Welcome to the New AOTY Subforum and Introduction to AOTY
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bmb:
Hello Everybody,
We've been able to get an AOTY Subforum setup on NCKA. So this will now be your primary place to get any and all information about AOTY. You may also wish to communicate with the AOTY community through this forum, such as giving specific tips that may help your fellow competitors, if you choose to do so.
Here's what you need to know- Q: What is AOTY? A: NCKA Angler of the Year ("AOTY") is a year-long fishing competition that covers 21 different fish species. Each species is given a point value per inch of the fish's length. Your top 10 fish count towards your final score, where you are ranked against other AOTY Competitors. The fee is currently $40 per year to participate.
Q: Where do the funds from AOTY go? A: AOTY Funds are used in two ways: 1. To pay for awards for its competitors and any ancillary fees that go with running the competition. 2. The rest of the proceeds go into the Pay it Forward (PIF) Fund, a NCKA community fund, which has raised and donated over $100,000 since 2010 to NCKA members battling Cancer, serious illness or other tragedy. It is run by the A-Hulls, a group of NCKA members who decide (with input from the NCKA community) who the PIF recipient(s) will be.
Q: How do I get signed up? A: First, you need to go to the AOTY website, http://aoty.norcalkayakanglers.com and set up an account. In the top right corner, click the "Sign up" button. After that, you can set up an account with your username and password for AOTY, which does not necessarily have to be the same as your NCKA username. Afterwards, you need to pay for your annual fee. Link for the AOTY/DOTY Entry is on the left side panel on NCKA under the "XXXX AOTY/DOTY Entry". If you pay your dues, you are eligible to participate in BOTH AOTY and DOTY, although both competitions are run by separate committees.
Q: How do I submit a fish? A: Once logged into the AOTY site, go under the dropdown for "My Fish". At that point, click on "Add Fish". Select the fish from the dropdown, enter its exact length, the date it was caught. If fish was caught from a sail kayak, click "Caught on a Sail Kayak". Please enter what body of water you caught the fish on - this is to assist the AOTY judges in determining legality of fish species for retention. This information is only visible to judges. Please upload at least ONE full length picture of the fish. Multiple images (Up to 3) may be submitted if you wish, and may assist the committee members when reviewing fish for approval. If there are any notes you want to enter about the fish, please do so, such as specific waterway restrictions we should be aware of (i.e. if your specific waterway allows for retention of wild steelhead or does not have a minimum fish size limit). You can also enter other notes that you feel will help the committee judge your fish or help other competitors, or just for your own edification.
Q: What if I have problems with submitting fish or logging in? A: Contact a committee member directly through private message. Generally, bmb and Sin Coast handle AOTY Registration issues. Questions about submitting fish can be directed to any committee member, or to all.
Q: How are fish approved? A: Committee members review fish that are submitted through AOTY, and approve them based upon viewing the picture. Sometimes, certain submissions may be deemed to need to be voted on by the committee members due to discrepancies or questions raised by committee members. These submissions are discussed by the committee, then voted on for approval. If you have any questions or comments about fish approvals, feel free to contact a committee member directly.
Q: What are the Rules to AOTY? A: All of the Rules for AOTY will be listed on the AOTY website. The most important rule is to be cordial to your other competitors. You should not bash competitors or committee members on the forums or any other webpages associated with AOTY. If you have a problem with anything regarding the competition, you should bring it up directly with one of the committee members.
Q: Are there any common issues competitors might face when submitting fish for approval? A: Yes. Sometimes pictures are too large for the AOTY site to handle for submission and processing. You might try to resize the picture. In addition, certain issues with the picture may result in the rejection of the fish or downgrade of the fish. Generally speaking, you should try to have a full length picture of the fish (entire fish must be visible), from a straight up angle, with focus on the rear half of the fish so that the committee can tell whether the fish's mouth is completely closed and where the fish's tail crosses the hash mark on your measuring device. See Tips and Tricks here: Tips & Tricks
Q: What other competitions does AOTY participate in? A: The AOTY committee also runs the NCKA Junior Angler of the Year competition ("JAOTY"). For more information about how to participate in JAOTY, see this linked post: 2018 JAOTY Rules. The committee also governs the "Sail" division of AOTY, which is for competitors who use sails on their kayaks. There is currently a trophy for the Sail division that resides with the winner every year.
Q: Does AOTY have any other communication channels? A: Yes, we also have a Facebook page for you social media mavens. We plan to try to engage the community there as well. Our Facebook Page is: www.facebook.com/NCKAAOTY Our Instagram Page is: www.instagram.com/NCKAAOTY
Q: What can I do to help? A: Represent AOTY and spread the word about it through all your channels, tell people about how challenging it is and how interesting it is. Let others know how to sign up, and how to get information about the competition through our Forum and Social Media channels. Tell prospective sponsors about the competition and how interesting it is. If you're willing to volunteer as a committee member, please feel free to contact us, as we always have people rotating in and out of the committee at year end.
Remember, AOTY is a friendly, community-oriented fishing competition among members of NCKA. If you choose to participate, you should try to represent the community and the competition in your best light. Engaging in friendly banter with other competitors is fine - denigrating their catches or contributions is not.
I paid yesterday, but didn't log in (on AOTY) first. Now when I log in, it says, "Latest AOTY paid on: April 7, 2017".
bmb:
--- Quote from: NowhereMan on January 05, 2018, 02:18:18 PM ---I've got a question...
I paid yesterday, but didn't log in (on AOTY) first. Now when I log in, it says, "Latest AOTY paid on: April 7, 2017".
--- End quote --- Paid status is adjusted manually by a committee member. It can take a few days for us to get around to it. But you will never miss points on fish as we are able to backdate the "date paid" in the system, and any fish entered after that date will count.