Official 2015 Oregon Rockfish Classic Announcment

Lee, it's not the amount that's offensive (to me, at least), it's the inability to say WHY they reached that amount.

Hey guys, can we put away the torches and pitchforks? The guys at Next are part of this community just like everyone else and are doing their best for this event while also trying to run the Paddle Sports Center. Next Adventure is helping in a big way by stepping up and putting their effort behind this tournament. I'm sure if all of you were trying to help plan this event you would appreciate some patience. I also missed how what was being given away as first prize of a tournament became so important to so many people. The prizes that are being lined up this year are pretty fantastic in my opinion, but I'm really just stoked to come and spend a weekend fishing and hanging out with everyone while supporting awesome causes.

Utilizing multiple facets of social media only gets more attention to the event, NWKA will always be its home, but it's also going to get announced other places because it gets a great response and can be shown to a much broader audience, which gets more people in the sport, and on NWKA.

Next Adventure has been the largest sponsor of this event for a while. They donate money and resources to make this tourny happen, as you all remember the "Free Boat" last year was a $2,000 Next Adventure gift card. Next doesn't want to do that this year. Not my call, but not unreasonable in the slightest. 

The planning of this event has fallen a lot on myself and CJ, in no way are we making all the decisions. We are just the go between for sponsors, and the ones putting together the day to day operations of the event. Most of this is on our time.

This is everyones tournament, if you want to find a way to raffle a boat or get one for a prize, by all means please do so, make this event the way you want, let us know how we can help.

 I will say that the door to help plan is and always been open, and very few if any community members have attempted to help beyond comments online.

I've run the taco feed for the previous 2 years, and helped out a lot with it 3 years ago.  That is just to say that I'm not just some internet commando spouting off who never kicks in to help run things.

I like the idea of getting folks into kayaks and fishing the tournament.  But this has been an NWKA event since long before I was around.  Turning it into a kayak fishing tournament that some guys from NWKA happen to also show up for is not what will turn my crank.  Big difference to me there.

It has always been a little questionable whether I'd even make ORC this year due to my grad school requirements, and that was the primary reason I stepped back from running the taco feed again this year.  In addition, this year I have some family stuff going on that weekend that I'll be under pressure to pitch in for.  And my wife suggested that maybe I actually go deer hunting this year as a way to make up for missing ORC if I help out with the family stuff.  When she was pregnant with #4 she asked me pick one species to hunt due to the time it takes me away from home, and I chose elk over deer.  A reasonable request on her part, all things considered.  So for her to offer up a free pass to go deer hunting on top of elk hunting is going to be hard to turn down.

I can live with no boat as the grand prize (realistically I'm not a good enough or lucky enough fisherman to win it anyway), though that was a definite pull.  I can live with the entry fee going up, so long as there's a good explanation for why and where that money is going. 

What might just tip me over to skipping it rather than making it happen is if this becomes something other than an "NWKA Event".  To me, at least, the community of NWKA is much more important than the prize list, entry fees, and so on.  I'm not saying it should be exclusive to NWKA members, but the focus should remain on NWKA folks. 

Including ORC I'm triple booked for that weekend.  Something is going to give.  I'm still very much undecided which it will be.

Lee, it's not the amount that's offensive (to me, at least), it's the inability to say WHY they reached that amount.

Did you not see the previous comment about how he is working on posting a breakdown of the entry fee and that Next isn't making any profit on this event - it's all going to HOW, Neighbors for Kids, and cost of the event?

Oh, I saw it. But the process is cart-before-the-horse.

$50 entry fee,  camping charges,  out of state license, dealing with asshole locals at the ramp and out on the water.   Hanging out with NWKA Bros was priceless,  now it's expensive. 

Also, when did Next Adventure become some big mean corporation that is taking over our organic, locally produced fun? Everyone wants a local store in their community that they can walk into and talk to a real person about what their looking for and how to get better at their activity or join a group, right? Well guess what, Next Adventure is that store. This isn't a corporate takeover that we can rebel against with our hipster angst, this is an organization trying to offer their resources to the table so that this event can be better. I think we can all agree that the communication hasn't been awesome, but what year have we done this tournament since there were more than a couple of dozen people where everything went smooth and without a hitch? If you disagree with me, you weren't close enough to the planning process to see what was really going on. Next Adventure is a part of the NWKA community, not separate from it so as far as I'm concerned this still is and will always be an NWKA event.

Could I make a suggestion for the registration page?  Link if back to this site with all of the official rules/safety stuff.

Last year I ran into a couple fisherman who

a: had never heard of NWKA,
b: fishing in shorts and t-shirt
c: had no idea where the awards ceremony was being held.

They had just got on Nexts website and signed up.  I'm not sure how they got past the checkout station without the safety gear, or past the coast guard safety check....

Anyways, I don't mind the $50 for charity.  I'll have way more then that invested in the trip already.

Could I make a suggestion for the registration page?  Link if back to this site with all of the official rules/safety stuff.

Last year I ran into a couple fisherman who

a: had never heard of NWKA,
b: fishing in shorts and t-shirt
c: had no idea where the awards ceremony was being held.

They had just got on Nexts website and signed up.  I'm not sure how they got past the checkout station without the safety gear, or past the coast guard safety check....

Anyways, I don't mind the $50 for charity.  I'll have way more then that invested in the trip already.

I was fairly shocked to see the guys out there in shorts and t-shirt as well, I was under the impression that immersion gear was required for participation.

I was fairly shocked to see the guys out there in shorts and t-shirt as well, I was under the impression that immersion gear was required for participation.

Before we all get our safety-cop superiority complex in full swing, I'd like to stick up for at least one individual who was out there. He is a friend of mine. He was wearing a "shorty" wetsuit with clothes on top (and PFD of course) and probably appeared as though he was not wearing immersion gear. He is an experienced kayak fisherman and has plenty of experience in cold water adventures. Additionally he was fishing with other people.

Could I make a suggestion for the registration page?  Link if back to this site with all of the official rules/safety stuff.

Last year I ran into a couple fisherman who

a: had never heard of NWKA,
b: fishing in shorts and t-shirt
c: had no idea where the awards ceremony was being held.

They had just got on Nexts website and signed up.  I'm not sure how they got past the checkout station without the safety gear, or past the coast guard safety check....

Anyways, I don't mind the $50 for charity.  I'll have way more then that invested in the trip already.

Thanks for bringing this up. We talked about this in meetings this year and there will be better enforcement of safety rules - both on the registration side, as well as during the tourney.

We don't talk about this to single people out and shun them. We talk about it to minimize the liability to those who are sticking their neck out there to organize the event. I don't care how good of a fisherman is or how experienced they are on the ocean, if they want to play they have to follow the rules, plain and simple.

i go to the 11th on the calendar and nada coming up other than info for tourney , not seeing any way to register yet? JUST CURIOUS, where is prize list?

i go to the 11th on the calendar and nada coming up other than info for tourney , not seeing any way to register yet? JUST CURIOUS, where is prize list?

http://nextadventure.net/oregon-rockfish-classic.html

We don't talk about this to single people out and shun them. We talk about it to minimize the liability to those who are sticking their neck out there to organize the event. I don't care how good of a fisherman is or how experienced they are on the ocean, if they want to play they have to follow the rules, plain and simple.

I have no problem with people having to play by the rules. There was nothing stated last year that a shorty wetsuit was not allowed as appropriate immersion gear.