TEXARKANA, Texas - The Ultimate High School Fishing Board of Trustees voted over the weekend to continue with the 4D Fishing Duel tournament.
The tournament is to be held Saturday on Lake Wright Patman.
"This is our last points tournament of the year," Ultimate High School Fishing board member Greg Ford said. "We had six other tournaments but we're having to change how we do the weigh-in, due to social distancing. Once everything started happening, we discussed what we wanted to do with this tournament. Every point matters for these kids. At first, we weren't sure how we would get it in.
"We usually average about 80 boats. That's around 160 students plus the 80 adults as boat captains. The winner receives scholarships and a new boat to the No. 1 team."
Ford and his colleagues are prepared to take the proper steps to ensure the safety of all the student-athletes involved in the event.
"I think we have figured it out," Ford said. "We went and witnessed some other tournaments, at other lakes, just to see how they were handling the situation. We're only going to allow one team member to come up and weigh the fish. We're going to try to keep the crowds down as much as possible. We usually feed them lunch at the weigh-in, but we're not going to be able to do that this year. I think we have it figured out, at least to where we can have everyone separated."
Ford also credits the government and national health professionals, giving the tournament clearance to proceed.
"We've witnessed other tournaments and how they did their weigh-in," Ford said. "I don't know why it wouldn't work. We're going off of what our governor says. Life must go on.
"We're going to have everyone fill out their registration paperwork ahead of the event. Fishing is kinda a solitary sport anyways. The only other time you may be around other people is during the registration and the weigh-in. Every team will get a boat card during registration and we plan to go by the order of their number."
Parents and spectators may have to alternate their plans on how to view the tournament.
"We want to ensure the safety of everyone involved," Ford said. "The weigh-in will be hosted live on Facebook. Supporters can go to the Ultimate High School Fishing Facebook page and watch it there. People that normally come to the weigh-in, we encourage them to watch it there."