NH High Schools Compete in Statewide Bass Fishing Tournament

CONTACT:
Jeffery T. Collins, NHIAA: (603) 228-8671
Kyle Glencross, NHFG: (603) 271-3212
September 12, 2018

CONCORD, NH — Students from around New Hampshire will be vying for top honors in a high school bass fishing tournament. Over thirty-five schools will participate in the qualifying tournament on Thursday, September 20, with teams meeting at Center Harbor on Lake Winnipesaukee. The top third of the schools from the qualifying round will progress to the state finals tournament to be held on Saturday, September 29, on Lake Sunapee. At the final tourney, a State Champion will be honored, and individual medals will be awarded for the largest total catch (eight fish maximum), for the largest largemouth bass landed, and for the largest smallmouth bass caught. The public is invited to attend this annual inter-school competition.

Since the student bass tournaments started in New Hampshire in 2013, bass fishing has become an increasingly popular high school sport. New Hampshire high school bass fishing tournaments are held in the fall of each year and are conducted by the New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association (NHIAA) with assistance from the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department and N.H. B.A.S.S. Nation.

The tournaments include a strong educational component. Teams include adult mentors who teach youth about New Hampshire’s aquatic resources and angler responsibility. In support of this mission, N.H. Fish and Game recently conducted a High School Bass Fishing Education Seminar for participants.

“It is exciting to see how enthusiastic the students are about fishing. I hope that the sport becomes a lifelong activity for many of them,” said Kyle Glencross, who coordinates the Fish and Game Department’s Let’s Go Fishing Program (www.fishnh.com/fishing/lets-go-fishing.html). Glencross serves on the NHIAA Bass Fishing Committee and provides logistical and volunteer support for the event on behalf of Fish and Game

Additional information about the tournament, and how schools and mentors can become involved, can be found on the NHIAA website at nhiaa.org.

The New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association is a private not-for-profit organization that has served as the leader of high school athletics for its member schools in New Hampshire since 1947. The student bass fishing tournament is in keeping with the NHIAA goals of adding sports that will have life-long appeal to student athletes and providing more sports that are co-ed and inclusive to all populations within our schools.