I kind of thought it was a joke a couple of months ago when a group of people came before the school board at the public school district where I work. It was one of their regular meetings and during the public comments section someone got up and started talking about a bass fishing club.
I seriously think I grew up around the wrong time because although I went to a fairly rural school district many years ago, being able to fish as an actual sport was never a possibility.
Apparently, these days it is!
As you can tell from the tiny little perch I caught a couple of summers ago, I may have not been the best bass fisherman anyway.
After a bit of discussion, it as eventually decided that our district would create a bass fishing team so students can compete in many of the events that are held across the state. The district I work for is right near the shores of Lake Huron, so it isn't very surprising that fishing is a big deal for many of these kids.
It's pretty crazy the way sports in general have expanded over the past couple of decades. Some of those fringe activities that people never would have considered sports are starting to take the limelight. Disc Golf, Men's Volleyball, and Fishing teams are popping up all across the state.
I've actually looked into starting a disc golf club here, but the closest course is quite a ways away and the property the district owned where we might have built one was recently clear cut. A couple open holes is fine, but you don't want all of them to be like that!
A quick Google Search will show you that there are circuits and federations all across the US where students can compete to be master anglers. There's actually a lot of money in tournaments these days. I occasionally find myself watching some of the angling tournaments when they are on ESPN 2 Sunday morning.
I never would have even guessed that something like this is available at the HS level though. Actually, not just High School, but Middle School as well.
What do you think of this? Do you have a fishing club at your local school district? I bet they have a bunch of them down south.
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