News

Hobie BOS updates angler refunds policy

Leading up to the last couple of sold out events, AJ Macworter and the Hobie BOS team had a new problem to deal with. Last minute bow outs by anglers due to a multitude of reasons. Gas price jumps, bad weather predictions and many other issues that can arise for anglers who plan in advance with the intentions of fishing the events. Sometimes life just gets in the way of kayak tournament adventures and we have to make adjustments. As a tournament director, this can be very frustrating when it happens in the last days leading up to the event when the workload is at its highest.

According the the news release Hobie BOS as of April 12, 2022 will no longer provide 100% fee returns for anglers who opt out of an event. Anglers will only get back 80% of the now $265 entry fee, which is around $212. Anglers will not be able to receive any refund within a week of the event, which should keep the last minute scrambles to run through waiting lists for anglers who want to fish. A $53 penalty may be enough to cause anglers to rethink whether its worth it to opt out of an event making them think twice about the gamble to sign up for an event they aren't sure they will be able to make. Losing the entire $265 will undoubtedly have an effect on wishful thinking anglers who will have to verify their bank account, significant other and work are onboard with the adventure. 

The new addition in Section 2: Payback and Participation reads "Any contestant who wishes to withdraw from the event is eligible for an 80% refund of their entry fee, provided notification of cancellation is made no later than 1 week prior to the start of the event, in which case the refund will be zero."

The complete rulebook can be downloaded from Hobie BOS' website.