North Norfolk 2016 Bass Festival, UK Ladies Championships, NN Juniors Tournament & Shannock Quads
Saturday and Sunday 7th/8th May 2016 - North Norfolk Shingle Ridge
In May 2016 Holt Sea Angling club will be hosting the 4th North Norfolk Bass Festival on the shingle ridge in North Norfolk. The inaugural event in 2013 was an outstanding success with over 90 sizeable bass recorded and released. The 2014 event was as successful although bass numbers were lower but this was more than compensated by other species. In 2015 a total of 47 bass were recorded and again other species came on strong to create a highly competitive event with 100 match anglers from around the country participating. The 2016 event will again incorporate the UK Ladies Championships and the North Norfolk Juniors Tournament with both again being sponsored by major UK tackle companies. This year a New “Teams of 4” competition has been added called the Shannock Quads which will be supported by Sheringham Carnival. The Festival will be held over the weekend of May 7th/8th 2016. Holt Sea Angling Club would like to again thank all the various organisations for their help in making this year’s event possible.
The Bass Festival event will be sponsored by Kelling Heath Holiday Park and supported by Sea Angler Magazine. The event will comprise of two separate 5 hour matches fished on Saturday 7th May and Sunday 8th May. The provisional venues for the event will be Cley and Kelling on the North Norfolk Shingle Ridge. Each competitor will fish one of these venues on one day and the other the following day. As in previous years, both matches will be on the ebb tide and the exact times of each match will be determined closer to the date and will be identified in an Information Pack which will be sent to each competitor who has booked.
Both matches will be catch & release and fished to Holt SAC match rules.
We are all aware of the recent EU legislation that bans the taking of any bass between 1st January & 1st July 2016 and any bass caught by line has to be returned. Holt SAC has been in communication with DEFRA on this matter and they confirmed that as the matches are catch & release there will be no problem holding the event.
This link www.gov.uk/government/news/tough-decisions-reap-benefits-for-uk-fishermen goes to the statement (paragraph 11) made by DEFRA confirming catch & release acceptance.
With species conservation now high on the agenda Holt SAC has agreed that all species will be returned and not taken for consumption for the duration of the event. Any competitor breaking this ruling will be penalised. This ruling will apply to all 4 competitions.
The entry fee for the Bass Festival will be £15 for each day with an Optional Pools of £10 per day. Prize monies for each match will be for the heaviest bass, heaviest bass bag, heaviest non-bass bag and heaviest overall bag. There will also be prizes and trophies donated by Kelling Heath Holiday Park for the biggest bass of the festival, day winners and overall winner. Further prize categories will be added if the prize table allows. Both matches have been registered for Penn Points.
The UK Ladies Championships will be sponsored by Tronixpro and supported by Kelling Heath Holiday Park. The event will follow the same logistical format as the Bass Festival regarding venues and rules, etc. Ladies pegs will not be a separate group but will be incorporated with all the Bass Festival competitors with every fifth or so peg being a Ladies peg. The exact spacing between the ladies pegs will be determined once the final number of ladies is known. There will also be provision for Ladies/Bass Festival double pegs where ladies and partners may fish together in both events. Ladies may also register to fish in both the Ladies and Bass Festival events. Both matches will be catch & release and fished to Holt SAC match rules.
The entry fee for the Ladies event will be £5 for each day with an Optional Pools of £5 per day. Prize monies for each match will be for heaviest bag of all species each day and the Optional Pools will be for section winners. There will also be a rod or reel for the top three ladies over the two days as well as a perpetual shield for the overall Ladies Champion. These have been donated by Tronixpro and Holt SAC would like to thank George Cunningham for his support. After the 2015 successful inaugural event there has been some serious numbers interested in the event.
The North Norfolk Juniors Tournament will be supported by Maver. The event will follow the same format as the Ladies event where Juniors will be fishing under real match rules with Junior pegs spaced out equally across the venues. The exact spacing will be determined by the number of Juniors participating. Each Junior MUST be accompanied at all times by an adult who may or may not be fishing the Bass Festival or Ladies events. If the adult is fishing either of these event then double pegs will be assigned.
Entry will be FREE to all Juniors and is open to all Juniors across the country. A perpetual shield will be donated by Holt SAC for the overall Junior winner of the two days.
The 2016 event introduces a new competition to the Festival in the form of the Shannock Quads which is a “Teams of 4” competition supported by Sheringham Carnival. This competition will be based on the total weight recorded by the four team members of each nominated team over the two days and the team with the highest aggregate weight will be declared the winners. In the unlikely result of a tie then total number of fish recorded will be taken into consideration. If numbers allow separate day prizes will be awarded. All Team members must participate in at least one of the other three Festival competitions.
Entry will be £20 per team for the full competition. Apart from the monetary payout additional prizes and/or trophies will be donated by Sheringham Carnival which have to be determined.
The Head Quarters for the event will be Kelling Heath Holiday Park and they will be offering a 20% discount on accommodation for those participating which is 5% more than last year. A short break booking will commence on Friday 6th May and finish on Monday 9th May with rates still extremely competitive for this time of year. Accommodation comprises of Lodges and a large number of Holiday homes which can accommodate up to 6 adults. There are plenty of restaurant and bar facilities at the complex as well as a Leisure Centre. There is also plenty of activity in the surrounding woodland and Kelling Heath is renowned for the amenities it provides. Holt SAC has hosted the last three Festivals and three National Sea League Finals from this location and all have been impressed with the facilities and the general atmosphere.
This is an ideal place to bring your family, partner, etc. for a short break at the start of the summer. They can enjoy the surrounding facilities whilst you can enjoy your sport or alternatively they can join you on the beach which is just 2 to 3 miles away. Check out their website at www.kellingheath.co.uk .
The cost of accommodation with 20% discount for this weekend will be as follows …
- Heron ... £212.00 actual £265 )
- Nightjar ... £247.20 actual £309 ) Holiday Homes
- Bittern ... £252.80 actual £316 )
- 2 Bed Lodge ... £328.80 actual £411
- 3 Bed Lodge ... £372.00 actual £465
If you require more information please contact Tony Thomas at Holt Sea Angling Club on 07780793141 or thomasamt@btinternet.com. Alternatively, Ladies may contact Wendy Metcalfe on 07779005208 or w.metcalfe55@btinternet.com for more information about the Ladies event. All of this information is also available on Holt SAC’s website, www.holtsac.com under the Open Events option.
If you and/or your friends are interested in participating in either the Bass Festival, Ladies Championships, Juniors or Shannock Quads competitions then please use the attached booking form. Please note that booking for just one of the matches will be allowed and the final itinerary will be mailed to each competitor prior to the event
Booking is required to be made on the Event Booking Form and received along with the identified entry fee(s) by Friday 29th April 2016. Bookings after this date cannot be accepted.
If you require accommodation for the weekend please contact Kelling Heath Holiday Park on 01263 588181. Please note you require to book by phone and not on-line to obtain the discount.
Please find attached an Event Booking Form, Poster/Flyer and Copy of this Announcement.
Bass Festival 2016 Booking Form (Excel)
Bass Festival 2016 Booking Form (Pdf)
Bass Festival 2016 Poster & Flyer
Bass Festival 2016 Announcement
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