SportsEvents Magazine

JAN 2016

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January 2016 34 www.sportseventsmagazine.com SPORT Report t While there is no overall governing body of ice fshing in the United States, there is a U.S. representative to the international governing body of compet- itive fshing, which is the Rome-based Federation Internationale de la Pesce Sportive (CIPS). That representative is the State-College, Pa.-based 501c3 charitable organization, the U.S. Angling Confederation. The organization deems itself an organization that "provides lead- ership for our U.S.A. National Fishing Teams as they compete worldwide." One of these worldwide events is the annual World Ice Fishing Championship (WIFC), governed by the CIPS. However, the United States Freshwater Fishing Federation (USF 3 ), based in DeForest, Wis, is responsible for over- seeing the USA Ice Team, which was established in 2008 to establish a team to compete in international ice fshing com- petitions, including WIFC. The WIFC has been held in the United States. twice since the formation of the USA Ice Team. In 2013, the competition took place on Big Eau Pleine Reservoir near Wausau, Wis., and the team fnished fourth; the time before that the U.S. team took the WIFC championship gold medal on Boom Lake in Rhinelander, Wis., in 2010. The USA Ice Team also holds an annual fnals competition for the oppor- tunity to compete in the following year's WIFC. For annual U.S. ice fshing competi- tions, the North American Ice Fishing Circuit is probably the most prominent organization. The Northfeld, Minn.- based organization describes itself as "a corporation established by fsher- men, for fshermen" whose mission is to "advance the sport of ice fshing in North America by providing the highest level of competition, education and product promotion." "We have about 1,600 two-person teams that have joined and compete in our competitions," said Jack Baker, NAIFC's president and director. The NAIFC Tournament Series con- sists of fve to eight qualifying tourna- ments that typically run from January, when the majority are held, until early March. Two of this season's tourna- ments will take place in Wisconsin and one each in Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana and Indiana, the furthest point south the series goes. Each qualifying tournament is a three-day event and has a maximum of 150 two-person teams. The number of actual competitors at any given tournament varies. "Teams come out and attempt to qualify for the national championship," explained Baker. "We invite the top 10 teams to the national championship, which is held usually the weekend before Christmas, though it depends on the ice. Typically, we come into a commu- nity and hold a Friday night seminar. Saturday, we do a free kid's clinic. Last year, we had about 2,800 kids and par- ents come. Saturday night we have a mandatory rules meeting. That puts heads in beds. Then Sunday we fsh in the morning and hold the weigh-in during the afternoon." The NAIFC Tournament Series Championship Invitational is a three-day event that runs during the December fol- lowing the last qualifying tournament and has a maximum of 75 two-person teams. It features two days of competition. Rhinelander, Wis., and Isle, Minn., International Eelpout Festival Feb. 18-21, 2016 Leech Lake, Minnesota's third largest lake, is the site of a three-day wintertime festival that includes plenty of ice fsh- ing and is named after a lowly bottom-dwelling fsh, Eelpout. The event brings more than 10,000 visitors to tiny Walker, Minn. The Sebago Lake Rotary Derbyfest and Cumberland County Derby Feb. 27-28, 2016 Maine's largest and richest ice fshing derbies are sponsored by the Sebago Lake Rotary Club in Windham, Maine. An ice fshing derby for kids takes place in early March. n ICE FISHING EVENTS NAIFC

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