Angling Trust 2024 National Coarse Competitions Overview

Angling Trust Head of Competitions Steve Fitzpatrick reveals the highs and lows of the National Championships in 2024, including insight into the finances of the 12 events staged this season.

Match angling is remarkable. There are few, if any, other sports which offer the opportunity for people from all backgrounds and abilities to mix and compete against each other on a National scale.

You can’t share a pitch with Messi or Ronaldo, play a round with Rory McIlroy, or go head-to-head in a rugby scrum with Joe Marler. But in fishing, you can stand shoulder to shoulder with World Champions and true legends of our sport almost every weekend – and beat them too!

This year’s National Championships calendar highlighted the fact that even the biggest teams and anglers don’t always get it their own way.

That’s not taking anything away from those who did walk away with a clutch of medals, prizes, and pools, far from it, but anyone who didn’t fish because ‘it’s the same old people winning all the time’ really did miss out.

And what a season to be involved in the Nationals! While we can’t control whether a fish wants to have a munch on the day we stage a match (or the weather!) I feel that the factors which were within our control reached the ‘gold standard’ the Competitions Team strive to achieve each time.

This year we improved our communication channels, the transparency of our prizes and payouts, and made huge leaps with our match booklets with greater depth, more information, and digital, interactive maps. We also aimed to deliver them much earlier in advance of our matches to aid traveling, practicing, and booking accommodation.

One angler remarked at the end of the Division 1 on the Leeds-Liverpool Canal that the event was ‘the National that all other Nationals will be measured against in the future – it was the best organised and delivered in the 30-plus years I’ve been fishing and running matches’.

It was praise indeed, but it’s the standard we set ourselves for all the Nationals we run, whether they involve 50 or 500 anglers. The key to this ‘gold standard’ we strive for within the Competitions Team is due to a team of six who go the extra miles and have the support of amazing local organisers and their clubs. These ‘boots on the ground’ are the local heroes which make fishing an event on the other side of the country a positive experience.

Trevor Smith at Wigan DAA and Paul Caygill on the Yorkshire canals were the key figures behind our largest Nationals in 2024 – Division 1, Division 2, Feeder, and Individual – and really put a shift in to ensure every angler was looked after.

Likewise with the teams behind the fisheries we visited for all our Nationals on commercial stillwaters – Lindholme Lakes, Partridge Lakes, Tunnel Barn Farm, and Marston Fields – all pulled out the stops.

And, to all those who helped by organising, stewarding, weighing in, and also positively supporting our competitions through their own media channels we owe you a huge debt of thanks – you were brilliant!

It’s not only the people behind the scenes who I must pay a sincere thanks to. The most important people are all the anglers who make the competitions what they are.

Many of those anglers are supported by grassroots club coaches, managers, and of course parents who can’t be thanked enough for helping to introduce, teach, and inspire.

We’re not resting on our laurels – there is always room for improvement – and with your support we can continue to ensure our Nationals remain the Blue Riband events in the match calendar.

RELIVE AN AMAZING SEASON

We’ve also upped the volume and quality of our media coverage of all our Nationals this season – highlighting the heroes behind the events alongside the many team and individual winners of our competitions.

Our YouTube channel has grown rapidly this year and there are now playlists of videos for you to enjoy from all our major competitions. Check it out here…

https://www.youtube.com/@anglingtrustcompetitions

READY FOR 2025 AND BEYOND

So what’s in store for 2025 and beyond? Well, those keen-eyed anglers out there will have seen that we’ve recently published our match calendars for 2025, 2026, and 2027.

We’ve been working behind the scenes with some of the country’s most forward-looking clubs and organisers over the past 12 months to increase the diversity of the venues which host our Nationals and domestic competitions, and that’s evident in our plans for the next few years. If you haven’t seen it yet, you can find the full calendar here…

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS 2025-2027

Selecting National venues isn’t an easy task. The number of natural waters capable of hosting 500 anglers for example with good quality fishing, easy access, and safe pegs are decreasing year on year.

But there’s also the human factor – it takes a lot of effort on behalf of the local organisers and clubs to ensure that these matches, along with opportunities for anglers and teams to practice, can still be staged on their waters to the criteria we set.

In the next few years, this task isn’t going to get any easier either, and plans are already being formulated to evolve our longest-standing competitions and make them more future-proof without losing the magic of the Nationals many anglers love to experience each season.

There are also plans underway to expand the National events we run with several new launches set for 2025, offering more opportunities for anglers in disciplines we don’t currently serve.

Of course, these are your Nationals – we are the current custodians – and so you will all be given the opportunity to help us to shape these events in the next few years.

Talking of the future, our Young Angler Exemption scheme will once again be operating in 2025, helping the next generation of National anglers to get involved and gain valuable match experience.

Launched in 2023, this scheme aims to bridge the gap from junior fishing to competing in Nationals by allowing under 16’s to apply to fish in our traditionally adult-only events.

Each application must be supported by a Level 2 coach and have a direct benefit to the development of the angler. Of course, they can only be granted once safeguarding is in place too.

Last year this scheme saw young anglers compete in the Winter League, the Ladies National, Division 1 and Division 2 Nationals, and SilverFish qualifiers.

One of the anglers involved in the scheme in the last few seasons, Barnaby Newman, put his learned experience to good use this year by winning the U15 World Championships in Serbia . It was the icing on the cake for the Guru England U15 youngsters – and their U20 England mates – who brought home team golds too!

FINANCIAL REPORTS

From the link below you’ll see all nine of the unaudited statements from the 12 National Championships we delivered for our members in 2024. The Cadet, Junior, and Youth Nationals, and the Masters and Veterans Nationals are counted together.

National Angling Championships Financial Report 2024

You’ll see that a number of our Nationals returned a small surplus of money, while the Cadet, Junior, and Youth event were in deficit. I can confirm that even the smallest of surplus created is reinvested back into match fishing – that’s how a non-profit organisation such as the Angling Trust operates.

These surplus’ will be used to make contributions to supporting the work we do across our entire portfolio ensuring we are able to run a diverse mix of competitions each year. The surplus also helps fund the entry fees of England teams relevant to the Nationals, purchase vital kit such as weighing equipment, peg markers and signage, and cover some of the resources needed by the Competitions Team to deliver events.

As I mention each year in my summary report, there’s always a balancing act to be performed. While we strive to reduce peg fees and HQ costs to ensure more prize money can be paid out, we also have a responsibility to do this without being detrimental to the member clubs or fisheries who kindly provide the support and locations for our matches.

As I also highlight each year, you’ll see in the statements that 100 per cent of pools money paid in is paid back out again – that’s our ongoing, unswerving promise to you. It’s also important to remember that these financial statements do not include any contribution to staff salaries or company overheads – they are funded in a different way.

Thank you for your support in 2024, we look forward to meeting you on the bank in 2025.