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214 IHSA schools register for inaugural Bass Fishing tournament
The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) has announced that 214 schools will compete in the inaugural IHSA Bass Fishing State Series during the spring of 2009.
“The registration of 214 schools for bass fishing greatly exceeded our expectations for the first season of this activity,” said IHSA Executive Director Marty Hickman. “The
groundswell of support from our membership reinforces the decision that our Board of Directors made in choosing to sponsor bass fishing and we believe that these numbers
will only continue to grow.”
The IHSA became the first state high school association in the country to sponsor a state championship in bass fishing when the IHSA Board of Directors voted to approve the
Terms and Conditions for the Bass Fishing State Series on June 9, 2008.
All of the IHSA’s 775 member schools were eligible to field a bass fishing team, which required them to register by the Nov. 1 deadline. All registered teams will participate in
sectional tournaments, which are scheduled for April 24. The IHSA expects action to unfold at between 10 and 12 sectional sites, with four-to-five teams per sectional advancing
to the state finals on Carlyle Lake on May 8-9. Teams are allowed two boats per school, with two participants fishing per boat at a time during state series competition. In the
state series, winners will be determined based on the combined weights of up to five fish per boat.
“Since day one, we have said that the goal of this program is to reach kids who normally would not participate in other IHSA sports and activities,” said IHSA Bass Fishing
Administrator Dave Gannaway. “Things started a little slow, but in my mind I had always been shooting for 200 teams and was thrilled to see us reach and exceed that number.”
Ironically, the registration of Fisher High School in Fisher, pushed the overall number to the 200-school plateau. District 12, which encompasses Peoria and the surrounding
area, was the leader with 18 schools participating, followed by 17 schools in District 6 (Lake, McHenry, Boone Counties). Joliet (Twp.) was the largest school entering a bass
fishing team and DeLand-Weldon the smallest with respective enrollments of 5,555 and 60.
Riverton and Tri-City are among the 214 schools, while Williamsville is not.
Riverton is set to approve the participation at the December board meeting.
Principal Bill Lamkey noted that a couple of students came to him and showed interest.
Superintendent Tom Mulligan added that any time students are participating in an extracurricular activity, that is a good thing.
On the Tri-City side, the participation is scheduled to be approved by the school board this week.
Tony Wilson is expected to be the coach; he is a member of a bass fishing club that will work closely with the school.
According to T-C Athletic Director Erich Schleicher, about 10 students have expressed interest in competing.
Since there was no IHSA-incurred cost, Schleicher and T-C superintendent Dave Bruno thought it would be a good idea.
“We felt it was a great opportunity (for our students),” said Schleicher.
Williamsville Athletic Director Doug Furlow noted that the timing for the school district was not optimal, since the district is battling, with some success, a financial crisis.
“I am certain we would not think about adding more sports at this point in time,” Furlow commented.
The number of teams could still continue to grow, as other schools have already expressed interest in paying the late fee to add a bass fishing team after the deadline.
The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) has announced that 214 schools will compete in the inaugural IHSA Bass Fishing State Series during the spring of 2009.
“The registration of 214 schools for bass fishing greatly exceeded our expectations for the first season of this activity,” said IHSA Executive Director Marty Hickman. “The
groundswell of support from our membership reinforces the decision that our Board of Directors made in choosing to sponsor bass fishing and we believe that these numbers
will only continue to grow.”
The IHSA became the first state high school association in the country to sponsor a state championship in bass fishing when the IHSA Board of Directors voted to approve the
Terms and Conditions for the Bass Fishing State Series on June 9, 2008.
All of the IHSA’s 775 member schools were eligible to field a bass fishing team, which required them to register by the Nov. 1 deadline. All registered teams will participate in
sectional tournaments, which are scheduled for April 24. The IHSA expects action to unfold at between 10 and 12 sectional sites, with four-to-five teams per sectional advancing
to the state finals on Carlyle Lake on May 8-9. Teams are allowed two boats per school, with two participants fishing per boat at a time during state series competition. In the
state series, winners will be determined based on the combined weights of up to five fish per boat.
“Since day one, we have said that the goal of this program is to reach kids who normally would not participate in other IHSA sports and activities,” said IHSA Bass Fishing
Administrator Dave Gannaway. “Things started a little slow, but in my mind I had always been shooting for 200 teams and was thrilled to see us reach and exceed that number.”
Ironically, the registration of Fisher High School in Fisher, pushed the overall number to the 200-school plateau. District 12, which encompasses Peoria and the surrounding
area, was the leader with 18 schools participating, followed by 17 schools in District 6 (Lake, McHenry, Boone Counties). Joliet (Twp.) was the largest school entering a bass
fishing team and DeLand-Weldon the smallest with respective enrollments of 5,555 and 60.
Riverton and Tri-City are among the 214 schools, while Williamsville is not.
Riverton is set to approve the participation at the December board meeting.
Principal Bill Lamkey noted that a couple of students came to him and showed interest.
Superintendent Tom Mulligan added that any time students are participating in an extracurricular activity, that is a good thing.
On the Tri-City side, the participation is scheduled to be approved by the school board this week.
Tony Wilson is expected to be the coach; he is a member of a bass fishing club that will work closely with the school.
According to T-C Athletic Director Erich Schleicher, about 10 students have expressed interest in competing.
Since there was no IHSA-incurred cost, Schleicher and T-C superintendent Dave Bruno thought it would be a good idea.
“We felt it was a great opportunity (for our students),” said Schleicher.
Williamsville Athletic Director Doug Furlow noted that the timing for the school district was not optimal, since the district is battling, with some success, a financial crisis.
“I am certain we would not think about adding more sports at this point in time,” Furlow commented.
The number of teams could still continue to grow, as other schools have already expressed interest in paying the late fee to add a bass fishing team after the deadline.
Issue Date: Nov. 13, 2008
