The end of the 2021/22 sportfishing season is just a few days away I think we can say we had an interesting
but trying year on many fronts. The covid 19 pandemic was well established and just when we thought we
were getting closer to an end to it, through up a couple variants that changes the rules all over again. The
previous season we had managed to run the tournaments and events but this year the risk factors were a
lot higher, and we had to make the hard decisions to cancel a few of the comps, with the Bluewater Classic
being cancelled 3 weeks out to give the anglers and sponsors time to reorganise themselves. The support
and feedback from the sponsors and the anglers has been overwhelmingly positive so in hindsight I believe
the committee did what was right for everyone involved.
Now at the end of the season I think we can say the club has had a very steady year, given the circumstances,
with good membership numbers and increasing participation in our events. I think this year’s committee and
office holders have done a great job on behalf of the members. A big thanks to every one of you.
As for the fishing, the numbers show a good season overall. Of note we have had 2 Broadbill, 12 Southern
Bluefin, 1 Big Eye Tuna, 4 Short Billed Spearfish, 5 landed Marlin and 31 tagged Marlin. We also had the
inaugural youth nationals that attracted lot of entries from across all the clubs in the NZSFC. Our results were
excellent with Tyler Speed the overall champion in the primary section and Hayden Speed Runner up in the
high school section. Great effort and congratulations to all who entered to represent our club.
At the MOSC level Rhodsey and Kevin have put in a lot of hard work and time into their roles as Directors.
The Directors roles have been quite demanding this last year due to labour shortages and the ever changing
mandates and protocols put in place at various times. A huge thanks Brian and Kevin.
This last 6 months we have been working on the development of a redesigned website with the capability
to do a lot more online and get some social media following going. This takes a lot of work behind the scenes
and a lot of credit goes to Jane White for handling the social media and website set up. I’d like to thank Jane
and Shirl for all the effort they have put in getting this off the ground.
We must also recognize the fantastic support we have had from our sponsors. Understandably we had a
couple drop out due to covid uncertainty and the economic impact but also some others step forward and
offered product or financial support to the tournaments. Their continued support and generosity are what
makes our prize pools so attractive. Nearly all the sponsors from the Bluewater Classic left their money or
product in for next year and that allowed us to retain the prizes we had on order for the next BWC . As we
all know costs have skyrocketed since then and deliveries unpredictable, so we have a great head start on
the next BWC in February 2023.
Finally I would like to thank tournament convenors, the weigh masters and all the members who just get on
and get things done around here with good humour and minimum fuss. This is really what sets us apart from
other clubs.
I think the 22/23 season is something we can all look forward to with high hopes and hopefully bring all the
clubs a step closer to normality.
Igor
