Greetings
Here it is May already and, to me anyway, I feel the year has hardly begun and we are nearly half way through - wow! where does the time fly ? So with this mail-out you will find forms for your re-affiliation which is due as from 1st.June each year.
Just a couple of points about the membership renewal. Firstly we certainly want you to complete and return the pink Club Details form. Sometimes clubs forget to do this but this is the best way of us keeping track who your club officers are, current contact addresses etc. If your club does not have an “official” email address please we would appreciate maybe the email address of someone in your club who is happy to receive and pass on information which is forwarded in that manner. Secondly you have until the 30th.September to get your renewals in to us - after that you are deemed to be no longer part of the Association.
Remember we offer two forms of re-affiliation. The best method is as soon as practical after the 1st of June you send in a schedule of your current members together with a cheque covering the same. Then a little later on in the year (or even more than once) you send in an amended list of your club members and we can adjust fees accordingly. This method suits clubs whose own membership year does not finish/start about the same time as the NZACA’s. What we then guarantee is that all of your members whether or not we have their names on our books are covered in terms of records and awards etc.
The alternative is to send in your club member names as they rejoin your club but the downside of this is that if one of your members catches a good fish say in late June and you have not renewed their affiliation that member misses out on the rewards of that catch.
Just one other point whilst on this subject. I know from reading Club Newsletters that clubs often welcome in new members throughout the year, but very often that new club members name is not forwarded to us for affiliation. This is contrary to the conditions of Affiliation where all club members must be on the NZACA books. So if you receive a new member during the year send in their particulars to this office straight away. Thanks
Well the new Executive met for the first time the other weekend and is all fired up with enthusiasm to make your Association what it needs to be in this day of increasing challenges. This is possibly the youngest average age group we have had for some time so the mixture of maturity and experience with youth and vigour is hopefully the right recipe to make great achievements. We welcome Mike as he takes on the presidency with the able assistance of Bill and Greg. Big welcome also to Jo, Nick, Brent, Mark and Barry who have joined the ranks
At the first meeting Executive tasks and responsibilities were discussed and allocated and all members know that being on the Executive is not just a matter of attending a meeting every couple months but involves work and commitment. These are the people working on your behalf.
Greg Smeal has picked up the responsibilities to do with
Club Liaison (formally carried by Janine who did a great
job – thanks Janine), National Media and Promotional.
Greg comes with many ideas and with a background well suited
to these tasks. He will be in contact with all clubs in
the near future offering his assistance and seeking
your involvement in endeavouring to make this Association
an alive and relevant organisation in today’s world.
The latest issue of TIDELINES is now out and available by email. All of your Club Members who have access to email should really be in receipt of this publication. If they are not just drop an email to and they will be put on the database.
A delegation from the Executive is hopeful of a meeting
with the Minister of Fisheries in the near future following
an invitation from Jim Anderton to meet with him.
Mr Anderton says he is a keen surfcaster so we are
anticipating a worthwhile meeting and discussion.
At the Executive meeting, which was held in New Plymouth, we met with the organising committee for the 2007 Nationals. Their plans are well advanced and you will soon be hearing more from them. These are going to be great Nationals as well as being our 50th. year celebrations so your club does not want to miss out on these. Your planning for accommodation and teams should uppermost in your thoughts, especially if you are going to approach Gaming Trusts and the like for funding. This year’s Napier Nationals were a great event and thoroughly enjoyed by all and a big vote of thanks must go to the Pania Surfcasting Club for a job well done. The presence of overseas competitors made it all that more special. So it is now up to all to make New Plymouth next March an event we will also look back on in years to come as a real highlight. A number of changes for the Nationals were approved at the last AGM and these positive changes should make the event even more competitive. So plan now on being there.
One of the most sought after Trophies is the magnificent
Mustad Golden Hook. The Executive have now decided that
this will not necessarily go to the heaviest scale fish
caught on the lightest line but will take many other
factors into consideration to make it truly the
most meritorious catch.
Now a challenge. The Wairoa North Clyde Surfcasting Club have put their hand up and offered a challenge to all other clubs. This is to do with the funding of our Members Manual. You will know from many references in the past we have problems in this area and this club has offered $50 on the basis that other clubs do the same. If we get 12 clubs contributing $50 each this is enough to sponsor a section of the Manual and the club names will feature on the Section Divider. Some clubs may want to donate more, and maybe a club may be willing to donate $600 and take out sole sponsorship of a section. It’s now up to you !!!!
It was good to see recently three clubs seeking information of how they access and use the two websites. If your Club is not making use of the www.fishing.net.nz site you will soon lose the ability to do so. So make good use of this forum to tell others about your Club. The same goes for www.nzaca.co.nz site. Karen would just love to have more about your club on the site. If you want to know more contact me.
As a result of decisions at the AGM there has to be
made changes to computer programs and we are in discussion
with our computer programmer, Alan Dodd from New Plymouth, about these. I just want to take the opportunity here
of recording our thanks to people like Alan who give of
their time and expertise to assist the Association and in
turn recreational fishing in general. Another in this field
is Mark Frost in Rotorua who keeps our computers up
and running. To these guys and many others who assist
so readily please accept our appreciation.
A recommendation – There are a number of brands of lines on the market which do not test well against their labelled breaking weight. We would strongly recommend that you use lines which carry the wording of IGFA rated or the IGFA logo. The manufacturers of these lines guarantee that their lines will break close to or just under the labelled weight. This will be a requirement for the Nationals in future.
For fishing the breaking strain is the important factor whilst in casting competitions it is the line diameter which is of importance.
2009 National Championships - Gee that’s a long way away - well not really if you have to plan for such.
We are now looking for a Host Club for this event. 2003 was Wellington, 2004 Bay of Plenty, 2005 Auckland, 2006 Hawkes Bay, 2007 Taranaki, 2008 Northland – so where to in 2009 ? It does not have to be just one club hosting, clubs can combine to stage this event. We welcome inquiries of interest.
In finishing off I want to repeat a plea I have made previously. The presence of Australian competitors at our Nationals in Napier, and the attendance of NZ’ers at the bi-annual AAA Carnivals endorses the need for a strong relationship with our Aussie cousins. We need someone who has the time and maybe travels to Australia from time to time to work closely with Sam Benjamin’s in this liaison and eventually take on the great role Sam has done up until now and is still doing on our behalf. Please if you have someone in your club who fits these criteria we would love to hear from them. This is important so don’t just brush it aside. Thanks
Graeme Dawber
YOUR Association Secretary
