As you know I fished the Bloemhof Bonanza together with MZ and Yacoob, and although we did not win any prizes or catch any fish worth mentioning, what we did catch was a wake up call.
I learnt from an email that there were almost 1500 people (not all were anglers) that attended the Bloemhof Bonanza , which is why I and the fellow anglers fishing next to us agreed that there was not enough angling space to go around. The competition was held at the Sandveld side as well as the North West sides of the Dam, with some anglers arriving there from the Monday before the official start of the Competitions on Friday. The organisers put in a lot of work to pull off this Annual event and it was appreciated, yet there are a few points that would like to raise.
I see this as positive criticism so if you start thinking otherwise while reading this posting, STOP reading and go and make a few traces for your next trip, clean out your tackle box or engage in some other angling related activity. So here are some of my positive criticisms on what I consider to be important issues;
- The angling area was not large enough to accommodate the 1500 people that attended the event, and this resulted in many Anglers fishing under uncomfortable circumstances and being involved in altercations. Some Anglers left after the first part of the competition as I observeved in the area I was fishing at. Perhaps the organisers should consider only selling the amount of tickets that the angling waters can accommodate. Imagine going to a Cricket where the Stadium can only accommodate 30 000 persons but there are 50 000 tickets sold. Money for the Organisers, but no value for money for the ticket holders. This is a hugely popular Competition and the numbers grow every year so this issue needs serious consideration. You cannot expect all anglers to go to the venue 3 to 4 days before the competition, because it's not practical and affordable to all.
- It is not acceptable for the Organisers to reserve angling space for friends and guests. All competitiors paid the same prices for the tickets and deserve to take up the first spot they find acceptable. I am not talking about Anglers reserving space for buddies whose tickets they hold, but rather the fact that space was reserved at Sandveld for certain individuals and groups. This caused the pre mature decalring of Sandveld as "Full" as early as Wednesday.
- There were not enough offcials on duty during the Competition. We were only visited twice by an Official and he did not have any answers to even basic questions he was asked regarding the competition. One of our neighbours commented that it seemed like some officials were "pulled off the streets" to help out. We asked the official how far the competition area on the North West Side stretched and the best he could do was to stare out over the water and say' Ek's nie seker nie". Could it be possible that an angler could have fished in an area he/she was not allowed to ? Possibly yes, if the official did not know where the exact Competition are stopped.
That all being said, I must admit that it is not an easy task to organise an event like this, but lessons should be learnt from the previous competitions and all effort should be made to improve on shortcomings. I mean are the organisers only out to make money or are they out to make money AND give the competitors an enjoyable overall experience ?
After reading this, I would like you to share your opinion/s on what I have written, if you don't agree, tell me why or if you have any other comment to make please do so.