Tournament Cheater Suggestion....

[fishbum]

To all tournament directors...
I have a suggestion, and it may or may not work.. but here goes.
As winners of a Charity Tournament an angler "Represents" that charity, in the minds of Anglers. Winners of tournaments are KNOWN for being the winner of Such and Such a tournament. Guys brag that they WON such and such a tournament which allows them to brag and to get sponsors in some cases.
From now on put a clause in your tournament regulations that states.. AS a future representative of this tournament as the winner you agree that if you are caught cheating during the next 24 months you agree to repay all winnings to the tournament, to be distributed as the tournament organizers see fit. (IE. Charity or to the runners up of that tournament.)
Once signed it is a legal agreement. The winner agrees to represent in a positive manner the Tournament and its anglers.
(Even if he is just using it to brag)
NOW..
I realize that will not STOP most cheaters, but it will automatically increase any penalty. It is hard to prove cheating in a tournament once the rods and reels are put away and the check cashed, and the boat is sold.. BUT signing an agreement to repay all winnings should be binding and will give all cheaters or people who MIGHT cheat more to think about. It will comfort those who should have won as well, and clear the air of any stench that is attached to that tournament loss by another runner up. It also helps to remove doubt about the Tournament and Directors. (though why anyone would have doubt would be beyond me.)
Jim Dicken

[JimDicken]

?????????????????????????????????????????????????? ?????????????????????????????????????????????????? ?????????????????????????????????????????????????? ?????????????????????????????????????????????????? ?????????????????????????????????????????????????? ?????????????????????????????????????????????????? ???????????????????????? Come on guys.. will it work?
Will it deter people...
Will it make you happier if they have to forfeit in the future if you fished against them?
Jim

[easy_13]

Sounds good to me.

BTW, I know we're all a little schizophrenic ... but I've always wondered why you post under two different screen names.

[SNIPER_01]

WELL JIM, I TELL YA THAT MIGHT KEEP SOME FROM TRYING TO CHEAT IN THE FUTURE, BUT I STILL BELIEVE THAT JAIL TIME SHOULD BE INCLUDED ALSO. ALONG WITH SOME VERY STIFF PENALTIES. AS FAR AS IM CONCERNED THERE IS NOTHING LOWER THAN SOME PERSON WHO WILL STAND THERE IN FRONT OF ALL HIS CO-WORKERS AND PEOPLE HE KNOWS, TAKE THIER MONEY AS IF HE DONE NOTHING WRONG THAT DAY. KNOWING ALL ALONG THAT HE CHEATED EVERYONE IN THE TOURNAMENT. SEND THEM TO THE HOTEL BY THE WATER AND LET THEM CHEAT THOSE GUYS IN THERE, AND SEE HOW LONG THEY LAST.........SNIPER GONE

[JBehr]

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Jul-17-06 AT 03:19AM (EST)[/font][p]Sounds like a good idea, but would be difficult to enforce. Looks like there could be a lot of legal ramifications if you weren't very careful.

Another thought: How about some sort of "Cheaters List" distributed to tournament directors in order to help prevent someone from cheating other groups? I realize there would be some logistics to set this up and maybe some legal details to work out, but it could help in the long run. Maybe KDFWR could set up a link on their tournament site and/or tournament directors/groups could put their names on a contact list. It would really be great if states would share this list as well, but I could see that becoming overwhelming in a hurry. Just my $0.02 worth.

Joe Behr

[Danny]

First problem, this is likely illegal. When I managed a grocery store, it was actually against the law to publically display bad checkes, or a list of names of those that had written bad checks. In other words, we could not tape a list of the names of the bad checks we had on hand, in front of our cashier's register. This makes me wonder if you could distribute such a list.

Secondly, you have a serious chance as people being wrongfully accused. I think your log in is Jbeher... so let's say your name is Joe Beher. Let's say in TN another Joe Beher cheats in a tournament and gets caught. His name is added to the list. You sign up for a tournament, and the director publically says you are not allowed because your name is on the list. Now folks think you are a cheater. I think that qualifies as slander for you.

I kind of like Jim's idea. I think there would have to be some messageing of the idea to decide how the repaid winnings would be distributed. Also, getting the money back is another thing. You can sue someone, and win, and the court orders them to pay you, but if they don't have the money, or have sufficiently hidden it, they can't be "made" to pay you.

I wish there were a simple answer. I certainly haven't been smart enough to come up with a good answer.

The best I can say is that if we are so consumed with concern of being cheated, then we need to quit fishing tournaments.

BTW, that's not the reason I have not been fishing T's.

Danny

[artcarney_agr]

I like the "cheater's list" idea. The tournament director should have the right to refuse any entry in a tournament. If someone wants to enter and their name is on the "cheater's list", it's up to the tournament director whether or not to accept the entry.

I know when I was at Murray State, in regards to fraternity parties, there was a list distributed by the university to all fraternities that included names of individuals who were not allowed at any party due to their history of starting fights. The system worked and fights were greatly reduced.

Maybe with a "cheater's list", cheating may not be completely eliminated, but would be greatly reduced.

[CatFan96]

Certainly a good idea, but it might be a little difficult to enforce. You'd have to draw a line somewhere as to what constitutes cheating. If you accidently fish in an "off-limits" area or accidentally bring too many fish to the weigh-in during a future tournament, do you forfeit previous winnings? I'd bet it would be a legal nightmare to ever try to enforce such a provision.

Maybe a better solution is that those convicted of such fraud lose their fishing licenses, thereby keeping them out of any tournament.

[JimDicken]

Wellllllll its a long story that goes back several years. BUT the short story is that my original name is not allowed to edit the board from BEFORE I was working here and Fishbum was set up to work on the board.. So when you seem me using Fishbum I am in Editor mode, when I am using my name I am not working.

[Fish2win]

The question is who would determine who cheated and how would it be proved.Over the years I have heard a lot of rumors about this person or that person. In almost every case the rumors are unsubstanuated.This could open you up for a real strong slander suite.I have always told other anglers that if they want to talk to me about cheaters then be prepared to present solid evidence not conjecture or hear say.
I hate cheaters butI also hate rumor mills. I dont fish tournamnets anymore but when I did it seemed that anyone that had a hot stick had someone accusing them of cheating.
Do some people cheat? Sure. Does everyone that is accused of cheating cheat?Probably not.
So the question remain,howe can you police the proof. Fish2win

[SNIPER_01]

VERY TRUE FISH2WIN, MOST WHO DO WIN THOSE TOURNAMENTS DONT CHEAT. I ALSO AGREE THAT THAT RUMORS STARTED ABOUT SOMEONE NEED TO BE BACKED UP WITH HARD EVIDENCE. THATS WHY CAMS DONT LIE AND THESE GUYS WHERE SEEN DOIN WHAT THEY SHOULDNT HAVE BEEN DOIN.....SNIPER GONE

[BigBassBigCash]

I hope my thoughts are welcome on this board...

I would be all for a clause such as that in our tournament, but honestly, I'm so new I have no idea of the legalities. It's worth checking into, no doubt. The only hitch I can think of (given that it IS legal) is that the cash (if it's a cash prize) would probably already be gone, and the merchandise (be it a boat or equipment) would no longer have the value it had because it is used or could have even been sold, etc. Even if the law was on our side, would we be able to recover the prize?

Linda Hill