Teams from all walks of life
The world surfcasting championships are frequently held in Europe. In fact, most of the participating teams come from the old continent. These championships are a great opportunity to discover new playgrounds such as Melilla (Spanish enclave in North Africa), Portugal, Ireland, South Africa, Wales and even France (list of countries where the championships have been held in recent years). Every year, nations from all over the world meet. There are on average 12 women's teams and 18 men's teams.
An early arrival to get to know the terrain better
Most of the teams arrive on the place of the championship a few days in advance in order to be able to discover the fishing areas, previously announced on the leaflet published by the organizing country. So we have some unofficial training days. This is the moment for the teams to check if the rigs prepared in France are efficient or not. They are also essential to work on the preparation of baits that we are not used to use in France. After each training session, the team debriefs, shares its results of the day, its analysis and we decide what to try the next day.
Then comes the beginning of the championship with its protocol!
The course of a world championship
The championship is not officially opened until after the parade and the playing of all the teams' national anthems. Then the draw follows, assigning each angler a fishing spot. There are 5 fishing areas per championship. These areas are called "zones": from A to E. In each sector, there is a member of each team. Indeed, we start with 6 competitors but there are only 5 anglers in action at each round and the 6th, the "substitute", accompanies the captains to follow the results of the team during the round and relay information. This substitute can fish the next day in case one of the team members is not in good health or does not manage to adapt to fishing, does not find solutions quickly enough.
You will have understood, a world championship, it is prepared! But the organization is not everything. I invite you to read the rest of this report to go even further in the discovery of this international event.
