BoatUS Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship starts tomorrow
by Scott Croft 9 Jun 2020 17:07 UTC
June 10-11, 2020
The BoatUS Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship, starting tomorrow, signals a return to organized collegiate tournament fishing © CarecoTV LLC
The BoatUS Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops starts tomorrow, signaling a return to college bass fishing competition in the era of COVID-19. While competitors vie for the biggest bag of fish, social distancing measures are a new part of the action this year, with organizers setting up strict protocols to ensure a safe and successful tournament. Live action of the tourney is available at www.collegiatebasschampionship.com
"These young men and women are raring to go," said sponsor and BoatUS Vice President of Government Affairs Chris Edmonston. "Only one of the 25 top teams couldn't make it, which is a tribute to these students whose college experience was turned upside down by COVID-19. The 206 boats registered shows a big return to organized collegiate tournament fishing."
TowBoatUS will also be there to ensure all of competitors' boats make it back to weigh-in on time. "Fishing a tournament may be the worst time to have an on water breakdown, but TowBoatUS will be on the water ready to assist," added Edmonston. "One year we were able to get a team that had hit a stump and disabled their boat back to weigh-in just in the nick of time, and they won first place!"
The two-day event, now in its 15th year, comes near the end of the official 2019-2020 season for the Association of Collegiate Anglers, a division of Careco TV. While there are no entry fees, anglers will compete for a chance to win thousands of dollars in cash and prizes as well as earn points for the most prestigious title in all of college fishing, "School of the Year" — ultimate bragging rights for any college team.
For more information, go to collegiatebasschampionship.com.