This event had both pro's and con's for a first time "big" event.

Pro's - a. I liked the blast off announcing of all team members and sponsors for the crowd as they idled for boat check and blast off. Everyone had equal recognition, no matter what sponsor they had, rig they were running or how cool they looked.

b. Secure parking area with gated entrance and patrols was a welcome touch.

c. guaranteed payouts as promised was also well received by the competitors.

Con's - a. unloading/loading - needs to be improved on. We were in the second flight weighing in at 3:30 pm. It was 6:45 pm when we pulled out, with approx 25 boats behind us still. This combined with the quite long idle zone to bring our partners to the dropoff/pickup point didn't seem acceptable.

b. Unless you were a angler weighing in, you were unable to view or particpate in the "show" - maybe possible to have weigh-in/stage closer to docks or another suitable option.

c. Weigh-in area was very congested. This, combined with it being a public access area (tour boats coming in and out) added to the congestion of waiting to weigh in.

Overall, again with it being a first time event, I think I will participate again and hopefully the organizers take all the criticism in hand and make for a bigger and better event next year.