Middle/High School club help

[stahlead]

Hello all,
I am a middle school teacher and I am trying to start up a middle school fishing club to introduce bass fishing to students. Has anyone else done this or any of your kids apart of any of these programs? I am afraid that my school won't be up for the idea due to the liability that comes with being associated with a school...so in an effort to give it my best shot I am looking for any examples of middle school teams/clubs (especially associated with schools) and any liability forms that my be associated with such. This is for an Ohio school, teams seem to be a lot more present in the Commonwealth. Thanks in advance!

[Stoner]

Look up flw high school bass fishing regulations. That should give you a start. As far liability goes that'll depend on what the school and FLW require. As a captain I have to carry a certain amount of boat insurance. I'll tell you this, don't expect the school to offer any funding.

[Parnell]

http://www.highschoolfishing.org/

some good info here

[artcarney_agr]

Boats and liability are the biggest hurdles.

Most bass clubs have to exist as a club only, and not sanctioned by the school - you run into issues with the prizes being won. Most high school or collegiate sanctioned events have strict rules against receiving money for a win.

Long ago when I was in a college club, we just participated in a local tournament trail (it was either USA Bassin or ABA) where we would compete in their events so we'd be covered under their liability coverage extended to members participating in their events. We'd register for the event, everybody paid their own entry fee, and each was a regular competitor in the event. Those who didn't have a boat went as co-anglers in the event. After the event we'd get a copy of the weigh-in sheet and would write down the weights for our own club and awarded places that way, so it was basically like fishing two tournaments at the same time. It was a lot of fun!

I think if I were trying to organize a middle school team, I'd partner with the high school team, since eventually that's where they'll end up. I would think the high school team would be able to just run two divisions with the middle schoolers added in, like having varsity and junior varsity. Plus, by linking the middle school team to the high school team, the funding might be easier to handle rather than them being totally separate clubs. Just a thought...