First and foremost the tourney based on all available information seems to provide a 10% donation of all fees presented to a sickle cell groups, inner-city youth organizations in Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma. Regardless, of the charity of choice giving back to the community is as honorable gesture. Having competed many times in a variety of organization tourney’s over twenty years this is the first non-fishing related donation that I am familiar with.

As to the question of whether POCO otherwise known as the People Of Color Organization is testing the envelope, or rather exceeding the Affirmative Action expectations is a very foreign facet to me. What I can comment on however my personal believe that fishing or angling is bigger than the discrimination lines. It would be ludicrous to believe that there is not individualistic racism in participants. Overall my experience has been and remains a belief that those persons who enjoy the sport of angling whether competitive or recreational do so in frame of mind that surpasses ethnic or racialist barriers.

There are those I am sure that are already reading this and saying to themselves that I must be a very sheltered individual. Personally, I have only experienced one situation of racism and it would seem that racism is truly a socialistic concern that is alive and well in our country. Being of Samoan decent I have often times been the minority without a real feeling of being repressed of opportunity. Yet I have been told that the darkness of my skin and my Polynesian background would surely provide me job opportunities should I choose to use those options? Which I chose not to use and in fact did not get the job I was attempting to get at the time of the comment.

Reviewing the People Of Color Organization Tournament Website I find myself welcomed as a prospective tournament angler should I have chosen to enter. Especially since the tournament is billed as Multi-Ethnic Bass Fishing Tournament. The information on the site notes the P.O.C.O. Tournament Trail is the only organized series that promotes bass fishing as a competitive sport for all Americans with emphasis on developing a diverse angling population that includes African American, Hispanic, Latino, Native American and women. It would appear that the organization would include me even though it does not say Samoan-Americans I believe my inclusion would be covered under the for all Americans clause.

Perhaps, we as PEOPLE need to look past the racial-ethnic lines and look at what is actually an opportunity for individuals to compete or be included in a tournament that maintains no barriers based on ethnic or sexual orientation. Please note I have competed in tournaments where women were scoffed at because they were competing against the big boys. Then again I have competed in a tournament where Lady Bass Angler Lucy Mize was by far the most popular competitor based on hard work. So where are we as a society in the framework of competitive tournaments? Anglers respect those who work for what they have earned rather than given. Showing the blue-collar aspect of competitive angling tends to provide more respect and in turn more acceptability. As an individual, I have been involved in and competed with a multitude of events, with a multitude of ethnic oriented anglers. Comments are based on respect, knowledge and hard work with social aptitudes tying up the loose ends of ones acceptability.

In many ways I suppose we will have to wait for some more information on this particular aspect of competitive fishing. One thought comes to mind however, the outdoors is for all of us to enjoy. To quote the Outdoor Trails Television Show “The outdoors are not ours, we’re just borrowing them from our children” If that is the case perhaps it would it be a good time to teach our children that fishing whether competitive or recreational is for every one of us to enjoy. When you throw the line in the water I am sure that the fish are not racially profiling the potential anglers background before engulfing the lure or bait.