FishOMania 2024 weighing statement

FishOMania is the pinnacle of commercial coarse competition angling and in its 31^st year is Sky Sports’ longest-running, continuous sporting event with a following of anglers and non-anglers alike watching the drama unfold live.

A formal request for a re-weigh came from one of the anglers in the top three and his bankrunner at the close of the FishOMania 2024 final at Westwood Lakes. The request was discussed and the decision to reweigh agreed by the Angling Trust team and CEO of Matchroom Multi Sport, the owners of the event. It was supported by the Sky TV experts presenting.

With just 100g difference between two anglers and £50,000 at stake, with a direct request lodged by one of the anglers in the top three it was felt important to ensure clarity and give confidence to everyone that the correct final order had been achieved.

The reweigh of the top three confirmed the winner, second, and third placed anglers were correct.

Ultimately, the integrity of the result is the most important element of FishOMania, and this experience has proved that our processes are robust. FishOMania is unique, there are 250 weigh-ins across five hours with live cameras focusing upon scales which take time to settle. These scales take time to find the correct weight and then hold – an icon displays and at that point the weight it recorded by the steward and signed for by the bank runner of the angler in question. With weigh-ins every 30 minutes for the benefit of television it is impractical to use the same equipment to weigh in all 25 anglers. All equipment is checked in advance of the final to ensure the integrity of every weigh-in.

It is important to understand that fish which are kept in keepnets can lose weight during the period of a match. Whilst not always visible on camera, all scales are zeroed with a wetted sling by experienced stewards from our colleagues in the Army angling team. All stewards are briefed in advance of the event and tasked to follow the same protocol for every weigh in.

We acknowledge that human error is always possible and in the first round of weigh-ins one angler was weighed in imperial rather than metric setting on the digital scales. This was identified, was re-weighed within minutes, and was agreed, signed for, and confirmed by the anglers, stewards and bank-runner impacted.

A re-weigh had not occurred before at a FishOMania final. We respect our anglers and their wishes and took a decision to agree to the request for a re-weigh which confirmed the result.

We will now work with our partners at Matchroom Multi Sport and will seek consultation with anglers who support the competition to review our final rules to ensure clarity for all in the future of this phenomenal event.

FishOMania is the most exciting competition in angling. Congratulations to David Shires on his victory and thank you for all of the positive messages of support on what was an incredibly exciting final.

Should any experienced competition organisers wish to help to support future FishOMania finals then please contact [email protected]