What's this all about, anyway?
by Dave Ochs
dave@vabass.com

Welcome to the new Virginia B.A.S.S. Federation web site. We hope you'll find it the best web site of any B.A.S.S. Federation in the nation and the best source of information for bass fishing in Virginia.

Here's a quick guide to what's here, how to find it, who's responsible for it, and who to contact about it.

First, what's here? Well, here's the list. On this web site you can find:

The complete results for any individual who fished in the Fall Classic, Mr. Bass, or Chapter Team tournaments over the past few years. This is a very exciting section that will keep growing as we continually add past tournament results.
The individual and team results from the past few Fall Classics, Mr. Bass tournaments, and Chapter Team tournaments.
The rules for the state tournaments.
A guide on how to qualify for a state tournament and the Bass Masters Classic.
The Children's Miracle Network tournament schedule and results.

There's also:

Information about the Virginia B.A.S.S. Federation
The Federation board of directors' names, addresses, phone numbers and email addresses.
The answer to who is, and how to contact, the state tournament director, the state conservation director, the state youth director, the Tight Lines editor, the assistant raffle manager, the Federation award chairman, the webmaster for this site, and the author of this monthly column.
The state secretary/treasurer's name and information on how to contact her.
The region directors' names and how to contact them.
The minutes from the state Federation's board of directors meetings.
A schedule of upcoming Federation tournaments and board meetings.
Tight Lines newsletters.
The Federation bylaws.
Articles on conservation and environmental issues that affect bass fishing in Virginia.
News about the Federation's youth activities.
The geographic divisions of the state's 9 regions.
The clubs in each region, and links to some of them.
A LINKS page that we think will be the finest place on the web to seek information on bass fishing.
A list of the companies that are sponsoring the state federation and making all of this possible. Plus, links to those companies.
A contact name and number for anyone who is interested in sponsoring the Virginia B.A.S.S. Federation.
Free classified ads.
Articles profiling anglers in Virginia.
Articles profiling Federation sponsors.
And this place, Dave's column, in which I get to write about any darn thing I want. I'm open to ideas from you.

How do I find all that stuff up there?
For the most part, the site is arranged so that you'll be able to click your way through everything with very little scrolling. There are 8 links from the home page. Here's which link to click for what you want.

If you want information on:

The Virginia B.A.S.S. Federation -- Region Directors
The State Board of Directors -- Tournament Director
Tight Lines Editor -- Youth Director
Tight Lines newsletters -- Youth News
Assistant Raffle Director -- The Webmaster
Federation Awards Chairman -- CMN Schedule
Contact numbers -- Conservation Issues
Regions by geographic territory -- Clubs in Virginia
====================> Click on FEDERATION

If you want information on:

State tournament results -- Tournament schedules
Tournament rules -- Calendar of Events
One individual's results
How to qualify for a state tourney
How to qualify for the Bass Masters Classic
====================> Click on TOURNAMENTS

If you want information on:

Our state federation sponsors
Links to our sponsors
A contact name and number if you are interested in sponsoring the Virginia B.A.S.S. Federation.
====================> Click on SPONSORS

If you want information on:

Several non-commercial bass fishing resources.
====================> Click on LINKS

If you want information on:

Browsing classified ads.
Selling through the classified ads. Just click and follow the instructions. Your ad will automatically run, at no charge, for 60 days.
====================> Click on CLASSIFIEDS

If you'd like to see profiles of Virginia anglers, state federation sponsors, or find out what Dave's thinking about this month, check out the three links in the bottom left hand corner of the web site's home page. They are: ANGLER PROFILE, SPONSOR PROFILE and DAVE'S COLUMN.

Finally, who are the people behind this web page?

Peter Herbst, the webmaster, is the brains and driving force behind this project. He's a member of Fairfax Bass and a wiz on the Web. You can find out more about him by clicking here including how to email him.

Meredith Dittmar, Graphics, is the talent behind all the graphics on the site. She also created the graphics for the Fairfax Bass website and is a self-employed graphic artist. If you need graphics, brochures, newsletters, etc. she is the one to contact at m_dittmar@yahoo.com.

Dave Ochs, the Editorial Director, is a 30-year veteran sports reporter who has been covering sports nationally and internationally for The Associated Press the past 18 years. You can learn more about him in the club roster section of the Fairfax Bass website. You can contact him at dave@vabass.com

Special Thanks goes out to Joe Davoli for his programming expertise and to Asst. Webmaster Russ Bombardeiri for bringing in the broom behind Pete.

Ron Edmonds shot the home page cover picture. He's a Pulitzer Prize winning photographer for The Associated Press. You can find out more about Ron in the club roster section of the Fairfax Bass website, or you can see more of his fabulous photography at his website.

Several other people helped out by beta testing the site and providing content. Thanks go to Pete Robbins, Bill Roberts, Mike Phillips, Ann Dalton, Joan Holmes, Carol Ochs and most importantly Roger Fitchett.

Now, go click something!