[dropcap]O[/dropcap]n August 24th, the Mexico Beach Artificial Reef Association (MBARA) had their 17th Annual Kingfish Tournament. As the weigh-in came to a close, things got a little hectic as hopeful fishermen lined up at the scales with their catch. When the air horn heralded the end, one boat had placed in both 3rd place Kingfish division and in the 3rd place Wahoo division. Since tournament rules only allow one award per boat, the captain of the Peggy Sue opted for the Wahoo trophy over 3rd place Kingfish trophy. After checking her score sheet, the weigh master then moved team Flippin Out up to the 3rd place Kingfish slot – worth a trophy and $1,000.00 in prize money.
The tournament director got a phone call the following morning because team Reel Natural had just learned about the change. Near the end of the competition, they had weighed a fish that beat Flippin Out’s catch. However, since it didn’t beat Peggy Sue’s kingfish, they had left without officially recording their catch. They wanted to know if there was any chance they could claim the 3rd place prize. The judging committee went over the video and confirmed the weight of Reel Natural’s fish. They decided the right thing to do was to award 3rd place to Reel Natural and write them a check for the $1,000.00 prize. Team Flippin Out would now have to be told they didn’t win 3rd place, but the committee wouldn’t ask them to return the check because the error was not their fault.
This is when real sportsmanship came into play! When Jackson Krause, captain of team Flippin Out, got the phone call, he didn’t complain one bit or say he wanted to file a protest. Instead, he insisted on tearing up the check, and offered to send the trophy to the winning team. Mr. Krause is an avid angler and long-time participant in the MBARA Kingfish Tournament. He said he appreciates all that the organization does in building the finest reef systems in Florida, and all he wanted to do was support them.
MBARA appreciates his actions, and if they had an award for True Sportsmanship, it would go to Mr. Krause and team Flippin Out! Thank you for the fine example of real sportsmanship.
By Carol Cox- MBARA