- Cancelling Hunts Due To Bad Weather -

[Jerry Moll]

Unfortunately, each year many clubs get hit with unexpected, severe weather. No area is immune; winter weather, floods, tornados, severe heat and hurricanes. A few years ago we even had to postpone a Truck Hunt in Mississippi for the first time in history due to the snow and ice.

Hunt Directors worry if they should cancel their upcoming hunt or not in these cases, especially when additional heat, rain, snow or ice storms are forecasted. We sure don’t want anyone to put themselves in danger traveling on slick, snowy, flooded, or otherwise treacherous roads. And, no one wants hunters showing up at your club with no one there to greet them.

If you intend to cancel a hunt due to weather, post a notice on the message board and facebook as far in advance as possible. Unfortunately not everyone has internet access and not everyone reads the message forum. Keep in mind that it is always possible that members from outside of your area, who have not read your post, may be running a race or shooting for a truck spot and could show up at your club expecting to hunt. Here are some suggestions below if you are sure you need to cancel a hunt due to severe weather:

1. Contact Shanna at the PKC Office 812-868-1900 to cancel, so that your hunt can be taken off the online schedule.
2. Post a cancellation notice on the PKC General Message Forum at least three (3) days in advance of the scheduled hunt.
3. Please be sure to note the specific date and location of your event.
4. Text or phone all of your local hunting contacts to inform them of the cancellation and ask them to pass the word along.
5. Have a club member stationed at the club until thirty minutes after the deadline on the night of the hunt.
6. Always text Jerry Moll with the date and location when you do not hold a scheduled event.

Please note Blue Book language outlining a Coin Flip Due to Severe Weather.

18.G. Flipping Coin To Determine Cast Winner – There will be rare instances when a cast winner may be determined by a coin flip. When a coin flip is used, it must be written on the scorecard and on the hunt report. Handlers traveling to a hunt during severe cold, heat, wind, ice, snow or other bad weather would be expected to hunt, and a coin flip would not be approved. It is never permissible to use a coin flip to determine the winner of a single cast Open Event (3 or 4 dog hunt) unless the cast has already been in the woods hunting and severe weather breaks out, or there is an unbreakable tie at the end. A cast winner determined by a coin flip under unapproved circumstances may not be credited with PKC Earnings and could result in disciplinary charges for cast members. If you are unsure if a coin flip is allowable, please contact a PKC Staff Member first. A cast winner may be determined by a coin flip, only in the following situations:

1. At the end of a cast, if the cast winner cannot be determined due to an unbreakable tie and tied handlers unanimously agree to flip a coin instead of hunting in sudden death overtime. In this case the cast winner’s score would remain as it was when cast ended.

2. When severe weather breaks out, it is impossible to continue the hunt, and all handlers unanimously agree to flip a coin instead of hunting or waiting it out. In this case the cast winner’s score is zero and would be eligible for cast win earnings only, in Open Events with more than sixteen entries.

[Jerry Moll]