Insurance snafu leaves Nixa out of tournament

Nixa High School bass club anglers won't have the chance to hook a fishing-tournament scholarship this year.

Insurance requirements deemed "excessive" by Nixa school officials will keep the young anglers from participating in Bass Pro Shops inaugural Open Championship of High School Fishing Tournament on Table Rock Lake on June 7-8.

At stake: A $5,000 scholarship to the winning team, $3,000 for the runner-up and $2,000 for third place.

Brandon Clark, Activities Director at Nixa High, said the club can still meet and fish from shore, just not aboard power boats provided by volunteers. He said requirements by the school's insurer — MOPERM — proved to be stricter than the district initially thought. Among them, according to Clark:

• Volunteer boaters would need to take a three-day Coast Guard certification course at a cost of about $400.

• Volunteer boaters would have to be CPR- and first aid-certified, at their own cost.

• The boats could go no faster than 35 mph on the water

• The student anglers — as well as the volunteer boat captain — would have to wear life jackets at all times, even if the boat was stopped for fishing and regardless of the temperature.

• Students and the volunteer boat captain would have to wear specific impact-resistant safety glasses at all times while on the boat.

After hearing from some of the volunteer boaters, Clark said several of the requirements would place too much of a financial burden on them. The boaters already were willing to absorb the fuel costs of trailering their boats to the lake and running them over the course of the tournament. The district chose to keep the club intact, but not allow the use of volunteer boats.

"This was most disappointing to me because of the 19 kids in the club, 12 were brand new to Nixa High School activities," he said. "That's 12 more kids I've hooked into participating in a Nixa activity. But the insurance requirements just made it difficult for us to fish competitively this year. My faith is that we'll be able to work through these regulations and find a compromise so they can fish in tournaments next year."

Volunteers key

Debbie Dopp, a Nixa High School bass club faculty sponsor, said 12 boat owners had agreed to support the club and take students onto area lakes.

"It was the volunteer boaters who were the backbone of the program," she said. "They were the ones willing to teach the kids how to fish competitively. We're hoping it's just a matter of time before the insurance company makes their insurance requirements more reasonable."

Bass fishing is not yet a sanctioned high school sport in Missouri, though it has gained strong support from more than three dozen schools across the state, who formed clubs anticipating it will eventually become a sanctioned sport through the Missouri State High School Activities Association. If bass fishing becomes a sanctioned activity, MSHSAA plans to have statewide fishing tournaments for high schoolers.

MSHSAA spokesman Jason West said the association is aware that some school insurers are proposing different requirements for high school bass fishing teams before they'll provide coverage.

"I'm working with those insurance companies to try to get some common procedures and requirements for participation," he said. "From our perspective, we're getting closer to having some common requirements."

David Korman, Executive Director at MOPERM, said he thinks there may have been some miscommunication with Nixa school officials over what would be required for MOPERM coverage.

He said MOPERM looked at bass club requirements developed by the Missouri United School Insurance Council, which has the acronymn MUSIC, and insures more than three-quarters of schools in Missouri. MOPERM suggested those as guidelines for Nixa to consider as it developed its fishing program.

"We have suggested some of those are good guidelines, and we are glad to help develop some guidelines for Nixa," he said. "But as far as MOPERM laying down a mandate, our agent said it was a suggestion, not mandatory."

Other approaches

Other schools are taking a different approach to competitive fishing than Nixa. Bass clubs at Hillcrest and Glendale high schools in Springfield do plan to use volunteer boaters to take their students onto area lakes, and will participate in the Bass Pro tournament in June.

Associate Superintendent Justin Herrell said bass clubs at Hillcrest and Glendale are school-sponsored — but are not school-sanctioned — activities. Aside from requiring background checks and proof of liability insurance from volunteer boaters, Herrell said it's up to the club sponsors and volunteers to set their own rules.

"At this point we specify in our permission form that responsibility for club participants falls on the boat owner and parents — it's not a district-sanctioned activity," he said.

The district's consent form addresses students aboard volunteer boats this way:

"There are currently no standards or guidelines regarding boats for High School fishing in Missouri. Boats used by the club will be provided by volunteers. The boat owner/volunteers will be required to meet District volunteer requirements, and to provide verification of insurance for their boat. Boat owner/volunteers will be present during training and competitions, and will have primary responsibility for the operation of their boat. Participants are expected to adhere to the boat owner/volunteers instructions."

Herrell said bass fishing at the high school level is gaining popularity, and eventually might become a sanctioned sport in Missouri.

"We would want to be able to parallel what occurs with MSHSAA and state requirements for bass fishing," he said. "At that time we could bring it in as a sanctioned activity in Springfield."