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And yes, having someone talk about what is going on, is the one thing that is really missing! Every spectator not already a competitor or flyfisher themselves haven't got a clue what is going on, having someone announce and go play by play makes a huge difference in wanting to watch or not.
Cheers
Lasse
Your friendly neighbourhood flyslinger
Flycasting, so simple that instructors need to make it complicated since 1685
Paul Arden wrote: ↑Mon Jul 06, 2020 8:31 am
"This is Lee Cummings, who eats 500 egg whites every day, can bend iron bars with his mind, WOW 165 feet... and now he's TANGLED!! 23 seconds left on the clock, can he get another one away in time? Ladies and gentlemen it's all happening here today! LOOK Lasse has fallen off the stand and is now swimming around looking for his rod!!"
Well it’s a no-brainier. The best we have had I think is hearing scores in Norway - they also had a Leader Board (with a delay). It would make a huge difference to the day. Of everything this should be the no1 priority.
It needs a separate organising team. There are people who love this stuff. There has to be internal event organising for the competitors and a team dedicated to displaying/explaining it. And the whole thing should be broadcast live.
Everyone has to get involved though because we should all be promoting this in our home countries, feeding the angling press and anyone else who will publish. You know we talk about lack of interest but actually there is a lot of interest in these obscure obsessions. And we are part of angling which is the world’s largest participation sport. People watch golf FFS
So no one is interested in Flycasting? Who’s fault is that? And who are the only people who can change this? I mean - fuck - chess is a spectator sport?! I say let’s make flycasting a spectator sport then too - and explaining what’s going on would be a good solid first step.
The 2006 Emerald World Masters had Hywel Morgan on the microphone for 7 days and He did a great job commentating on the 14 events, eliminators and finals.
An edited version of the event was shown on sky sports
Certainly worth a try again Paul, and you are correct, it is up to us. The sport has a critical, fundamental question to answer I.e. how much like fishing do we want Casting Sport in 2050 to be? My very strong view is that if it is to be hitting targets or casting distance with flies, plugs or fluff it will never grow beyond current levels. Our current events do not allow the public to see what is happening where it matters - action, noise and colour up close. A cast by cast commentary is a great start but we need to think beyond that. How about a light and noise reaction when a target is hit in accuracy, or the lane between the target and the caster becomes illuminated when a score is registered. Can be done but is much more effective and less costly if the event is on grass or indoors. For distance same thing, have sensors that are triggered by the line hitting the court floor, different distances mean different colours and sounds would give spectators instant and visual feedback as to what is happening. Costly - yes; fishing related - no; effective - who knows until tried. In distance fly and plug we cast too far for any spectator interaction. Make lines much thicker so they can’t fly current distances. Same with plugs.
Let me give an example with surf casting. In the 70’s all a spectator saw at a tournament was someone moving a rod through the air and if you’ve seen one you’ve seen them all. Sound familiar? Rather than cast fishing leads down the field, a weight was attached to a flare that was activated before the cast and it emitted a plume of coloured smoke throughout the entire cast. It was spectacular and had real spectator appeal. Imagine kids now seeing that on YouTube. It was a Japanese idea and used as a promotion for the World Surf Casting Championships in Taree, Australia in 1974. It was great, I saw local families stay and watch the show, and to add strength to the commentary suggestion earlier, yes, we had a bloke adding to the visual appeal by providing interest related comments about both the caster and the plumes. What transpired; bugger all, because in a typical Australian reaction to anything new, all we got was it will never work, not like fishing etc etc. And these comments were being made as families left the field, talking about what they had just seen and heard. Photos and commentary in the local paper were all about the coloured plumes. It never happened again.
As the old marketing adage goes, sell the sizzle not the steak. We always want the steak to be the centrepiece, but let’s focus on the sizzle for the short term.
Now don’t get me wrong, nobody loves casting more than me. I love my fishing too, but unless we become spectator focused the sport will continue as a niche activity.
John, it then questions the current core of the Olympics ?
Javelin, shotput, discus etc, there are no relevant ‘past times’ to which these are related to currently.
Today’s youth are too interested in siting on their bums and playing Fortnite for 20hrs a day and wanting everything on a plate handed to them.
I agree that the scoring, marking etc needs to capture any audience (live or via electronic media).
Watch golf, the cameramen can follow the flight of the ball from the tee right down to 300-350yds to where it lands, fairway, bunker or water - why ? The cameraman was/is a golfer and had a good idea where to follow it.
Money is the only way, it needs a big cash injection and a quorum of people who want to make change, currently that isnt going to happen.
Years back the Gamefair finished the event with a Single Spey comp with 15 footers. It was huge! I think the prize was a grand, but the people it attracted at the end of the comp really made for a spectacle. That’s sort of why I think we should be part of a bigger event. Get the finals in on the last day etc.
Is there anymore big events?
There used to be a singlehanded distance comp too on CLA, it was cool with a grandstand and audience for the final, even if the anouncer said I was using a new technique called the doublehaul
Cheers
Lasse
Your friendly neighbourhood flyslinger
Flycasting, so simple that instructors need to make it complicated since 1685
Lasse Karlsson wrote: ↑Tue Jul 07, 2020 9:17 am
Is there anymore big events?
There used to be a singlehanded distance comp too on CLA, it was cool with a grandstand and audience for the final, even if the anouncer said I was using a new technique called the doublehaul
Cheers
Lasse
Maybe the announcer had never seen it done as good as yours, Lasse. Nothing like that over here anymore, mate. The only 'big' event is based at Sportfish every year (except this one!), but there aren't any dedicated casting competitions. There was one that i can remember a few years ago, it was a Spey comp.
Today’s youth are too interested in siting on their bums and playing Fortnite for 20hrs a day and wanting everything on a plate handed to them.
I'm 24 and i have never been interested in staying indoors, so that's a very broad sweeping statement.... However, there is big money in gaming if you compete at elite level, and fortinite has one of the largest prizes. Just being in the final will see you walk away with £40k. I think the last one had a grand prize of £2.5m. Coding can give you a very large income as well, if you are very good, the income can be about the same as a junior doctor.
You are all correct Gents, interesting analogy with field sports. The official javelin for use internationally was changed a number of years ago so that distances would reduce. Use of large video screens bring the action closer. Speaking to people in sports like archery, target shooting etc they have the same challenges. Participation in all sport by teenagers and younger has been diminishing for a number of years now and that is a huge problem for society. The current worldwide health crisis and consequential economic fallout will make it more difficult to attract money from sponsors in the short term. All sports will be chasing a larger piece of a smaller pie. That is the reality but it should not prevent the sport giving it a shot.
Nothing like that over here anymore, mate. The only 'big' event is based at Sportfish every year (except this one!), but there aren't any dedicated casting competitions. There was one that i can remember a few years ago, it was a Spey comp.
However, there is big money in gaming if you compete at elite level, and fortinite has one of the largest prizes. Just being in the final will see you walk away with £40k. I think the last one had a grand prize of £2.5m. Coding can give you a very large income as well, if you are very good, the income can be about the same as a junior doctor.