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The
2011
Catchin’ for Kids Rockfish tournament,
our eighth annual
tournament, was
held on
December 9th-11th. For the first time, the
tournament was based at Vinings Landing Marina.
Once again it was
hosted by the Portsmouth
Anglers Club and Catchin’
with Captain Reese.
As always, 100%
of entry fees
were
returned to the anglers as prize funds. In addition, there were
Calcuttas for the biggest fish the first day
and the second day, as well as the overall Calcuttas for the biggest
two-fish combination
landed by any single boat.
Toys
collected at the
tournament, as well as other funds raised there, are
used to benefit
underprivileged children in the Hampton Roads area. The
2011 Tournament
again raised over $30,000 in toys and cash.
This year, Catchin' for Kids presented the second
annual
Dr.
Harvey Rawls Youth
Angler
Sportsmanship Award.
This award was originated
in 2010 with a grant from the
National Christian Foundation, in the person of Dr. Brian McAvoy, who
years ago was a fishing protege of Dr. Rawls. Dr. Rawls was well known
in the local angling community as a fishing captain who valued the
sport more than the catch, who valued the friendships more than the
competition, and who valued above all else the time spent with his
friends doing what he loved. The award
is presented to the
Youth Angler in the Catchin'
for Kids tournament who, in
the opinion of the
Tournament Committee, best exemplifies the
ideals of sportsmanship personified in the life and the many
friendships of Dr. Rawls throughout his years in the angling
community in Hampton Roads.
This
year's winner is Robert Jones. If that name sounds familiar, it
should--Robert was the winner of last year's inaugural award, too.
This year, as you probably remember, the weather was
unfriendly. For some of our regular anglers, there was simply no
practical way to venture out into unsheltered waters to fish.
Robert’s parents were in that category. They just
couldn’t see their way clear to go out in their small boat. But
Robert wanted to be here at the tournament, so they brought him here to
volunteer to help with the tournament—to cut vegetables, set out
food and drink—whatever needed to be done.
Well, Captain Reese figured Robert deserved a chance to fish, so he got
Robert a ride and he fished the tournament after all. Not only that,
but he was the Youth Angler Tournament winner, with a Rockfish of over
14 pounds. So for us it was a pleasure to present our second annual Dr.
Harvey Rawls Youth Angler Sportsmanship Award once again to Robert
Jones. Young Robert truly empodies the love of the sport that was
so special to Dr. Rawls.
Although
the weather was rough, the bite was pretty good, especially on
Sunday. The winning fish, brought in by Captain Max King, was over 47
pounds, and even better, the competition was close, with even the
fourth place fish over 40 pounds. Cathy Hodson won the Female Angler
award, and Robert Jones won the Youth Angler award.
To see all the winners, click on Previous Winners
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