Hi everyone, this is our annual pre-season update. Please read it carefully as there is important news below. If you have questions of a specific nature, please message us on Facebook.

We are very excited for this season and we have been working hard to put the final touches on the schedule and other plans. For example, we have re-instated the team event and paired it with a regular tournament, and the joint event with VKBC is going to be a big event and will only get bigger after KBF finalizes the prizes for it. Additionally, we are discussing a 10^th event, in coordination with H.O.W., which would be a fundraiser for their local chapter. We welcome new sponsors and continue with our tried and true sponsors, too, and we will announce some more of those as we enter the final build up to the 1^st tournament. We have other surprises in store and will unveil the first at the check-in at Get:Outdoors on March 9^th. Like last year, CKA is changing and growing, and we are grateful for your support that allows us to make this an accessible and competitive series.

And now, two announcements:

In the first place, CKA is requiring an annual membership fee of $20 from anglers who fish for AOY/ROY points in 2019. Here is how it works: you pay the fee, you keep your points. It will also qualify you for CKA discounts at Get:Outdoors, coverage from KBF insurance and other extras. When do you pay it? After the first event you fish. Let’s say an angler begins fishing at the 2^nd event of the season – if he or she doesn’t pay at the post-event check in for that event, the points come off the board and will not be reinstated. Can you fish and win a single event, and not pay your fee? Sure, but you won’t keep the points from that event.

We have to do this for several reasons. First, we want to keep payouts at the current level, but the cost of running the series is making it difficult for us. We have fees to pay for using various platforms (the website, Tourneyx, Paypal) and also operating costs (banners, the Tournament of Champions, end of year angler prizes). We don’t ask for financial support from outside so we can keep this an angler-based series – so to maintain our payouts, we have to collect a fee this year.

In the second place, after extensive discussion, we will allow the use of electric motors in competition. We’ve made our decision and the reasons for it clear elsewhere, and will briefly restate those reasons here:

• Motors allow anglers who cannot paddle or pedal to fish events
• Motors do not have any direct effect on results: a bad angler with a motor will still be a bad angler

Any angler who uses a motor must be in full compliance with all state laws regarding motor use on watercraft. Additionally, anglers will follow KBF limits on motors, too. We spot check for valid fishing licenses and will do the same for motors: if you fish an event with a motor and don’t have the state-issued permit on your kayak, you will be disqualified.

Finally, there have been some small but significant changes to the KBF open mouth rules for submitted fish. We won’t be adopting them, and we will stick with last year’s judging method. We are also retaining the 8” minimum length for catches. For full rules, see here: https://www.carolinakayakanglers.com/?page_id=38