Many people think that fishing is just a game. The idea that there are fishing competitions and that the participants in these competitions consider themselves as sportsmen is incomprehensible to them. I suggest you learn more about the surfcasting championships in France.
A national federation, like any other sport
The sport championship in France is governed by the Fédération Française des Pêches Sportives (FFPS). The FFPS is divided into several committees and each committee manages several disciplines. The surfcasting championship is present everywhere in France: the clubs organize local competitions and a regional championship and each year, a French championship takes place as well as a world championship.
The different world championships
If there are Youth, Duo or Master (for veterans) world championships, we will focus on the Senior and Ladies world championships (these are the official names). Each year, the FFPS sends 6 women and 6 men to compete in the World Surfcasting Championships. Each team is accompanied by a pair of captains and a federal representative also joins the French team to ensure the administration and logistics on site. Although these two championships take place in the same place and at the same time, they are two distinct competitions. Men and women don't really fish together, they have their own zones. Each championship results in an individual and a team ranking.
Be part of the TOP 40 and TOP 16 to have the opportunity to qualify
To have the honor of being part of the French team, anglers must show consistency and performance in the French championships to try to be among the 40 "best" men and 16 "best" women. These anglers then compete in a competition called the "Pre-selections". This competition is organized on the same model as a world championship in 4 rounds. For reasons of fairness, the bait is provided by the organization and each angler receives the same species and the same quantity of worms. The objective of each angler during a round is to finish the fishing after 4 hours with the largest mass of fish accumulated. This gives us a first ranking. The first one scores one point, the second one two points, etc. At the end of the 4 rounds, we accumulate the points scored by each angler and it is the 6 women and 6 men who have scored the least points that constitute the French team.
In the end, the road is quite long until we get the famous ticket offering us the opportunity to defend our colors at an international championship and every year, we must work to be part of the TOP 6! I have the honor to be a member of the French team since 2015 and it is with pleasure that I propose you to discover the functioning of a world championship in the following report.
