TBF Student Angler Federation (SAF) Announces 2020 High School State Championships and Sanctioned Fishing Schedule.
PONCA CITY, OK (Oct 9, 2019) – The Bass Federation’s Student Angler Federation (SAF) announced today the 2020 High School Fishing sanctioned schedule. Offering more opportunity than ever before including 48 SAF High School Fishing State Championships, 2 Open Challenge events, including the Bass Pro Shops/ Cabela’s Early Bird Open Challenge event, 13 state high school athletic association sanctioned tournaments, up to 15 Bass Pro shops FLW High School Fishing Opens (TBA by our partners in fishing at FLW) and the pinnacle event in all of high school fishing the 11th annual High School Fishing World Finals and National Championship. Available dates/locations are listed below and on the website at www.highschoolfishing.org .
In 2020 across all SAF sanctioned events, we expect more than 35,000 participants in the SAF High School Fishing program and just between the TBF and FLW major events there will be 76 tournaments in which to compete plus hundreds of other events through local SAF sanctioned trails.
“As the founders of the National High School fishing movement in 2007, we immediately seen reaction to getting young people outdoors and the rapid growth potential with parents embracing the concept nationwide at our first High School Fishing World Finals in 2010. We are proud to have had our partners in fishing at FLW be the very first to join us in the High School arena. Together in 2011, we rolled out events in every state and Canada to provide more fishing opportunities for more high school students than anyone else in the world,” said TBF President Robert Cartlidge. “For us High School fishing was and is not about fishing for money, which is why TBF/SAF nor FLW charges any entry fees at our High School events and we do not pay cash to student anglers. It is also not about getting students sponsorships or patches on their jerseys. The core mission is about education through fishing, earning prizes and scholarships and getting young people into the outdoors. We will continue to jointly push the programs forward to accomplish those goals.”
TBF/SAF and FLW will continue advancement opportunities with 1 in 10 teams from each TBF and/or FLW State Championship, Challenge or Open event earning a spot in the National Championship and ALL SAF members world-wide are eligible to compete in the High School Fishing World Finals where in 2019 High School Fishing World Finals and National Championship offered a record $2.8 Million in College scholarship and prizes up for grabs giving the maximum amount student anglers the best shot ever for a college scholarship, technical or trade school education.
Additionally, High School anglers who win a SAF state championship and are 16 years old or older(one or both team members) will be offered a High School TBF Living The Dream package, a TBF sponsorship for a year to include: fully paid ADULT TBF\FLW competitor membership, advancement opportunity to represent their home state in a TBF National Semi-Finals as a co-angler, with fully paid entry fees! From there, the sky is the limit, they could qualify for the TBF Federation National Championship or beyond! Check it all out at HighSchoolFishing.org.
2020 11th Annual High School World Finals / National Championship:
June 23-27 Upper Mississippi River LaCrosse, WI.
2021 12th Annual High School World Finals / National Championship:
June TBA Lake Hartwell Anderson, SC.
2020 Season SAF High School Fishing State Championships:
Nov. 23, 2019 Utah State Championship – Sand Hollow Hurricane, UT
Feb. 1, 2020 Florida State Championship – Harris Chain Tavares, FL
Feb. 1 Texas State Championship – Lake O the Pines Marshall, TX
Feb. 16 Louisiana State Championship – Toledo Bend Many, LA
Feb. 22 South Carolina State Championship – Lake Hartwell Anderson, SC
March 1 Georgia State Championship – Lake Lanier Gainesville, GA
March 8 Arkansas State Championship – Lake Dardanelle Russellville, AR
March 21 North Carolina State Championship – High Rock Lake Salisbury, NC
March 22 Nevada State Championship – Lake Mead Boulder City, NV
March 28 Kentucky State Championship – Lake Cumberland Burnside, KY
March 29 Mississippi State Championship – Lake Ross Barnett Jackson, MS
March 21 Washington State Championship – Lake Washington Renton, WA
April 4 Virginia State Championship – Lake Gaston Bracy, VA
April 5 Alabama State Championship – Neely Henry Gadsden, AL
April 11 Tennessee State Championship – Lake Chickamauga Dayton, TN
April 25 Arizona State Championship – Lake Havasu Havasu City, AZ
April 25 Kansas State Championship – Lake Melvern Osage City, KS
May 2 Oregon State Championship – Ten Mile Lake Lakeside, OR
May 2 Ohio State Championship – Alum Creek State Park Delaware, OH
May 3 California State Championship – Cal Delta Oakley, CA
May 3 Oklahoma State Championship – Grand Lake Grove, OK
May 3 West Virginia State Championship – Sutton Lake Sutton, WV
May 9 Idaho State Championship – Lake Lowell Caldwell, ID
May 9 Illinois State Championship – Rend Lake TBA
May 30 Indiana State Championship – Brookville Lake Brookville, IN
May 30 Tri State Championship (MA,RI,CT) – Quaboag Brookfield, MA
June 6 Maine State Championship – Little Sebago Lake Windam Town, ME
June 6 Nebraska State Championship – Red Willow Reservoir McCook, NE
Aug. 15 Wisconsin State Championship – Lake Waubefa Madison, WI
July 7 Minnesota State Championship – Lake Minnetonka Wayzata, MN
July 11 Ontario State Championship – Georgian Bay Waubaushene, ON
July 12 Quad State Championship (PA,DE,MD,NJ) – NE Rvr Upper Chesapeake North East, MD
July 19 Vermont State Championship – Lake Champlain Colchester, VT
July 19 South Dakota State Championship – Enemy Swim Lake Webster, SD
July 25 Michigan State Championship – Lake St Clair Harrison Township, MI
Sept. 12-13 New York State Championship – Great Sacandaga Lake Northville, NY
Sept. 27 Colorado State Championship – Lake Pueblo Pueblo, CO
Oct. 4 New Hampshire State Championship – Lake Winnipesaukee Alton, NH
2020 SAF High School Fishing Challenges\Open Events:
Jan. 25, 2020 Bass Pro Shops/Cabela’s Georgia Early Bird Challenge – Clarks Hill Evans, GA
Oct. 10 New Hampshire Open – Lake Champlain Fort Ticonderoga, NY
2020 Bass Pro Shops FLW High School Fishing Opens: (TBA)
2020 State Athletic Association Events: (Qualified teams only)
Feb. 29 GAPPS Qualifier – Lake Lanier Gainesville, GA
March 7 LHSAA Reg 2 Regional Championship – Toledo Bend Many, LA
March 14 LHSAA Reg 1 Regional Championship – Ouachita River Monroe, LA
March 14 LHSAA Reg 3 Regional Championship – Atchafalaya Basin Berwick, LA
March 14 LHSAA Reg 4 Regional Championship – Bayou Segnette Westwego, LA
March 21 GAPPS Finals Championship – TBA TBA
March 28 MissHSAA Mississippi Activities Association – Lake Ross Barnett Jackson, MS
April 3-4 LHSAA State Finals – Cross Lake Shreveport, LA
April 25 KHSAA Reg 1 Regional Championship – Lake Barkley Kuttawa, KY
April 25 KHSAA Reg 2 Regional Championship – Lake Cumberland Jamestown, KY
April 25 KHSAA Reg 3 Regional Championship – Green River Lake Campbellsville, KY
April 25 KHSAA Reg 4 Regional Championship – Cave Run Lake Salt Lick, KY
May 8-9 KHSAA State Finals – Kentucky Lake Calvert City, KY
GAPPS – Georgia Athletics Private Parochial School
LHSAA – Louisiana High School Athletics Association
MissHSAA – Mississippi High School Activities Association
KHSAA – Kentucky High School Athletics Association
Additional SAF events are being added for the latest events line up, visit HighSchoolFishing.org.
Complete rules are available at HighSchoolFishing.org and FLWFishing.com
Registration for the 2020 season state championships and challenge events Opens November 11, 2020 at HighSchoolFishing.org . For SAF High School Fishing State Championships, each team must compete in the state in which their school is located. Teams from all states can compete in a SAF challenge event or a FLW High School Fishing Open tournament. Entries for all State Championships, SAF Challenge events or State Athletic Association events should be made at HighSchoolFishing.org or by calling TBF at (580) 765-9031, entries for FLW Open HS events should be made at Flwfishing.com or by call 272-252-1000. There is no limit to the number of teams accepted into a tournament from each school or club except per State Athletic Association rules and those events only.
All FLW and TBF High School Fishing tournaments are free to enter there is no event entry fees. The tournaments are two-person (team) events for students in grades 9-12 (one members of each team can be 7th or 8th) and open to any SAF-affiliated high school club.
About The Bass Federation
The Bass Federation Inc., (TBF) is a member of the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame. TBF is owned by those we serve and dedicated to the sport of fishing. The Federation is the largest and oldest, organized grassroots fishing, youth and conservation organization there is. TBF, our affiliated state federations and their member clubs conduct more than 20,000 events each year and have provided a foundation for the entire bass fishing industry for more than 50 years. TBF founded the Student Angler Federation and the National High School Fishing program in 2007 to promote clean family fun and education through fishing and are proud partners in fishing with FLW. Visit bassfederation.com or highschoolfishing.org and “LIKE US” on Facebook.
