The official training round
This first round takes place in the real conditions of the 4 official rounds to follow and it allows the organization to check that its timing is good and that each stage of the day is going as planned. All the anglers participate in this round, with the baits that have been provided to them just before the fishing. A ranking is even generated following these first 4 hours but these results will then be reset to zero the following day, the day the first official round takes place.
The no-kill
The FIPS-M (Fédération Internationale de la Pêche Sportive - Mer), the federation that governs the world championships of the sea disciplines, has instituted no-kill in its championships. Thus, each catch is released. Stewards are present on the fishing grounds and measure the fish after the angler has put it in his bucket filled with water, cast the next line and released the fish from the hook. The stewards then measure the catch according to the established rules and note the species and size of the fish on a card in the angler's name. At the choice of the organization, the fish are counted for their length or for their weight. Thus, if the weight is taken into account, a conversation table will allow to translate the length into weight. At the end of the round, the cumulated length or the cumulated weight of the angler's catches will allow to constitute a classification by sector at first and then for the round.
The constitution of the classification
For example, if there are 12 nations participating in the championship, there will be 12 anglers per sector and these 12 anglers will be ranked from 1st to 12th in a sector, A for example. Then we compare the 1st of the sectors A, B, C, D and E and we rank them again according to the weight or the cumulated length. This gives us the ranking of run 1 from rank 1 to 5. Then the 2nd of the 5 sectors will be ranked from 6th to 10th and so on.
Then, each of the individual rankings is taken into account for the calculation of the rankings by nation: the 4 best individual results of a team are cumulated and this allows to rank the nations.
Each round has its own ranking independent of the results of the previous rounds, but each individual place and each nation's place are accumulated until the 4th round and give the final rankings and access to the team and individual podiums.
As you can see, it is not only a question of luck. If indeed the fishing spots of the participants are randomly assigned, it is necessary to show consistency among the best throughout the championship. And to achieve this, analysis, adaptation and team spirit are essential.
