PONCA CITY, Okla. (Nov. 19, 2015) – The Bass Federation, FLW and the Student Angler Federation are pleased to announce the Table Rock Lake Chamber of Commerce and Kimberling City, Mo., will host the 2016 High School Fishing National Championship on April 16-17.
“We’re thrilled The Bass Federation, FLW and the Student Angler Federation have chosen Kimberling City on Table Rock Lake to host its National Championship events,” Executive Director of Table Rock Chamber of Commerce, Sheila Thomas, stated. “Our community is very excited to welcome these great organizations and all of their anglers next April.”
The High School National Championship is two full days of competition between the top twelve qualified high school anglers in the country and will run alongside two of the industry’s premier events. The full field will fish on Saturday, April 16 and the weigh in will be on the same stage as the final day of the largest grassroots fishing event in the nation, the 2016 TBF Federation National Championship. Both events will be held on Table Rock Lake launching out of Port of Kimberling in downtown Kimberling City. Then, the field will be cut for Sunday’s final round. The finalist will share the stage with the top pros in the nation at the nearby Walmart FLW Tour event and weigh-in at the FLW Expo at Prairie Creek Recreation Area in Rogers, Ark.
“Table Rock is unique in that it has something for everyone no matter what part of the US they call home,” TBF National President, Robert Cartlidge, said. “The nearby attractions are second to none; it’s a great place to host these championship events.”
High School Fishing National Championship qualifiers have fished through a state championship and one of five conference regional championships to earn the opportunity to compete for a $10,000 college scholarship. Last year was the first year to harness the excitement, glitz and glamour of the TBF’s Federation National Championship, an FLW Tour event and the High School National Championship all at once and it was a great success.
“We’re very excited to once again be partnering with FLW and Ranger boats to provide our SAF anglers with a unequaled and terrific championship event,” TBF National Youth Director, Mark Gintert, said. “Our success with last years’ event was unprecedented as all of our championship high school teams were provided matching Ranger boats to fish from and weighed in alongside two world class events. That’s something a high school angler could have only dreamed about a few short years ago!”
For more information about the Student Angler Federation, (SAF), visit highschoolfishing.org or call 580-765-9031. Look for SAF on Facebook at Facebook.com/hsfishing and on twitter at @hsfishing
For more information about the Table Rock area, contact Sheila Thomas, Table Rock Chamber, 417-739-2564. If you plan to travel in the months leading up to the event to practice, visit visittablerocklake.com for accommodation info. More information will be provided by TBF on lodging for the event itself.
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About TBF
The Bass Federation Inc. is the oldest and largest, organized grassroots angling organization in America. TBF is 100 percent owned by those it serves and is dedicated to the sport of fishing. TBF affiliated state federations and their member clubs conduct more than 20,000 fishing, youth and conservation events at the local level each year, and have provided the foundation for the entire bass fishing industry for nearly 45 years. For more information about TBF or High School Fishing visit bassfederation.com or highschoolfishing.org and look for us on Facebook and YouTube.
About FLW
FLW is the industry’s premier tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money nationwide in 2015 over the course of 240 tournaments across five tournament circuits, four of which provide an avenue to the sport’s richest payday and most coveted championship trophy – the Forrest Wood Cup. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show and is broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoors-sports television show in the world. For more information about FLW visit FLWFishing.com and look for FLW on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
