Three young carp anglers from Italy claimed the top prize at this year’s World Carp Classic Junior event in the Czech Republic, as organiser Angling Spirit hailed the inaugural edition of the competition as a huge success. The event was staged in close partnership with Jakub Vagner and his team.
14 teams representing 12 different nations descended on the picturesque and prolific carp fishing water of Lake Katlov – around 80km southeast of Prague – for a three-day fishing competition, which was heavily supported by major fishing tackle brands, national and international media and top named anglers.
The Italian Team took the title with a total weight of 49.4kg for their three heaviest fish, just ahead of the team representing the local hospital in second and the WCC Family team in third. As well as the prestige of winning the event and prizes from sponsors including Dynamite Baits, Mivardi, Wiley X and Spomb, the winning anglers will now go on to compete in the full World Carp Classic on Lac de Madine in France on September 19th to 26th.
The competition was fierce but good-natured between the young anglers, with each team assisted by a guardian, many of whom were top professional anglers. A huge amount of tackle and bait was supplied by major sponsors Mivardi and Dynamite Baits, including 46 bivvies, bedchairs and sleeping bags as well as rods and reels and bait for all competitors.
Competitors took part in a flag parade through the town of Kuntá Hora the day before the competition started where the archbishop of the Czech Republic blessed water from Lake Katlov in a special opening ceremony. A peg draw was completed at Saint Barbara’s Cathederal , before competitors were then transferred to the lake where the competition got underway. The sounding siren was initiated by Jakub Vagner and Angling Spirit owner Ross Honey as the anglers got on with the fishing. The event was covered by Czech national television and 18 different radio stations as well as a large gathering of print media.
As well as representing a chance for young anglers to experience a top level international competition, the event maintained organiser Angling Spirit’s commitment to promoting fishing in a positive light and doing good work in local communities through angling.
Angling Spirit’s Ross Honey explains: “Through the World Carp Classic Junior event a fund raising initiative was run to purchase much needed equipment for a hospital treating children with terminal cancer. Rather than give cash we will had an amount of money that we raised to purchase the equipment.
“The event was such a huge success, I have been overwhelmed by how well it came together. Support from the tackle industry, the local, national and international press and all the people here in the Czech Republic who helped make it happen have been fantastic. The event, which is so much more than just a fishing tournament, was a fantastic feel-good few days that provided many opportunities and did some great work for important causes. Thank you so much to everyone who helped make it possible.
“Myself and Jakub are already hugely excited about next year!”
Besides the overall winners prize, there were countless other prizes for competitors, all supplied by the generous sponsors from the fishing tackle industry. These included a prize for the biggest fish, won by Team England for a carp of 17.8kg and also a special Best Sportsmanship Award, which was won by young competitor from the Netherlands.
Ross explained: “After a freak fire accident with a faulty phone charger that resulted in him being taken to hospital with burns on his hand, he returned to the event and fished until the bitter end in great spirits. An act, which encapsulates everything this event, and Angling Spirit, is about.”
Extra information and resources for editors:
KEY STATS OF WCC JUNIOR EVENT
14 – teams
12 – countries represented
33 – carp caught
402.2kg – total weight of all fish caught
12.1kg – average carp weight
5 – fish over 15kg caught
17.8kg – biggest fish caught (Team England)
49.4kg – winning weight for Team Italy
FINAL LEADERBOARD: http://www.worldcarpclassic.com/wcc-2015-junior-leaderboard/
FULL LIST OF EVENT SPONSORS: http://www.worldcarpclassic.com/junior-event-sponsors-2015/
HIGH-RES IMAGE DOWNLOADS: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/5nkifqosmgf8sw8/AABFP9PQNFMT7ZTaGez2pUXQa?dl=0
About Angling Spirit
Angling Spirit is the operating company, which owns, organises and stages international events and environmental initiatives.
The ethos of Angling Spirit is to promote angling in a responsible manner; to organise and stage events with the betterment of angling as our focus. Our aim is to make a difference, responsibly, and we are very well aware of the fact that our status, not only in respect of the angling world, but in the eyes of the general public, places a significant onus upon us to ensure that angling is looked upon in a favourable light.
The current portfolio of events includes tournaments; the World Carp Classic, World Carp Classic Junior Event, World Predator Classic and environmental projects such as Friends of the Ebro.
Angling Spirit has created a marketing & promotional platform where companies can highlight and showcase important information on its events and involvement in other areas.
For more information, please contact:
Ross Honey
Tel: +44 2392 006 500
Email: ross@anglingspirit.com