Master Angler Comp

i know that no one can wave a magic wand, but, with most of the high participant sports in ireland, are the international teams not sponsored etc and basically travel places FOC?

surely if the governments were to see the economic benefit to the island that sea angling brings that they could find some money somewhere to help out the federation on the world stage?

im sure roy keane or brian o'driscoll have never had to put their hands in their pockets to travel to a world cup....

surely some of the big companies who benefit from sea anglers in ireland could help out via team sponsorships?

the killer for many is the fact that they pay a lot of money during the year to qualify for the masters, then they pay a lot of money to enter the masters, then they pay a lot of money to stay etc at the masters, then they have another weekend to go to with the new fish off pool(more expense) then they have to pay roughly 1000 euro a head to go with the team to the world championships if they qualify, then the spending money on top of that while they are away...
notice anything in all that.......a lot of money going out with zero coming back in for your efforts, even you were to win the world championships at the end of it all!!! not that i am suggesting that u want to make a national team to make money, just trying to outline the expense involved.
this is where team sponsorship is essential as far as i am concerned.

well, i havent yet done it but it would be interesting just to sit down and work it all out financially, i bet it would be scary.

The reason that the Irish team dont get the corporate sponsorship they really need to save the anglers pocket is as simple as this.THEY JUST ARENT GOOD ENOUGH. The current system that is in its infacy might bring the best anglers in Ireland to the top but then the question is ARE THEY GOOD ENOUGH.
the other thing is that most of the best anglers i know in the country are not team players and would probably do their utmost for individual glory rather than team performance

Fairly rought points Codfather........

I think sponsorship is very important, and I'm sure a lot of effort has gone into trying to get some sponsorship and it must be sh!te for those involved to have to fork out all the time.

I hope at some stage something can be worked out for the betterment of the Irish team. I think some lobbying of the Goverment for funding is the way to go and I'm sure this has already been done, but we'll have to keep at it.

We have a long way to go, but hopefully we'll get there soon.

Kev

First of all my name is Pio Enright and I was a member of the 2006 World Boat Angling Team in Portugal.Also these opinions are my own and in no way am I speaking on behalf of any other team member.The posts registered are someway inaccurate in that first of all only Heiko had fished Portugal 2 Years previously. As for the post that this team contained only two good anglers then all I can say is you are entitled to your opinion be it wrong or right.I personally am proud of the efforts and achievements of this TEAM that competed and would be proud to fish again with each member who gave 100% commitment. Each member of that team is an excellent angler,after all I SHOULD KNOW,I SPENT 12 DAYS WITH THEM! We finished 10th and with more experience and a knowledge of the rules which we found impossible to obtain prior to the competition then I am certain that if the bulk of this team fished France in 2009 then a bronze is the least we would expect to achieve.As regarding the Finance the total cost to each team member including Quiver Tip Rods etc amounted to €3,500 approximately. And yes the effort made prior to our departure was unique to any boat team but which has to be repeated if results are to be achieved. Sorry about late reply but was only alerted to this debate tonight as I did not expect to read this about the Boat team on the Shore Q&A Forum.If any body has personal insults to make about me personally I have no problem letting them be posted.

Hi Pio,

This discussion was primarily based on the problems with the selection process for the Irish Team (Master Angler shore comp) Although it did start with someone asking about the dates as Ivan pointed out.

There was some heated debate with some eejit throwing around insults here and there and he was banned from the site. We do like a little debate but no nonsense.

On the point of Heiko, someone just gave him some congratulations on his performance in Portugal. The boat team was also commended on their preparation and someone wished the shore angling team would do likewise.

We were not debating the boat team directly, but commending some of your work before Portugal.

I hope that helps clear up a few things for you.

Lastly, Welcome to the site Pio, it is a pleaseure to have someone with your fishing knowledge contribute here. I hope you keep posting.

Tight Lines,

Kev