Posts: 1220
| I'll leave results postings for the folks in charge, but I would like to express my great appreciation for two totally huge improvments in tournament rules and methods. I have long (both here and other places) said that while I am as big a lover of tournaments as anybody, I have always totally hated the method of boat inspection used where you just sort of motor by the officials with all of your compartments open.....but at a speed and with a confusion present that really prevents any real inspection taking place. Worse, in my opinion, is that the scramble to close all the lids really quickly so that you can get on plane is a safety issue, especially when there is a boater without a partner trying to do it. So, at this championship all the boats were asked to get there a bit earlier and every single locker on every single boat was totally inspected and then OK'd for take off, so that the ease-out was a thing of beauty to watch. The other item was the ban on any and all cell, text, tweet, whatever kind of communication that often occurs when big groups, or even just a couple of teams share information that really creates a team that is larger than the two people who are supposed to make up a team. When these two items were announced at the pre-tournament meeting, the buzz near me was all amens. My hat is off to Tom and Beth for doing this the right way-----if only they could have helped me catch a darn fish!!!!Marty Forman |
