Dear Nomads
First off I would like to thank all the members that attended Rose Bowl 2017 together with our families and members back home for your tireless interest and support. Unfortunately, a few big fish were lost that could have turned the leader board on its head. Nonetheless, we remained competitive to the end and at least came home with a podium finish.
Well done to East Rand for their long-awaited Rose Bowl win and well done to Makeira for their second place but more so congratulations on a well organised event. It was a well-run competition, there were no quibbles about rulings and all the Nomads members were IGFA compliant.
It was wonderful to see a number of older members returning to participate and we hope to see this trend continue with our other inactive members particularly in the year to come. The comradery between the Nomads members was heart-warming as were the friendships between the clubs.
The remainder of this year and next year is going to be a very busy time for Nomads. 2018 is the 50th Anniversary of the club and we plan to celebrate in style.
1. As you are aware, or should be aware, we are arranging a fishing competition in Kenya towards the end of next year. Our previous trip around 2010 had seventeen participants and about 70 sailfish plus a number of game fish were caught in 4 days. There are some terrific prizes in competitions leading up to this trip including flights to Kenya. But you have to have a ticket to stand a chance. So, enter the Closed as a starting point.
2. In light of our 50th Anniversary, TSC has kindly agreed to swop the hosting of Rose Bowl 2018 with us. Nomads will host the 2018 event and TSC will host in 2019.
3. Our next major competition is the Nomads Closed to be held at Mapelane. This is an awesome venue and is a well-attended event. The fishing is good, the socials are better, and the entry fee is reasonable and includes accommodation, dinner and happy hour. This year and next year the prizes for the Closed will be spectacular. The competition dates are 25 to 30 June 2017. Diarise it now.
4. Leading up to this we will still have our regular prize givings, funds raisers and quarterlies. The wheels are already in motion for a major fund raiser which will be a fly fishing competition within 40 min drive of Jhb – most likely in the Cradle of Human Kind.
As you can imagine it will require a huge effort to make the arrangements, secure sponsors, prizes and generate interest for these events and this cannot be left to an 8 man committee. We need all the members to participate in the organisation. One of the defining comments at the last Rose Bowl came from the chairman of the host club, when he thanked his committee and club for their efforts he said something to the following effect:
“Makaira has approximately 45 members and every single one put up their hand and helped organise the event. In addition of the 45 members 38 participated in the competition”
Nomads has a proud history in the zone and for 50 years has always been the team to beat. We have always risen to the occasion to improve on, and do better than the year before, in every aspect of our sport. Traditionally we have succeeded and as a result we have always held our heads up high. It’s time for Nomads to step up to the plate again.
We need all hands on deck.
To uphold this tradition, I therefore appeal to all of you, to do that little bit extra for the club leading in to our celebration year. The committee will need assistance, prizes, sponsors so I urge you to “ask what you can do for your club”. In particular, I would like to appeal to the inactive members to make a come-back, start fishing again or send your children to learn how to fish. Juniors in the zone are very strong at the moment and Nomads could benefit from more junior participation.
We recently approved about 12 new members and there are others waiting in the wings. Many of them joined to learn about the sport and you the older experienced members are valued sources of information. Your time and commitment would be appreciated.
However even if you cannot commit for whatever reason, but are able to contribute prizes or sponsorships please let us know soonest. We would like to give our sponsors the best mileage possible which would include exposure at the fund raiser, both Nomads Closed competitions and Rose Bowl 2018 so the earlier you get involved the better.
Folks the work starts now so that our fishing experiences can be more pleasurable.
Let’s go fishing.
Kind regards
Mark
“My fellow Nomads, ask not what your club can do for you, ask what you can do for your club.” – John F. Kennedy stole it from his headmaster, I am stealing it from him.
