Simple Match Fishing Forum

25.09.13


The Angling Trust is delighted to announce a new £4,000 sponsorship deal with Thames Water and Severn Trent Water that will see both companies backing Angling Trust RiverFest 2013. The sponsorship will ensure that there is a prize pool of at least £24,000 available to anglers competing at the grand final, to be held on the River Wye on the 16th and 17th of November 2013. This is already the largest payout for a UK river match and could rise further to £26,000 if the remaining qualifiers sell out.

Both Thames Water and Severn Trent Water are the latest partners to contribute to the National Angling Strategy, which is bringing a wide range of organisations together to promote and improve angling. This sponsorship package is a sign of their commitment and support for match angling and river fishing in their respective regions.

Ben Thompson, National Competitions Manager for the Angling Trust said “Angling in this country has a rich tradition for match fishing on our natural waterways and we hope this competition will get our anglers back on the river banks. Our National Angling Strategy aims to get more anglers fishing more often and it’s fantastic that two of the biggest water companies recognise the importance of angling to many of their customers and its benefits for the health and social well-being of communities. The support received from Thames Water and Severn Trent Water will enhance RiverFest and ensure that this fantastic new competition is an attractive proposition for the numerous river match anglers throughout the country.”

Andy Parsons, Visitor Experience Business Manager for Severn Trent Water said “this is another great example of being able to balance the needs of the environment water supply whilst offering sporting and recreational opportunities for our customers. At Severn Trent Water, this is something that we look to do whenever possible. We are pleased to support the Angling Trust RiverFest 2013.”

Angling Trust Ambassador Dave Harrell who came up with the original idea for RiverFest 2013, said: “I am delighted that Thames Water and Severn Trent Water want to support the event and on behalf of all the anglers taking part, a very big thank you goes to both companies. The qualifiers have been tremendously well supported by anglers and it promises to be a fantastic final with the biggest ever individual river prize of £10,000 going to the winner!”

Will Barnard, Angling Development Manager for Thames Water said: “We value our involvement with the angling community and are pleased to support the Angling Trust RiverFest competition which has one of its qualifiers on the River Thames. It’s very important to us that the Thames, which provides the majority of the water we supply to our customers and receives treated effluent from many of our sewage treatment works, is also a productive venue for this exciting new competition.”

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS

The Angling Trust has today published a breakdown of the income and expenditure of the main national coarse angling competitions which have been completed in 2013. The Trust will provide a financial report for each competition when it is completed, and a breakdown of all competitions it runs in all disciplines as an appendix to the accounts which are made available to all members of the Trust by the 31st of July each year and presented at the Subscribing Members Association AGM. To download a copy of the report, please click HERE.
Angling Trust RiverFest 2013 is a brand new competition and will carry the biggest ever individual river competition first prize of £10,000, plus more big main list and section cash prizes in the final. Expert river match angler and Angling Trust Ambassador Dave Harrell has been working closely with the Angling Trust to develop this competition. Twenty qualifiers of up to 60 anglers on various river venues around the country will see three anglers from each match qualify for a two-day weight aggregate final on the fish rich River Wye at Hereford on the weekend of November 16th & 17th 2013.
The original prize pool of £24,000 was subject to all qualifiers being sold out, however not all of the first eight qualifiers sold out. The sponsorship by Thames Water and Severn Trent Water is a total of £4,000 and will be used entirely as prize money. If all remaining qualifiers were to sell out (qualifiers held after 28 September 2013) the prize pool would be £26,600 and the Angling Trust will increase the value of the main or section prizes and/or add additional places to the main prize list. At the date of this press release (based on ticket sales to date) the final prize pool is estimated to be £24,700. The Angling Trust costs for running this event and the 20 qualifiers will be no more than £6,000, which includes peg fees for the final days, trophies, printing, insurance and a contribution towards staff costs directly involved in this event. www.anglingtrust.net/riverfest2013
The Angling Trust is the unified National Governing Body for angling in England and represents all coarse, game and sea anglers and angling. The Angling Trust angling participation programme is supported by Sport England and the Environment Agency. Working with key partners, the Angling Trust aims to establish an infrastructure to increase participation in angling within England. This includes working alongside national, regional and local angling and non-angling organisations.
For further information contact: Talent Development & Senior Competitions Manager Ben Thompson 07854240177 ben.thompson@anglingtrust.net
Coarse Competitions Financial Breakdown
Contact: Angling Trust Eastwood House, 6 Rainbow Street, Leominster, Herefordshire HR6 8DQ
Tel: 0844 7700616 (For Membership enquiries select Option 1) | Fax: 0115 9061 251

Angling Trust duo Mark Lloyd and Martin Salter have just completed the rounds of party political conferences where they ensured that anglers’ messages were communicated right to the top of British politics. The Trust jointly organised, with the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC), three ‘rural receptions’ at the Conservative party conference in Manchester, at Labour’s Brighton bash and with the Liberal Democrats in Glasgow. More than 300 conference delegates, ranging from local councillors to government Ministers, attended the events.

Angling Trust Chief Executive Mark Lloyd said: “We believe there’s huge value in hosting these receptions jointly with our colleagues at BASC at the major party conferences each year because it is a vital way of getting our message heard and getting the political parties to put on record their support for angling. Ministers speaking at our events all referred to the millions of anglers who vote, the importance of angling to the economy and the role that anglers play protecting the water environment. These are all messages that the Angling Trust, as the unified representative body for all anglers, has managed to imprint on the core thinking of politicians in all the major parties. We want a situation where angling is always supported whoever wins the General Election and for anglers’ interests to be considered in the hundreds of policy decisions made each year which affect fish and fishing.”
The importance of angling and shooting was highlighted by Owen Paterson MP, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Speaking at the joint reception in Manchester Mr Paterson said:
“Everything that BASC and the Angling Trust do is slap bang in the middle of the DEFRA brief to grow the rural economy and improve the environment. We have a different view to the last Government, we have to manage the countryside and wildlife and we are not frightened about doing that.”

Addressing an audience at the Labour Conference Martin Salter, National Campaign Coordinator for the Angling Trust and a former Labour MP, outlined the close working relationship between the Angling Trust and BASC. He said that angling is a very popular recreational sport and its participants are passionate environmentalists whose sport depends on clean waterways and healthy marine fish stocks.
At the Conservative Conference Martin even managed to raise the issue of bass conservation and the need for a larger minimum landing size in a chance encounter with Prime Minister David Cameron which saw them comparing notes on their separate unsuccessful bass fishing trips to Cornwall.

Martin Salter said:
“Thanks to having a strong, professional and unified voice angling is now in the happy place where senior politicians of all parties willingly line up to extol the virtues of our sport and the contribution it makes to both the economy and the environment. This represents a sea change from where we were ten years ago and shows how important it is that we remain united. We can only afford to attend these events because of our growing army of members and donors that provide the funding for us to make the case for angling to politicians.”

Other issues raised with senior politicians included:
• The Secretary of State for the Environment Owen Paterson about dredging and cormorants
• The Government Chief Whip Sir George Young and the Lib Dem Rural Affairs Minister David Heath about hydropower
• The Lib Dem Parliamentary Under Secretary for Wales Baroness Randerson about canoeing in Wales
• The Shadow Fisheries minister Barry Gardiner about the Severn barrage

Other issues raised ?

What about ripping off and taking the p!ss out of match anglers and fiddling the books issues ?

As usual, anything to do with the angling trust is a bag of man balls 

They are unreal I get the impression they think they are the dogs bollo#ks
The job they are doing is killing te and match fishing

This represents a sea change from where we were ten years ago and shows how important it is that we remain united. We can only afford to attend these events because of our growing army of members and donors that provide the funding for us to make the case for angling to politicians.”

Maybe thats where all the money goes  Instead of going back into the sport, its paying for AT bigwigs to attend Political party conferences. When have politicians ever been interested in our sport.

What do the AT think they are going to achieve cow towing to politicians at conferences 

yes you're about right MrV i'd love to get issued with a Angling Trust credit card it must be bottomless

Thankfully, no longer are they doing it in my name. Until the balance is redressed in terms of the cessation of fleecing match anglers to prop-up the rest of their operations, they ain't getting a single copper coin off me for individual membership. Granted, part of my subs to two local Associations go towards AT affiliation, but that's how anglers should be represented in my opinion.

As there is in football in this country, there is a pyramid in fishing. The trouble is, the AT see it with the sharp bit at the bottom.

Addressing an audience at the Labour Conference Martin Salter, National Campaign Coordinator for the Angling Trust and a former MP


Say no crappity smacking more!!! Wonder what salary hes on ?¿?

Not to mention EXPENSES     


The majority of MPs can't sleep straight in crappity smackin bed........

Seriously can't see anything ever changing if you speak out it looks like your the bad guy .The money side at the A/Ts doesn't seem to both the big names as they are not willing to speak out why I don't know unless sponsors pay there pools so everyone will be happy paying the same next year ???

Sorry guys ..... Wake up and smell the coffee ..... This is actually a good use of our money.

Unfortunately lobbying politicians does work and there are other vested interests such as canoeists and bird-lovers who have significant war chests to invest in campaigns that will be to the detriment of anglers on natural waters.

It's a dirty world out there and we have to play in it or we'll get trampled on. Moral high ground is not impregnable.

Sorry guys ..... Wake up and smell the coffee ..... This is actually a good use of our money.

Unfortunately lobbying politicians does work and there are other vested interests such as canoeists and bird-lovers who have significant war chests to invest in campaigns that will be to the detriment of anglers on natural waters.

It's a dirty world out there and we have to play in it or we'll get trampled on.  Moral high ground is not impregnable.

Absolutely agree  always good to make political "noises "or seem to be    we still have crappity smacking millions of cormorants eating prime stocks of fish day in day out after years of making "noises" to MPs so obviously falling on deaf ears whilst the "expenses" rack up 

£4,000 sponsorship deal ?   small potatoes / peanuts !   

Understand ATs has to get the messge accross...however surely hobnobbing at numerous high society functions is NOT nessary.  

Try getting back to grass roots

Hows about ATs big wigs engaging more with the environment agency,local planning councils  and land owners/angling clubs...with a view to opening up more access to rivers and canals.

Now thats where I would prefer a portion of my membership and match entry fee monies going!!!!