TAIRUA – PAUANUI SPORTS FISHING CLUB CLUB OF THE YEAR 2021
The Tairua Pauanui Sports Fishing Club has had another outstanding year. Into the second year at its new clubrooms (having moved premises in December 2019), the club saw its membership base once again expand from 1,326 members in 2020 to 1,534 at the end of the 2021 season. Despite the backdrop of a global Covid pandemic, the club produced a strong financial result while continuing to grow its membership. The committee combined with continued strong support from its volunteer members, enabled the club to successfully navigate the complexities of operating in a Covid world The Tairua Pauanui Sports Fishing Club actively seeks to encourage the diversity in the our club and one of the key tournaments supporting this is the annual Fish ‘N Chicks ladies fishing competition. In March 2021, the TPSFC hosted a revamped and better than ever ladies’ day which saw a huge increase in entries on previous years. A filleting station was set up and volunteers filleted any fish caught in exchange for a gold coin donation, with funds being donated to the Women’s Refuge. The club managed to donate a fantastic $1,500 to Women’s Refuge which is equivalent to 75 “Safe Nights” for women and children in need of a safe place to stay. This year also saw the introduction of the new Big Three tournament which combines the love of
fishing, diving and hunting into one competition. Over a 3-day period over 100 hunter gatherers braved the very harsh elements. The feedback was outstanding with most saying they would be back next year. This tournament came about as the club could see the diversity it would bring in bringing the different elements together and in doing so has resulted in many new members. The club’s participation in the NZSFC Nationals combined with their existing tuna and light tackle tournament. This saw them getting a record number of 93 entrants into the Nationals. The Tairua Rugby and Sports Club works closely with the fishing club to create a greater sense of community within the area. This is epitomised by the annual ‘Legends Lunch’ promoted by the rugby club but hosted by the fishing club. Out of lock down and with the pandemic pulling the plug on the big-name boat shows they teamed up with Grady White Boats to step in and help out the marine industry and the local Coromandel economy by organising a non-profit event with free entry. This saw more than 80 models of boats on display, along with jet ski, marine equipment, fishing tackle & accessories. Numbers completely exceeded all expectations with over 5000 pilling into the Marina on the Saturday to have a look at what was on offer. The coast guard did over 100 bar crossing demos on what is a notoriously dangerous bar at times. NEW ZEALAND SPORTS FISHING COUNCIL INC. | 15
