To help celebrate the launch of the new waterways charity, the Canal & River Trust, a National Angling Match is being held along the Erewash Canal in Derbyshire on Saturday 13 October from 10.30am to 3.30pm.

The match, which is open to anglers of all ages and abilities, is a chance for anglers from across the waterways to come together and compete against each other in this one off competition to celebrate our canal network.

Angling on Britain’s canals and rivers is more popular than ever with around 290 angling clubs established across the 2,000 mile network.

John Ellis National Fisheries & Angling Manager from the Canal & River Trust said “This match is a great opportunity for other anglers to compete with other club members and help celebrate the launch of the Canal & River Trust. The all day match is open to all keen anglers and clubs should be a competitive but fun day”

The match will be along a stretch of the Erewash canal from Ilkeston to Long Eaton which is a distance of about six miles and is home to a wide variety of fish. Anglers can expect to catch a variety of fish including Roach, Perch, Bream, Chub and Bonus Tench.

David Kent, Chair of the National Angling Advisor Group “We wanted to do something to get anglers involved in the launch of the Canal & River Trust and what better way than to hold a National Angling competition. We have 400 pegs available and I expect there to be a great response from the angling community so I urge anyone interested in coming along to arrive early to avoid disappointment”

The competition will be divided into three groups; under 16’s, teams of four and individual matches. Entry fees are £20 per team and £15 for individuals. To book your place in the competition please contact Alan Wright on 0115 9728041 or John Johnson on 07931 552691

Source: Canal & River Trust

Angling is one of the first sports to be recognised by Sport England as making good use of the opportunity to work with County Sports Partnerships (CSP) to increase participation. Sport England has given the Angling Development Board (ADB) the green light to work with all 49 County Sports Partnerships and access their core services for angling.

The ADB will initially focus on 24 CSPs during 2009 and 2010 throughout England to gain their support to:

• develop angling clubs and fisheries
• train and develop angling coaches
• establish programmes to increase participation in angling, particularly amongst young people and under-represented groups
• improve local knowledge and information sharing
• develop local networks and relationships to deliver the community benefits from angling

Sport England is investing £10 million per year to ensure CSPs provide a minimum and consistent level of support to deliver their national sports strategies. The ADB has made good use of this offer through its eight recently appointed Regional Development Officers.

As part of this process the ADB has already started forming County Angling Action Groups to bring together angling clubs, fisheries, coaches, volunteers, schools and community groups to identify local needs. The ADB is working with CSPs to form County Angling Action Groups and access core services. Already nine Groups have been formed and a further 15 are in development.

Jackie Sheldon, ADB Senior Development Manager said “This is an exciting time for the development of angling. Being one of the first sports to gain the green light by Sport England to work with the CSP network indicates that the ADB has made significant progress in just two years. It has demonstrated the potential for angling to deliver on national, regional and local benefits through the development of angling. This includes increased resources, recognition and support for angling at a local level. We are encouraging angling clubs, fisheries, coaches and volunteers to get involved in the County Angling Action Groups to take advantage of these opportunities.

David Moore, Chair of the ADB, said ‘We have been working towards this recognition for two years and we appreciate the support which Sport England, the Environment Agency and British Waterways have all given us to make this breakthrough for angling’’.

Anyone wishing to get involved in the County Angling Action Groups should contact their Regional Angling Development Officer whose contact can be found on the ADB website:

www.anglingtrust.net

Or telephone the Angling Development Board Office on 0115 9815972

Further information regarding the work of the ADB can be obtained from Jackie Sheldon, Senior Development Manager, Angling Development Board at Jackie.sheldon@anglingdevelopmentboard.org.uk

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