip side you seem to do some things that just don't make sense. Other issue's are professional spearfisherman competing in the amateur tournament and of course your participation in the tournament is something I feel should not be done.


I will not be shooting the rest of the series or the following years unless something changes.

Thanks
James

[ITSABOUTTIME]

I just got a call from Joe Scozzafaua, who picked my $200 SBO Gift Certificate prize. He finished 53rd, with a little over 46 points. (I don't know who picked my other 2 prizes worth $340 combined.)

I can remember one of my buddies picking a hoop stringer ($19 MSRP) from a past SPO table when there were $150 to $200 prizes up there. He was something like 20th pick. It was what he wanted... a back up stringer!

Later I told him... what were you thinking? I have several, and would gladly have given you one of them. Another buddy then picked a $300 value prize from FL Freedivers... go figure!

Chad

Thank you for your prize donations, I was wrong about the 20th place but my wife got the mystery ticket drawing sometime early and got a mask as well, so if by you quoting me in this post are saying it was good or great prize table post a poll for participants I don't think you'll find many who agree. If this years sbo met your expectations great. I hope it only gets better, but still have the same thoughts expressed earlier.

[Omerbrother7]

You would think that the best "prize" would be weighing in the biggest fish. I guess people go to spearboard open in hopes to get christmas gifts.:confused:

[Bulit7]

No shit! Tom me the greatest prize would be to catch a huge fish. Gear I can buy myself!!

[Chad Carney]

I have to agree with Stephen, I hesitated to post on this thread, but I really don't like hearing the whining.

Individuals, companies and organizations are not required to put on expensive time consuming events like this tournament, for the enjoyment of spearfishermen and women... but they do! So I commend these volunteers for what they unselfishly do for the sport!

When entrants can place as low as 53rd and win prizes worth almost 3 times their entry fees, enjoy great barbeque lunches & unlimited beer, witness awesome fish being weighed and spend a few hours socializing with other spearos and dive industry people... how can anybody bitch???

What have you whiners done for the enjoyment of others in the sport lately?

Chad

[stevemc1]

I agree with Chad. The big companies supply the dive gear as an advertisement. It is a side benefit that we win them, and hopefully tell others how good the thing they won was, not bitch because you didnt get something worth more. A couple years ago I got a E-Searider bean bag off the table and use it a lot and love it! Thats what you should say about each thing won. Thats what they put it there for, and we should say something good about it, not bitch. Thanks Tony for putting the show on, I know it is a big pain in the butt, and I couldnt do it-for sure! Some stuff has to be worked out though.

[JimC]

I like the principal of this tournament (or at least what appears to me it tries to do) It allows an amateur shooter to sign up and at least win something for his effort and be around a group that all enjoy the same sport.
Yes I think its great that a person that places way down on the list is able to get something. That is why I have participated for the last 3 years. I know that I'm not likely to get in the top ten.
The first year I was only about 10 places from getting a gun
Last year I got 48 biller floridian, I placed 47th
This year I got an $80 wet suit, I placed 47th again, how ironic that far down on the list
Personally I thought last year was excellent, big prize tent, lots of vendors, the big screen tv's updating the weigh in, etc. I was disapointed this year, though I do understand some of the circumstances of this year.

I waited till the last minute to sign up (Fri afternoon) and had I known the sea state was going to be the as it was I would not have signed up. As we had our asses handed to us the last two years and had no desire to do it again, it takes the fun out of it and makes it more like a job.
I will wait till the last minute to sign up next year also, due to weather.

I think Tony should be able to shoot the tournament if he wants! Why shouldn't he enjoy what he's puttin on. What I don't think he should have done was work the weigh in! So that he could address circumstances better, I stood behind him a while watching the tallies and numerous times people stopped the progress asking him petty questions not even regarding the weigh in and so on.

The bass master guy probably would have been much better recepted had things not been delayed so long causing all to be even more hot and tired. He probably would have been better recepted last year.

[sandman12]

still no reply...

[SpearMax]

still no reply...

Sandman, are you asking me to reply? I am not sure what your questions are, but here goes an attempt to reply to your comments.

Tony I have not met you personally but am good friends with Larry Borden over here and he speaks very highly of you as far as protecting are sport but on the flip side you seem to do some things that just don't make sense.

I asked Larry Borden who you are based on a first name of James and he said he thinks you are the young guy who works at Scuba Quest named James Taylor. If so, I see you finished in position 72 this year.

Now regarding the 2008 SBO.
1) Prizes, When I saw the prize "tent" I decided to weigh my fish, eat, and leave. I was expecting a tent double the size as last years but it came about to be about 1/3 of 2007's

You might want to reflect on what time you left. Did you eat any of the free food or drink any of the free beer or soft drinks? In the case of the SBO event only, there are several sponsors who traditionally bring their prizes to the event and put them in the prize area themselves. I remember a few coming up to me at the weigh-in and telling me they had just arrived and put their prizes out. I hope you did not leave before that.

Regardless, the prize allocation to this event was smaller than last year because the registrations were lower than last year due to the weather forecasts and other factors. Since you missed my explanation on the stage, here it is again. We had a very large signup push near the end as the weather forecast improved and we under estimated the prize need. That is why sponsors Armor Dave and Pat Bennett helped out by putting more prizes out. That was VERY nice and generous of them to do that.:notworthy

It amazes me that some people in the past years have criticized the SBO for having too many prizes and too big individual prizes. I used to hear this complaint from other tournament organizers quite often. One guy in particular would claim the SBO was yielding prizes to the detriment of other events because of limited sponsor budgets. That was not really what was going on. My response was to get creative and go out and get brand new sponsors that had not given to anyone as well as retaining prior sponsors in oder to grow the SBO prizes. Now some people like you criticize the opposite way and I completely understand your sentiment. I believe all the tournament organizers out there try their best to make everyone happy, but it just simply not easy to do so. I guess that old saying is true - you can never make all of the people happy all of the time! LOL :bang:

Anyway, we do take everyone's comments on this bitch thread and elsewhere to heart and will try our best to do better next time.

2) "The series" from my understanding there are now 3 tournaments in the series. These tournaments are the EXACT same with different weigh in position's? That just doesn't make sense at all. Why not have the Tampa weight in for upper gulf, West palm upper Atlantic, and the keys lower Gulf and Atlantic. Maybe it's just me but the way it is now just totally doesn't make sense, please address this.

What doesn't make sense? :scratch:

The SBO has always been a regional tournament with a central weigh-in location in New Port Ritchie. Why would we change that? We never envisioned three simultaneous weigh-in locations for the SBO based on the area you were fishing in. That would be too costly and how would we handle the prizes in three locations?

It is real simple - there are three events in three different locations using the same basic aggregate fishing rules. Registration for the next event in Palm Beach County will be kicked off next week.

The long wait in line sucks but o well, shit happens and I assume you guys are trying your hardest.

Yes, that was not good, but most people were indeed weighed in before lunch time. We will do much better next time. Our weighmaster is working on it now. The big SBO hold-up this year had to do with the cheating issue. However, I thought you left early and missed all that?

On the allowance of commercial hunters in the SBO, I think you may not realize how many shooters in just about all the tournaments have commercial licenses. I know lots that do and the list would amaze you.

On me shooting, I delegated the setup to Quinn who did a good job. Many of the principals of tournaments shoot the tournament. My fish weighing was handled and recorded by people other than me. I did worse than you. LOL

James, thanks for your comments and say hello to Larry Borden for me!

All the best, Tony

[sandman12]

thanks for your time on the reply Tony.

My biggest thing is the series. It seems like it would be alot more interesting if the fish for the Tampa weigh in came from the upper Gulf, the WPB weigh in the upper Atlantic, and the key weigh in the lower Gulf and Atlantic. The tournament could change for the better in my eyes but like you said you can't please everyone.

As for the commercial deal, How many of those people you know depend on a living with it?

Thanks
James

[SpearMax]

As for the commercial deal, How many of those people you know depend on a living with it?

Thanks
James

Hi James,

I think most of the big tournaments have carefully analyzed this question and drawn the same conclusions as me and my predecessors running the SBO. Looking into people's income sources to determine what percentage of income is derived from commercial fishing is a difficult and impractical approach.

Many hunters hold what are called restricted species commercial licenses available under Florida law. Some have full fledged federal snapper/grouper permits. Some have just standard (non-RS) commercial licenses. Some of the biggest names in scuba and freedive spearing have these licenses. Some work full time, some half time and some little time and just about everything in between. Also, some of these guys and girls work as dive masters on commercial dive trip vessels that run trips.

So, the challenge facing tournament organizers in this sport is exactly where would the line be drawn for distinquishing an amatuer from a professional? The subject is complex. At least you and I know that by having everyone participate in the SBO, the bar is raised. You know that you are going up against the best of the best in the Southeastern USA spearfishing community. What I have observed is that "strategy" is the one of the most important elements in placing high in the SBO. Take a look at the following two videos by two past winners to see what I mean.

Dan MacMahon - http://www.spearfishingmagazine.com/v2.html

Sheri Daye - http://www.spearfishingmagazine.com/v3.html

Thanks for your input, Tony

[Slider136]

I was not there but heard of a few who bent the rules a little! OK bent them a lot.

Tony is doing a great job, it is the shooters who forgot the spirit of the sport. Dean and others. Just my thought but the ones who do not follow the rules can kiss my bait bucket. For a lack of a better word.

It is better to be honest than cheat and win.

Slider

[SpearMax]

I was not there but heard of a few who bent the rules a little! OK bent them a lot.

Tony is doing a great job, it is the shooters who forgot the spirit of the sport. Dean and others. Just my thought but the ones who do not follow the rules can kiss my bait bucket. For a lack of a better word.

It is better to be honest than cheat and win.

Slider

Slider, if you want to publically accuse "Dean and others" of cheating, please start your own thread. I am going to close this thread since it is not about the KLO. Start another one in the KLO section for your accusations if you must.

You say you were not there and "heard" rumors. We often hear rumors about all tournaments. You should have at least come to the weigh-in and filed a protest at the event.

My lie detector voice stress analysis expert John Slater was present at all three tournaments at my expense. When you file your protest at the event instead of on the Internet after the fact, that gives me the opportunity to have had "Dean and others" take the test. As you are probably aware, we disqualified an entire team at the SBO event this year because of cheating.

Thanks, Tony