MANAGER WELSH COARSE ANGLING SENIOR TEAM - REPORT TO WFCA AGM 1. Firstly, I thank our sponsors for their continuing support of the Welsh Senior Team. Our major sponsor is Weston Pools Fishery owner (Mike Philbin) who provides funding and luggage, clothing and angling equipment under the Tri-Cast Weston banner. We are also very grateful for the support of Sensas who provide us with a large quantity free of charge plus further quantities at significantly subsidised rates. 2. While I have held trials and invited anglers to participate in UK-based events, I have a current squad as follows: Lee Edwards Nigel Evans Darren Frost John Harvey Ian Leach Andy Neal Ben Roberts Richie Tomala Matthew Powell Nevertheless, opportunity remains for other anglers to be included in the squad. This has been proven through the need to include other anglers this year (Tony Beech, Andy Pearcey, Matty Dawes, Ady Piggott and myself) to make up teams for Sensas Challenge Final, Evesham Team Qualifier and the Home Nations. 3. Turning to the competitions, on the whole, it was a very disappointing year in terms of results; however, we only dropped one place in the World Rankings and are now ranked 12 th from 42 nations (with England 2 nd, Scotland 21 st and Ireland 23 rd ): a. The 2015 Fishomania International Challenge at Cudmore Fishery in July was a tremendous event covered by Sky TV. England led easily from start to finish but the next 4 places were separated by only 1 or 2 fish and changed constantly throughout the match - Wales were 2 nd with 1 hour to go but unfortunately Wales dropped to 4 th! There is no individual trophy but John Harvey finished 5 th and Lee Edwards finished 11 th from the 16 top international anglers. Full Results 1. England 30.850kg 2. Holland 22.775kg 3. Belgium 19.900kg 4. Wales 19.675kg 5. Ireland 18.250kg 6. Italy 16.975kg 7. France 15.350kg 8. Scotland 11.250kg Individual weights 1. Will Raison (ENG) 17.150kg 2. Eric De Venti (BEL) 14.750kg 3. Des Shipp (ENG) 13.700kg 1
3. Dieter Friederichs (HOL) 13.700kg 5. John Harvey (WAL) 11.500kg 6. Jean Desque (FRA) 10.125kg 7. Nick Howell (IRE) 9.125kg 7. Vincent Walsh (IRE) 9.125kg 9. Jurgen Spierings (HOL) 9.075kg 10. Milo Colombo (ITA) 8.950kg 11. Lee Edwards (WAL) 8.175kg 12. Claudio Guicciardi (ITA) 8.025kg 13. Jamie Masson (SCO) 7.400kg 14. Gilles Caudin (FRA) 5.225kg 15. Hans Slegers (BEL) 5.150kg 16. Brian Clark (SCO) 3.850kg b. In June 2015, Wales competed in the Evesham Festival Team Qualifier on the Warwickshire Avon. Some strong performances saw the team finish 4 th from the 14 teams - just one place off qualification for the August Bank Holiday Team Event at the Evesham Fishing Festival. Ian Leach won his section and was match runner up and a rare team performance from the Team Manager saw Andy Johnstone finish 2 nd in section. Tony Beech, Richie Tomala and Nigel Evans were 6 th, 10 th and 11 th respectively. Results (from 14 teams) 1. Matrix Dynamite Trentmen 56 2. Drennan 52 3. Cardiff Nomads 49 4. Wales 45 5. Tubertini Ludlow A 42 6. Alcester Sports 42 7. England Youth 39 8. Maver Midlands 38 9. Baileys of Warwick 35 10. Brownings West Midlands 35 11. Drennan Oxford 32 12. Preston Innovations 24 13. Mosella Bait-tech 21 14. Tubertini Ludlow B 19 Individuals (from 70 anglers) 2. Ian Leach 9. Andy Johnstone 22. Tony Beech 55. Richie Tomala 61. Nigel Evans 2
c. Mid-September saw Wales compete in the World Championships on the River Sava, Radeče-Sevnica, Slovenia. A busy practise week with the team working well as a unit resulted in a team plan that targeted vimba with occasional barbel and roach. Bleak were another target species but our plan was to play to our strengths and target the bigger fish. Andrew Neal narrowly missed selection for Day 1 but replaced Darren Frost on Day 2. The team plan worked well on Day 1 with Lee and John returning a section 1 st and 2 nd respectively. I instructed both anglers to go all out for an individual medal on day 2 by again targeting bigger fish and ignoring the bleak. Day 1 saw the Welsh team finish in 10 th from the 37 teams and a disappointing 29 th on Day 2 to finish in 16 th place overall. However, there was some good news with Lee Edwards returning 2 very good results (section 1 st and 6 th - both from B section) to finish in 19 th place individually (inside the top 10%) from 205 anglers. Therefore, Lee Edwards qualified for Cymru Elite funding in 2016. Results (from 37 teams) 1. Italy 2. Hungary 3. England 4. Spain 5. Poland 6. Croatia 16. Wales 26. Ireland 30. Scotland Individuals (from 205 anglers) 19. Lee Edwards 53. Ben Roberts 78. John Harvey 127. Nigel Evans 196. Andrew Neal 197. Darren Frost d. In late October, Wales competed in the resurrected Home Nations International in Ireland. After finding 2 very late replacements (Andy Pearcey and Ady Piggott) plus Ben Roberts, Ian Leach, Richie Tomala, Matthew Powell and Matty Dawes, we competed over 24-25 Oct 15. After 2 days practise, Day 1 saw us finish last on a great venue which responded well to bloodworm and joker tactics. 1. England 10 points 2. Scotland 14.5 points 3. Ireland 20 points 4. Wales 25.5 points. 3
However, we fared better on Day 2 finishing second behind England with section wins from Ian Leach and Richie Tomala. 1. England 9 points 2. Wales 18 points 3. Scotland 21 points 4. Ireland 22 points Unfortunately, not enough to overhaul Ireland so we finished 4 th (43.5 pts), with Ireland 3 rd (42 pts), Scotland 2nd (35.5 pts) and England easy Champions (19 pts). Individually, Ben Roberts, Richie Tomala and Ian Leach each finished with 5 penalty points, Matthew Powell had 6.5 points, Matty Dawes and Andy Pearcey both had 7 points with Ady Piggott on 8 points. A great event and I'm proud of the efforts of a mostly inexperienced team against a strong England team boasting multiple World/European medals, a near full Scotland World team and the hosts. e. The Welsh team competed very well in the prestigious 2015 SENSAS Challenge UK Final over 5-8 March 2015 on River Soar (2 practise days plus 2 match days) from 28 of the top UK teams in a FIPS international rules match. The team was selected as a trial for development anglers (1 new angler (Tony Beech) and 2 others (Mikey Williams and Richie Tomala) who had very little international experience. I had invited more development anglers but the interest was very low. Therefore, the 2 other places were filled with senior anglers (Darren Frost and Ian Leach). The top 8 team places (from 28 teams): 1. Drennan Barnsley 33.5 pts 2. Kamasan Starlets Red 35.0 3. Sensas 28 (French team) 41.0 4. Matrix Trentmen 46.5 5. Sensas North 53.0 6. Kamasan Starlets Blue 64.0 7. Daiwa Dorking 65.5 8. Tri-Cast Weston Wales 66.0 A strong performance from a development Welsh Team (only 1 angler from this year s world team) over 2 days saw the team finish 8th from the top 28 teams in UK. We finished well ahead of Scotland (13 th ) and Ireland (14 th ). On an event where dry nets were common, we had only 1 dry net from the anglers over 2 days. Although outside of the top 6 who qualified for a European SENSAS Final in France, we were given an invite as we were so close to the top 6. Although lack of funds will mean we won't be able to compete plus the event is timed badly (8-11 Oct 15) between the World Champs and Home Nations International. 4
The anglers and points score (low point being best) were: Tony Beech 7 pts Ian Leach 12 Darren Frost 14 (included a section win) Mikey Williams 14 Richie Tomala 19 Overall a very good result and importantly another very useful opportunity for trialling prospective talent! f. The Welsh team competed well in the prestigious 2016 SENSAS Challenge UK Final over 10-13 March 2016 on Gloucester Canal (2 practise days plus 2 match days) from 30 of the top UK teams in a FIPS international rules match. The self-funded team was: Andy Johnstone, Ben Roberts, Ian Leach, Darren Frost and Nigel Evans. A good performance by a strong Welsh team resulted in a 10 th place finish from 30 teams. The top 10 team places (from 30 teams): 1. Drennan Barnsley 33 pts 2. Kamasan Starlets Red 39 3. Sensas 28 A (French team) 41 4. Ireland 43 5. Garbolino Royal Air Force 52 6. Kamasan Starlets Blue 58 7. Daiwa Dorking 60.5 8. Sensas 28 B (French Team) 64 9. Starlets Blue 67 10. Tri-Cast Weston Wales 69.5 On an event with several dry nets common, we had no dry nets from the anglers over 2 days. Although outside of the top 8 who qualified for a European SENSAS Final in France, we were again given an invite. Although lack of funds will mean we won't be able to compete. The anglers and points score (low point being best) were: Andy Johnstone 11 pts Ian Leach 11 Darren Frost 12 Ben Roberts 17 Nigel Evans 18.5 Summary of Results 5
EVENT TEAM RESULT NOTABLE INDIVIDUAL RESULT Position No of Teams Position No of Anglers World Championships 16 37 19 205 Home Nations International 4 4 Fishomania Team International 4 8 Sensas Challenge Final 2015 8 28 Evesham Team Qualifier 4 14 2 70 Sensas Challenge Final 2016 10 30 4. Turning to the Trials Opportunities: a. The 1 st trial was held in March 2015 (earlier described under the SENSAS Challenge UK Final). Once again, I offered many anglers the opportunity to try out for the Welsh Team. Disappointingly, only 1 new angler accepted the opportunity. b. Further Trials have been offered on 28 June and 19 July 2015 for the Evesham Match Fishing Angling Festival Team Qualifiers. Again, responses have been poor which means that I had to fish to complete the team. Team was: Tony Beech, Nigel Evans, Ian Leach, Andy Johnstone and Riche Tomala. c. Finally, the Home Nations event on Newry Canal over 21-25 October 2015 offered a final trial opportunity this coming year. This event saw Andy Pearcey, Matty Dawes and Ady Piggott all make their debut. The reality is that the best anglers are those who achieve results across a range of venues, using a range of tactics. Therefore, I keep any eye on the hundreds of angling competitions that are held every weekend; however, my interest is only pricked by the non-commercial fishery venues (eg Wye, Warwickshire Avon, Bristol Avon, Trent, Thames etc and the silver fish Winter Leagues). Those anglers who have the potential to make it at the highest level stand out through their results (consistently good over a long period of time, and over a variety of venues and using a variety of methods). Typically, the best Welsh anglers get head-hunted by the best teams (in reality most of these teams are based in England). Indeed, the current squad boasts anglers who fish for the best teams in the UK (Daiwa Dorking, Drennan North West, Preston Thatchers etc). Importantly, with these teams, they compete in the few competitions in the UK which reflect the International scene; they impose International Competition Rules and allow the use of bloodworm & joker (the most commonly used baits in International competition). 5. The team selected to represent Wales in the 2016 European Championship follows: Lee Edwards, Nigel Evans, Darren Frost, Ian Leach, John Harvey & Ben Roberts Unfortunately, lack of funds will prevent Wales competing in the World Champs in Bulgaria. 6. In summary, results wise, this has been a disappointing year but during which progress has been made in shaping the squad. Unfortunately, the lack of anglers with 6
genuine commitment to achieving full international status continues. That said, significant commitment is required to become a full international: anglers require access to considerable personal funds (each full international will cost each angler around 1000); willingness to use a significant proportion of their annual holidays (each full international event will require each angler to use 7-10 days annual leave); and support from both family and employers. However, for those anglers who have the requisite high level of angling ability, have the right attitude and character to be team players, during busy and stressful major international championships, and can afford both time and money, the opportunity is available for a bright future with Team Wales. 7. Finally, I will not be seeking re-election as Team Manager after 2016. I would encourage a replacement to join me on a trip this year (ideally European Champs). Andy Johnstone A K Johnstone OBE Manager Senior Welsh Coarse Angling Team 15 March 2016 7