Hi all,
Haven't posted on here in quite some time. People outside of the bowfishing community certainly stumble upon this site, so I'd like to give some first hand insight about the COBF and details regarding topics that have been posted on this forum the past few months.
A) I've been heavily involved with the COBF, before it was an organization around 2007. I've put in a fair amount of personal time, money and effort into seeing that our sport has some level of organization in our state before some other group out there decides that "bowfishing" is unethical or I see another traditional American past-time be thrown under the bus. Without some kind of organization, this sport will be rolled over quicker than anything you have ever seen by carp fishing groups, animal rights groups and simply un-informed well wishers. With no organization we will have nothing and it will revert back to an discardable afterthought in the minds of regulatory officials and everyone else.
B) In 2008/2009 we did a lot of work to setup a non-profit at the state and federal level. The COBF is a 501c7. We opened up memberships. We researched and structured the organization similar to other hunting, fishing, bowfishing clubs out there. We opened up additional Board positions for members to become more involved. 2010 was the first year for officer elections. This year we have 8 members of the Board who were nominated and elected by the membership at large to run the organization. Believe me, sometimes there are *very* differing opinions on the Board, there is no "group think", and every major decision was brought before as a vote within the Board. In the fall of 2011 this cycle will repeat and every member will have the opportunity to get involved or throw out the current leadership; that is if they choose to run again. I would encourage some fresh faces to step up and think about nominating themselves or others for the eight positions that will be open to election this fall (plus others should that be decided at the annual meeting and Bylaws amended). There are even more opportunities to be involved, we have sent several notices on people signing up to be BAA or NBFA state reps and liasoning for the COBF Board. Please let us know if you want to do this.
C) General Membership Meetings: We have not had a ton of general membership meetings because first we are very small organization and to get things done, growing and up and running certain decisions need to be made quickly. An elected Board of directors is there to take feedback from and represent the club members. In the past we've surveyed and asked for feedback at member meetings and online and tried to act in accordance with those results. If anyone in the club wants hear an explanation on how the tournament venues/dates were decided please shoot me an email. I am pretty sure one of the other Board members on here has the original spreadsheet which laid out the decision tree. The feedback received from the 2009 and 2010 annual surveys/feedback received by folks at the annual meeting has been taken into account by the Board in deciding what goes on with regards to tournaments, rules etc. For some things where no information is available, the Board has used its best judgment to make decisions at the time they come up. Sometimes they are on spot, other times they are not. Some will like a given decision and others will disagree as is the nature of clubs.
D) In 2011 we have been having more general membership meetings. Anyone is free to bring up any subject they want addressed. Also please email the Board any specific agenda item added to the docket. The number of general membership meetings we put together is based on the amount of feedback, response to COBF emails we get and general interest shown by the membership. In 2009/2010 the feedback was somewhat minimal so that is all we have to go off and that is why there have not been a ton of meetings to discuss every issue that comes up. Some things have to be decided by the Board otherwise we have a chance to become paralyzed if we try to get dozens of people together for each decision. We have to move on decisions. Are they sometimes imperfect? Certainly, but we are young and growing and learning lessons all at the same time. Each time a suggestion, complaint or feedback is received there is a flurry of discussion amongst the Board and this year many things will have an opportunity to be adjusted during discussions at the annual meeting. This year there are 3 mid-year member surveys that have gone out already. These will be used to set the agenda for the annual meeting in August. So far about 30 of the 50 members have responded, if you have yet to respond please do so or email us if you are having any issues with the survey!
E) Memberships: The organization started this year with about 35-38 members and we are now at 50. Early this year we lost a few and picked up many more. In 2012 that pattern will likely repeat itself as it is the nature of clubs. The COBF is a 501c7 club and in order to retain that status, per federal requirements, we must operate like a club and ensure exclusivity for the members who choose to join. One of the new things we introduced this year is a different fee structure which still permits the public to participate in events but gives discounts to COBF members. This has definitely increased the club's roster which is a good thing. Regarding 2011 renewals, of those who did not renew, we received only one set of specific negative feedback regarding the addition of 3 man teams tournaments at night. The other non-renewals were due (A) to they missed the deadline or cannot afford it, (B) the people who were originally members no longer live in Colorado or (C) they originally signed up in years past for the sole purpose of a donation rather than really being interested in bowfishing. Of our entire membership base I'd estimate a smaller subset post/read this forum and not everyone on the forum are COBF members. Although posting in a forum labeled "COBF", the opinions and posters on this forum do not necessarily represent the organization as a whole, rather they represent a subset, albeit very passionate and valued subset of the bowfishing community. We all need to keep in mind that there are a lot more people out there who bowfish casually, enjoy coming to one or two tournaments, are slowly getting more into the sport. Not everyone is as "into it" as others are and my guess is that those percentages will generally remain constant over time. ALL opinions and styles of shooting should be represented in the COBF (boaters, non-boaters, casual, serious, night, day), that is one of the main reasons for more varied tournaments. To give more opportunities, and also at night to permit people who don't have night rigs to get on board with teams that do. There were several member responses on the surveys where people want to bowfish at night, but don't have a rig. Due to 3 man teams we have been able to get a few folks who have never been out at night on some of the other member's night rigs which is positive.
F) Issues at tournaments: In previous years we have never really had any major issues. The general policy has simply been if we get reports, we look for evidence at the time of the report and look into as can reasonably be done so at the time. We have relied heavily on the honor system; but as we all know, the bigger things get, the more that has the chance of breaking down. Generally we are dealing with violations which if reported and found to be broken, give the violating team a *significant competitive advantage* over other teams (for example red-zone issues). This year following the event, there was an issue brought up about motors at Barr being being seen in/out of the water, running/not running, likely when folks are trying to get across the lake etc. There were quite a few rangers on site and on the lake speaking with and observing participants and we received no reports while the event was in motion. We do not patrol the lake. There was one reported violation during the AM (red zone), we looked into it, verified and notified the violating team and issued a penalty. That said, were there possibly some violations on that day regarding the hp limits? Certainly, and if they were not reported, or the club was not aggressive enough in going after folks and looking out for this specific item in particular, then I'll apologize on behalf of the club for everyone. Since then we have spoken directly with the head ranger at the lake, and since they received a complaint from an individual following the tournament, Barr lake staff will be stepping up their enforcement of their rules across the board, which arguably as we all know; they themselves have been inconsistent, sometimes lacking with enforcing and even varying with interpretation.
Secondly, there appears to have been some confusion regarding the canal access rule at the 6/11 tournament. I was not present however MP in a previous post has explained the details of how he worked with Barr's head ranger to get this opened up for folks which due to the park went down to the wire on a decision. If this change, which was documented on the maps, was not communicated well to all participants clearly, then again we apologize. There was obviously no ill-intent and we do our best from a due diligence standpoint by working with venue management for every tournament that is organized by the club. I would encourage everyone to please speak up and notify event officials of any concerns during a event, rules orientation and definitely before the awards ceremony. The Board will do its best to hear any issues, deliberate investigate and figure out if correction is necessary. Unfortunately we can't do much if nothing is said and its only heard about days later via rumblings in the community. I am confident that we as a club can come up with some good ideas and consistent procedures for better keeping an eye out and enforcing violations. This will be discussed at upcoming member meetings and ideas will be collected via the surveys.
(Part 2, next post)
Haven't posted on here in quite some time. People outside of the bowfishing community certainly stumble upon this site, so I'd like to give some first hand insight about the COBF and details regarding topics that have been posted on this forum the past few months.
A) I've been heavily involved with the COBF, before it was an organization around 2007. I've put in a fair amount of personal time, money and effort into seeing that our sport has some level of organization in our state before some other group out there decides that "bowfishing" is unethical or I see another traditional American past-time be thrown under the bus. Without some kind of organization, this sport will be rolled over quicker than anything you have ever seen by carp fishing groups, animal rights groups and simply un-informed well wishers. With no organization we will have nothing and it will revert back to an discardable afterthought in the minds of regulatory officials and everyone else.
B) In 2008/2009 we did a lot of work to setup a non-profit at the state and federal level. The COBF is a 501c7. We opened up memberships. We researched and structured the organization similar to other hunting, fishing, bowfishing clubs out there. We opened up additional Board positions for members to become more involved. 2010 was the first year for officer elections. This year we have 8 members of the Board who were nominated and elected by the membership at large to run the organization. Believe me, sometimes there are *very* differing opinions on the Board, there is no "group think", and every major decision was brought before as a vote within the Board. In the fall of 2011 this cycle will repeat and every member will have the opportunity to get involved or throw out the current leadership; that is if they choose to run again. I would encourage some fresh faces to step up and think about nominating themselves or others for the eight positions that will be open to election this fall (plus others should that be decided at the annual meeting and Bylaws amended). There are even more opportunities to be involved, we have sent several notices on people signing up to be BAA or NBFA state reps and liasoning for the COBF Board. Please let us know if you want to do this.
C) General Membership Meetings: We have not had a ton of general membership meetings because first we are very small organization and to get things done, growing and up and running certain decisions need to be made quickly. An elected Board of directors is there to take feedback from and represent the club members. In the past we've surveyed and asked for feedback at member meetings and online and tried to act in accordance with those results. If anyone in the club wants hear an explanation on how the tournament venues/dates were decided please shoot me an email. I am pretty sure one of the other Board members on here has the original spreadsheet which laid out the decision tree. The feedback received from the 2009 and 2010 annual surveys/feedback received by folks at the annual meeting has been taken into account by the Board in deciding what goes on with regards to tournaments, rules etc. For some things where no information is available, the Board has used its best judgment to make decisions at the time they come up. Sometimes they are on spot, other times they are not. Some will like a given decision and others will disagree as is the nature of clubs.
D) In 2011 we have been having more general membership meetings. Anyone is free to bring up any subject they want addressed. Also please email the Board any specific agenda item added to the docket. The number of general membership meetings we put together is based on the amount of feedback, response to COBF emails we get and general interest shown by the membership. In 2009/2010 the feedback was somewhat minimal so that is all we have to go off and that is why there have not been a ton of meetings to discuss every issue that comes up. Some things have to be decided by the Board otherwise we have a chance to become paralyzed if we try to get dozens of people together for each decision. We have to move on decisions. Are they sometimes imperfect? Certainly, but we are young and growing and learning lessons all at the same time. Each time a suggestion, complaint or feedback is received there is a flurry of discussion amongst the Board and this year many things will have an opportunity to be adjusted during discussions at the annual meeting. This year there are 3 mid-year member surveys that have gone out already. These will be used to set the agenda for the annual meeting in August. So far about 30 of the 50 members have responded, if you have yet to respond please do so or email us if you are having any issues with the survey!
E) Memberships: The organization started this year with about 35-38 members and we are now at 50. Early this year we lost a few and picked up many more. In 2012 that pattern will likely repeat itself as it is the nature of clubs. The COBF is a 501c7 club and in order to retain that status, per federal requirements, we must operate like a club and ensure exclusivity for the members who choose to join. One of the new things we introduced this year is a different fee structure which still permits the public to participate in events but gives discounts to COBF members. This has definitely increased the club's roster which is a good thing. Regarding 2011 renewals, of those who did not renew, we received only one set of specific negative feedback regarding the addition of 3 man teams tournaments at night. The other non-renewals were due (A) to they missed the deadline or cannot afford it, (B) the people who were originally members no longer live in Colorado or (C) they originally signed up in years past for the sole purpose of a donation rather than really being interested in bowfishing. Of our entire membership base I'd estimate a smaller subset post/read this forum and not everyone on the forum are COBF members. Although posting in a forum labeled "COBF", the opinions and posters on this forum do not necessarily represent the organization as a whole, rather they represent a subset, albeit very passionate and valued subset of the bowfishing community. We all need to keep in mind that there are a lot more people out there who bowfish casually, enjoy coming to one or two tournaments, are slowly getting more into the sport. Not everyone is as "into it" as others are and my guess is that those percentages will generally remain constant over time. ALL opinions and styles of shooting should be represented in the COBF (boaters, non-boaters, casual, serious, night, day), that is one of the main reasons for more varied tournaments. To give more opportunities, and also at night to permit people who don't have night rigs to get on board with teams that do. There were several member responses on the surveys where people want to bowfish at night, but don't have a rig. Due to 3 man teams we have been able to get a few folks who have never been out at night on some of the other member's night rigs which is positive.
F) Issues at tournaments: In previous years we have never really had any major issues. The general policy has simply been if we get reports, we look for evidence at the time of the report and look into as can reasonably be done so at the time. We have relied heavily on the honor system; but as we all know, the bigger things get, the more that has the chance of breaking down. Generally we are dealing with violations which if reported and found to be broken, give the violating team a *significant competitive advantage* over other teams (for example red-zone issues). This year following the event, there was an issue brought up about motors at Barr being being seen in/out of the water, running/not running, likely when folks are trying to get across the lake etc. There were quite a few rangers on site and on the lake speaking with and observing participants and we received no reports while the event was in motion. We do not patrol the lake. There was one reported violation during the AM (red zone), we looked into it, verified and notified the violating team and issued a penalty. That said, were there possibly some violations on that day regarding the hp limits? Certainly, and if they were not reported, or the club was not aggressive enough in going after folks and looking out for this specific item in particular, then I'll apologize on behalf of the club for everyone. Since then we have spoken directly with the head ranger at the lake, and since they received a complaint from an individual following the tournament, Barr lake staff will be stepping up their enforcement of their rules across the board, which arguably as we all know; they themselves have been inconsistent, sometimes lacking with enforcing and even varying with interpretation.
Secondly, there appears to have been some confusion regarding the canal access rule at the 6/11 tournament. I was not present however MP in a previous post has explained the details of how he worked with Barr's head ranger to get this opened up for folks which due to the park went down to the wire on a decision. If this change, which was documented on the maps, was not communicated well to all participants clearly, then again we apologize. There was obviously no ill-intent and we do our best from a due diligence standpoint by working with venue management for every tournament that is organized by the club. I would encourage everyone to please speak up and notify event officials of any concerns during a event, rules orientation and definitely before the awards ceremony. The Board will do its best to hear any issues, deliberate investigate and figure out if correction is necessary. Unfortunately we can't do much if nothing is said and its only heard about days later via rumblings in the community. I am confident that we as a club can come up with some good ideas and consistent procedures for better keeping an eye out and enforcing violations. This will be discussed at upcoming member meetings and ideas will be collected via the surveys.
(Part 2, next post)
