Yoey, I first joined the NZACA more years ago that I care to recall, certainly not far off forty years ago. In those days there were genuine problems with communication as everything was done via New Zealand post. Now, with E-mail, life is so much easier.

In the last NZACA news letter I read, and this was only a matter of a few weeks ago, you reported openly and honestly on the problems you guys took on: an organisation that was damn near broke and, from memory, a base of only nine clubs remaining. Anyone with a half mind will appreciate the problems you guys faced and the excellent work you have put in to try and regroup ... well done you.

I am not a club member, club fishing holds no appeal, with totally open boundaries I believe the camaraderie of yesteryear has finished. Where anglers fish as a group not separated by huge boundaries on club days. I also dislike the the way many clubs have become money orientated instead of fishing orientated, sadly everything nowadays revolves around the dollar and for the life of me I can't understand why. Don't start me on the points system. We had it so hard, we weighed the fish and gave a prizes to the winners and this was the ordinary club competitions. Life was oh so simple, it took a few minutes at the end of the year to work out the club champ and those who had won the silverware.

To the point, would it not be possible for the NZACA to ask clubs to have a member elected as the NZACA information representative for gathering and spreading updates? One man, perhaps the secretary, who can access the website and then notify club members.

As in all organisations information is a two way event. At club meetings there is an agenda and part of that agenda is correspondence and matters arising. I can't see any difficulty in one volunteer gathering information for the club members and then, via a club newsletter, spreading the news.

Yoey, the flack you are coping is very unfair but I have to say the organisation has never really found favour especially with ordinary anglers, the NZACA seems to be totally club orientated and yet there is probably no other game or sport that has such a huge number of participants. Surf casting is probably New Zealand's largest participant sport, yet the number who belong to the sports administering body are truly few and far between. Until this problem is sorted out, I fear you will never appeal to the average angler and I include myself in that category.

As long as my bum faces downwards I will never understand why there isn't a NZACA spokesperson at major club competitions. At prize giving, he may have anything up to a thousand anglers he (or she) can talk to and hand out flyers explaining the association's aims, goals and contact numbers.

I happily accept I will now be shot to pieces by certain Pania members, was it ever thus. Good luck with your endeavors Yoey, however, I fear you have someway to go and I can't see much changing anytime soon. I was always taught you get out the equivalent to what you put in and I gather that is not the case here.