Tournaments: Why Use a Draw Format?

Why a Draw Format Works Better for MWBA

The Basics

Let’s be clear about the most common tournament formats: Draw v. “Permanent” Teams. Both work well, but MWBA, from its birth, has found that the Draw format enables the Club to accomplish its primary purpose: promoting the sport of recreational fishing, while providing Members with opportunities to share their passion for bass fishing with like-minded individuals.

How so? A computerized, random Draw that pairs Boaters and Co-Anglers for each tournament ensures that, over time, members fish with many anglers, rather than the same one every time.

Toward that end, if our Draw pairs two anglers who have already fished as a Team in that tournament year, they both go back into the Draw, or the Tournament Director assigns them to new partners. We want our anglers to continually be exposed to new ideas and new challenges, while having fun and shaping new friendships.

Tournament Details

Our tournaments are competitive, but the competition is friendly. Our anglers do more than showcase and improve their fishing skills by sharing ideas and techniques. Re-pairing helps build new friendships and strengthen old ones by sharing the challenge of finding and catching bass.

Paired anglers collaborate to find and catch a limit of keeper largemouth and/or smallmouth bass. Our limit is five (total) in cooler months, three in hotter months. FYI: Striped bass and yellow bass are true bass, but they aren’t considered bass in bass tournaments. Bass tournaments fish for smallmouths and largemouths, which are sunfish — not true bass! Weird, no? Should we rename as Midweek Sunfish Anglers of AZ?

Each Team shares the Total Weight of their catch and the weights of their Big Bass, their 5-lber (if caught) and their Goon Fish — a fish that isn’t a largemouth or smallmouth bass.

Outcomes in the Payout categories determine which Teams receive checks. Our Payout formula is 1:4; for every four boats in a tournament, one place receives a payout. In a typical 30-boat tournament, 7 places are paid.

Both Team members receive 50% the Payout for each Payout Category. So, there’s no need to worry about who caught a fish or being backseated or poached by a backseater. All caught are Team fish.

An equally-shared Payout is a constant reminder that, in Midweek Bass Anglers of Arizona, it’s about the fishing and friendships, not the money.

Most MWBA members have fished clubs and circuits that use a permanent-team format. But their primary purpose is often different than ours. MWBA enables members to compete for a little money at low cost, while fostering camaraderie among all participants as they have fun.

Toward that end, we encourage the exchange of fishing-related information between Team members and with other Teams. We do not penalize anglers for sharing information with and helping other anglers, even during a Tournament! Yes, we do have anglers with limits who share key information on the water with anglers who are being skunked. It’s awesome to see!

In contrast, the permanent” team format can lead to secrecy, and too often — let’s be honest — telling lies to “protect” a Honey Hole. For example, many of us have heard a money winner accept their check, while smugly saying, “We caught our fish at the dam in 75 ft of water on dropshots.” Gee, thanks for giving me such useful information in exchange for my Entry Fee.

In closing, Midweek Bass Anglers of AZ offers its anglers opportunities to fish with other anglers who share their enthusiasm. Whether you are (a) new to the Southwest and eager to explore fishing its waters, (b) a novice or experienced angler who wants to give tournament-style fishing a try, or (c) a well-seasoned tournament angler with trophies and checks galore, Midweek has room for you. We hope you will join us.