KLO Awards Ceremony Photos - Raiding the phat booty wall and other fun!

[SpearMax]

The 2008 Spear Wars Blue Storm Tournament series ended with a big bang at the Key Largo Open. Enthusiastic warriors traveled from all over the Southeastern USA to engage in The Final Conflict!

See the cool weigh-in photos here at this thread:

http://www.spearboard.com/showthread.php?t=73013

Gaze at the 2008 Key Largo Open Official results right here:

http://www.spearboard.com/showthread.php?t=73018

Peruse the Overall Series Official Results here:

http://spearboard.com/showthread.php?t=73019

Lastly, here are the images shot by Len Pepe (Gradyman) of the Awards Ceremony in our shiny new venue in the Conference Center at the Key Largo Marriott. We start off with the setting with lots spoils of war on the booty wall.

Thanks Len! :yay:

Check out Len's website for your photography needs here - http://www.studiolens.com/

ENJOY the photos!

[SpearMax]

Next are some shots of the two sets of trophies for the KLO and the Overall Series. It is hard to shoot glass and Len did an amazing job in capturing these images. :notworthy

[SpearMax]

There were many thousands of dollars worth of prizes up there from our very generous sponsors. We should patronize their businesses for sure and shout out a big thanks! :toast:

Check out some of the sponsor websites right here:

www.spearwars.com

There were later sponsors that were added as the series progressed whose websites I posted up here:

http://www.spearboard.com/forumdisplay.php?f=94

Thank You 2008 Blue Storm Sponsors!

[SpearMax]

Here are some images of the expo exhibitors. There were several others who normally attend these events like Florida Freedivers, E-sea Rider, Armor Bags and Scubasworld (to name a few) who had conflicts that weekend, but will be back in the future. Austins, Divers Direct and Briegel HD/UW Cameras were there. Thank you guys for showing your wares at the 2008 KLO! :yawwn:

[SpearMax]

The food and beverage was simply outstanding. The Marriott chef and catering staff did a great job! :thumps:

Some liked the free beer. ;)

Here are the menu food items for the event.

BBQ Luncheon Menu

Fresh Fruit Display

Mixed Green Salad with Balsamic Viniagrette Dressing

Potato Salad Cole Slaw

Hickory BBQ Baby Back Ribs

Grilled Marinated Chicken Breast

Grilled and Blacken Mahi Mahi

Bake Beans Corn on the Cob

Assorted Rolls and Butter

Assorted Pies and Cakes

Water, Beer, Coffee, Decaf Tea and Ice Tea and Soda

Mixed drinks at a cash bar

[SpearMax]

The island music added to a climate that people really enjoyed. Let me also mention the cool air conditioning that ensured comfort for the awards ceremony.

[SpearMax]

Good people = good times.

[SpearMax]

Some fine folks. :beer:

These events are truly a family affair. :cowboy:

[SpearMax]

More people enjoying the ambience of the room.

[SpearMax]

The last phase of The Final Conflict! was the trophy and prize segment.

Our Master of Ceremonies was Bill Black from Force E Dive Centers, a major sponsor. I am here introducing Bill.

Thanks Bill for all your help! :thumps:

[SpearMax]

Let the announcements roll! :yippee:

First up the the KLO winners of biggest fish.

AJ/Cobia - Jason Wilson 42-6#

Grouper - Carl Adkins 41-1#

[SpearMax]

Hogfish/Flounder - Rob Harding 16-9#

Sheepshead/Trigger - Kris Sarosiek 7-6#

[SpearMax]

Snapper - Jeff Simonds 27-15#

[SpearMax]

Next up for the 2008 Key Largo Open were:

Top Freediver- Sergey Lopez

Top Junior - Travis Stokes

Top Female - Jenna Moeller

Best Boat - Island Time

[SpearMax]

Next is the KLO champion Rob Harding.

Congratulations Rob! :thumps:

The winners after Rob beginning with Len Pepe are shown getting their prizes at the phat booty wall. Their names and scores are shown on this thread:

http://www.spearboard.com/showthread.php?t=73018

Let's give a big thumbs up to all the 2008 KLO winners!

[SpearMax]

2008 KLO Prize Photos Round # 2

[SpearMax]

2008 KLO Prize Photos Round # 3

[SpearMax]

2008 KLO Prize Photos Round # 4

[SpearMax]

2008 KLO Prize Photos Round # 5

[SpearMax]

2008 KLO Prize Photos Round # 6

[SpearMax]

2008 KLO Prize Photos Round # 7

[SpearMax]

2008 KLO Prize Photos Round # 8

[SpearMax]

2008 KLO Prize Photos Round # 9

[SpearMax]

2008 KLO Prize Photos Round # 10

[SpearMax]

2008 KLO Prize Photos Round # 11

[SpearMax]

2008 KLO Prize Photos Round # 12

[SpearMax]

2008 KLO Prize Photos Round # 13

[SpearMax]

2008 KLO Prize Photos Round # 14

[SpearMax]

Next we have the winners of the Overall Series for the three tournaments in 2008. First up are the biggest fish winners:

Series Biggest Fish Trophy Winners

AJ/Cobia - Jonathan Bailey 94-5#

Grouper - Sergey Lopez 46-3#

Hogfish/Flounder - Kent Rogerson 18-9#

Sheepshead/Trigger - Rob Harding 7-10#

Snapper - Chad Palan 74-7#

Note - All of these winners were not present at the KLO and will be sent their trophies.

[SpearMax]

Next are the Overall Series winners for

Top Freediver- Chad Palan

Top Junior - Travis Stokes

Top Female - Jess Snook

Best Boat - Shark Tales

[SpearMax]

Ta da....now the best of the best:

Overall Series Winner - Rob Harding with 321.875 points!

Way to go Rob!

:allhail:

[SpearMax]

And lastly, here are the prize picks for the top 20 winners of the Overall series.

See the list right here at this link:


http://spearboard.com/showthread.php?t=73019


Great performances everyone! :thumps:

[SpearMax]

Overall Series Winners photo round # 2

[SpearMax]

Overall Series Winners photo round # 3

[SpearMax]

Overall Series Winners photo round # 4

[SpearMax]

So that ends the saga of The Final Conflict! for 2008 in the Spear Wars trilogy of spearfishing tournaments.

I want to thank all the contestants, sponsors, volunteers, crew, vendors and anyone else who lent a helping hand to make the series a success.

All the best, Tony

See you next year!

[biggsy]

Nice job Tony. Looking forward to next year! :up:

[FishDie]

Great pictures!! When will the series air on TV?

[SpearMax]

Great pictures!! When will the series air on TV?

It will be next year. We are now editing through hundreds of hours of raw footage acquired from February 2008 to November plus more footage we have to shoot for elements like "B-roll footage" of Rob Harding hunting off South Carolina. The consistency of the story threads is pretty good and the primary & secondary characters are fairly fun and entertaining. The editing process is crucial at this point through the end of the year. Getting the three major events "in the can" was my principal objective and that has been accomplished. Fleshing out that skeleton framework with side expeditions and back stories is working fairly well in my opinion. But, determining whether the series makes "must-see TV" will have to wait until the edit is further along.

All in all I am pleased with the progress. Thanks for your interest B.

[Gradyman]

Tony, let me know if you need any more B footage of our area out of Ponce...vis we've had out deeper is very film friendly.

[FishDie]

That sounds great, wish you the best with the editing and series. It would be very cool to see something like that hit mainstream TV.

[SpearMax]

That sounds great, wish you the best with the editing and series. It would be very cool to see something like that hit mainstream TV.

I agree that would be nice. And that is my hope. by developing it to be more than just another fishing show for Saturday morning, maybe it will air in prime time at night or close to it. My executive producer who was with ABC Sports and ESPN for ten years is in talks with a major cable network to do just that. We will have to wait and see. Fingers crossed.

[SpearMax]

Tony, let me know if you need any more B footage of our area out of Ponce...vis we've had out deeper is very film friendly.

Len, I spoke by phone with Tony (100Days) today about the viz off Jax and the availability of lionfish to film. How about Ponce for viz and lionfish? How far out must I go?