Observer Training trades hands

Observer Training trades hands © IGFA

The IGFA and the International Game Fish Tournament Observers (IGFTO) have recently come to an agreement that will benefit the two organizations, tournaments and billfish. The IGFTO was founded in 2009 and is a group of professional and amateur anglers that have been trained by the IGFA on proper billfish identification and the IGFA's International Angling Rules. The IGFTO supplies billfish tournaments around the world with these trained and insured observers to authenticate the catch and release of billfish and game fish during international big game fishing tournaments.

Yet despite being the liaison between observers and tournaments for nearly 10 years, the IGFTO had never assumed the role of planning and scheduling observer training courses – a responsibility that had remained with the IGFA. While the IGFA will continue to provide educational material on billfish identification and the International Angling Rules, moving forward the IGFTO will be in charge of planning and hosting all Observer Training Courses.

"The IGFA and the IGFTO have a long history of working together to support both tournaments and billfish," said IGFTO President Steve Hargett. "We look forward to many more years of collaboration and working together to educate and train tournament observers at the highest level."

The move is anticipated to increase the frequency in which training courses are held and the efficiency in which tournaments are provided with these trained observers. The IGFTO currently has two courses planned and will be announcing several new courses in the near future. Learn more about the IGFTO and their schedule of upcoming classes at igfto.org.