As the official lowest scoring male competitor at SOR, a comment:
Craig, James and several others commended me on casting, horrendous as my casting was. Why? Well, it was a coda on quite a heavy week.

Last week I got to experience one of life's milestones: On Wednesday before the competition I discovered a progression of a health issue, and informed my Chief of service that, after 29 years as a surgeon, I was now disabled from doing surgery. I had decided to withdraw from the competition. Then, my 10 year old daughter texted me: "Daddy, You can't be a winner if you don't try, you can't be a loser if you do try." Yikes!

Part of the culture of this competition is comradery and inclusion. The other Senior competitors and the Judges welcomed my re-entry. Unfortunately, going from 560 at Redneck-O-Rama in October, to 406 here is not just because of the deeper water. But, better to count blessings than curses. Spey-O-Rama and my daughter are a couple of blessings.

Comp efforts are probably over. Looking for gravel bottom wading. Might still work towards THCI. Time will tell.

Spey-O-Rama is, indeed, "Keen."

Very nice Loc. My father-in-law is a retired cardiac surgeon, lot's of respect herein for the amount of commitment necessary to achieve this (and the sacrifices in family time, etc.). I met you this last fall at the redneck-o-rama, I think you may be an inspiration for some of us aged types who are thinking of doing the competition thing, regardless of where you placed. And that 10-year old of yours is a keeper for sure. Best wishes, Paul.

Great post. Your daughter is wise beyond her years!!!

It takes cojones to get your waders wet in the pond of tears while everyone is watching.
I've been there,felt the stress,and respect those who do it.

As a bonus you'll learn more with a humble attitude than with a raging self protecting ego

It was good to see you out there Loc!

Thanks guys. This is the best place in the world!!!!!!! Thank you all for this wonderful holiday!!! See you in 2014!

Loc,personally, I was really happy to see you get on the pond and compete. Motivation comes from places we least expect at times, you had some pretty solid motivation my friend. There's not a single caster at SOR who hasn't felt the pressure and wanted to go hide under a rock somewhere, especially myself!

Next time it will be a piece of cake!

Loc,

After we spoke about your condition I was very impressed with the courage and determination you showed stepping into the pond. My hat is off to your sir, you certainly have my respect.


Gene Oswald

Loc,
Paraphrasing your daughter "You won't know if you don't go."
Good on you for "staying the course."
I sent you a PM.
Best wishes to you both,
lsteinb

Loc, you know how I feel. Good on you brother, I smiled when I saw you re-enter the comp.

Loc Vetter.

One word, Respect.

I was impressed by several things at Spey O Rama last weekend but your participation in the seniors final after seeing your daughters text gave me a lump in my throat.Oyvind Strand, Bill Rogers, Kanjiro Nakao and yourself , made the SOR seniors competition a seriously creditable event and the only one in todays casting world.. Kush , Lee, Frankie, Burt, Glen, and Ed have run the course before but still felt the pressure and each one to a man knows he could have done better. These events only come along so often, so I suggest you grasp the nettle and train accordingly and you may even surprise yourself, the seniors division will go from strength to strength, and all you guys paritcipating are responsible for its success, in other words don't quit.

Good luck for the future.

James Chalmers.

Your daughter is wise beyond her years. If James' comment doesn't inspire you for next year, don't know what would. See you at the ponds.
Best.
Ed F.

Yes thanks James. The Senior Division is an important innovation for Spey-O-Rama. There are many, many of us 55+ types in the spey world and while it is ultimately about competing with ourselves, it is also in many ways inspiring to have peers to measure ourselves with. I have improved as a caster every year I have been at SOR and while it hasn't always been reflected in my competition results it definitely shows in my fishing. Loc, I have seen significant improvements in your casting over the past few years and I urge you to continue to train and return to to the Ponds. As well, I encourage other 55+ casters to consider attending this fantastic event. This year we saw competitors from Norway, Japan, Canada and the United States and I believe that this division has the most potential for growth and improvement. As well, just like the rest of SOR this is truly a blast and I look forward to next year's competition and the friends new and old that I will see!