Industry news

SA are the World Carp Angling Champions — so...?

The South African Protea Carp Angling Team dealt the rest of the competition carp angling world a devastating blow in October last year when they emphatically won the 2008 World Carp Championships — by a margin unheard of before in the ten years that the World Championships have been held.

The victory is in itself a most noteworthy achievement, but off the sports field their magnificent performance could herald a new and most welcome change of attitude by government towards the so-called “lesser” sports. ANC president Jacob Zuma was moved, when presenting the ANC manifesto in January, to announce the party’s commitment to sport in the country. He noted (correctly) that South Africa was unified by achievements on the sports field, and singled out some recent achievements by South Africa, such as hosting the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup, that South Africa is the current world champions, and the achievements of the Para Olympic team in Beijing — and significantly that “we are the world champions in angling”!

For the competitive angling fraternity in the country this is heady stuff, and if the South African Sports Angling and Casting Confederation (SASACC) is alive to the opportunities this opens up, and is able to capitalize on it, then sport (competitive) angling across all its facets could soon become an even greater force than it is at present.

That the fishing conditions and venue of the world carp championships, the Bloemhof Dam in North West province, is well known to the local anglers does not diminish their achievement one little bit — when the South Africans travel to the European countries they face similar obstacles. What the venue did do however was to elevate the country town of Bloemhof and the dam that carries its name, and in turn South Africa, to the lofty status of one of the world’s “carp capitals”.

The performance of the South Africans was unprecedented in the ten-year history of the carp world championships (see box) and served to underline the country’s incredible potential as a carp fishing destination of note.

Indeed, many members of the visiting countries expressed a desire to return to South Africa and Bloemhof Dam, and indeed to expand their visit to take in the other tourist attractions that the country offers.

Such was the organisation of the world championships that the president of the International Confederation of Sport Angling — Freshwater, Professor Claudio Matteoli of Italy, was moved to publicly comment that it was one of the best organized world championships ever, a sentiment echoed by everyone that was there. The only negative factor – one that faces all amateur sport teams – is the costs of competitive angling in South Africa — not only for Protea teams who have to travel overseas, but also for overseas teams to come to South Africa. Aggravating the problem are the logistical problems presented by travel within the country. This was countered at the prize giving however by the South African Minister of Sport, Rev Dr Makhenkesi Stophile, who responded with: “How many trucks do you require?”

It is an unfortunate fact that tourism based on angling is still lagging far behind other attractions, but it is also a fact that whenever South Africa has hosted an international competition — as has the deep sea facet in the past — a new group of “South African enthusiasts” has been born. In the past however South Africa’s achievement has largely been determined merely by its participation, but the Bloemhof competition has heralded what possibly could be a totally new ball game.

There are far more carp anglers in the world than deep sea ones, particularly in Europe and the United Kingdom, but lest the different facets of sport angling become embroiled in totally unnecessary competition with another, it is well to remember that the country has so much to offer the visiting angling tourist that every single one stands to gain.

Following this victory it is logical that many of the 6 000 league bank anglers are now looking to upgrade to the competitive carp scene, simply because Protea colours are now only awarded to anglers to participate in recognized world championships. For the 1.5-m* social bank anglers there is the personal pride and satisfaction of knowing that when they tackle the banks over weekends and holidays in search of their elusive Personal Best carp, they are members of the country that is the world champion — a factor difficult to quantify but certainly one that cannot be ignored.

Both sectors are still vigorous consumers in the face of depressing economic conditions, with retailers who hold significant freshwater bank angling inventories reporting heavy demand over the past holiday season.

It is quite apparent that the supply side of the tackle industry, which aligns itself with competition carp angling, is sure to reap the benefits.