 GIRLS ON THE GO! — 2009 Ladies Development Nationals — by Sue Babich
ON the morning of Monday, 2nd November 2009, the SAFFA Development ladies woke from their warm cosy beds, relaxed after the welcoming party, excellent supper and fire in the pub, the night before, and prepared for the tough day that lay ahead.
We were once again in the comfort of The Bend Country Hotel, waking to grey cloudy skies and cold, misty, windy conditions. This was the Natal Midlands doing its best to test the mettle of the flyfishers who had gathered for the Annual SAFFA Development Nationals.
Oh yes, it was a morning to stay in bed, but not this group of tough ladies who where representing their provinces. Those gathered included two full “A” teams, of five anglers per team, from Gauteng North (the winners of last year’s tournament), and the Limpopo team, all pumped up to prove a point. Two enthusiastic development teams had entered this year — KZN, with their four local girls and an invitation lady to make up the team, and a highly motivated team from Gauteng North which had just three members.
Over the next three days these teams would prove that ladies development in South African flyfishing is now a force to be reckoned with and is growing each year.
The 18 participants were divided into two groups of nine which would fish against each other over the next five sessions. The object was to individually win those sessions to gain points for the team and for the individual. They would be judged on the number of fish and the lengths of the fish per session, with the points being recorded on a scorecard and witnessed by a marshall or fellow angler.
The targeted fish — rainbow and brown trout in the dams and wild trout in the Mooi River — were all to be released, unharmed.
It sounds simple enough, as long as you have the right fishing gear with the right weight rod, reel, line, tippets, and leaders — and barbless hooks. Then you also have to adhere to the SAFFA rules, plus learn a lot of different knots. It’s a big ask if you haven’t had much practice or support during the months leading up to the nationals.
Over the next five sessions the ladies would master three disciplines of flyfishing from small rubber boats, two to a boat, which they had to row themselves to pegged spots on a dam, and then in the river if it had cleared sufficiently after three weeks of rain.
At the welcoming speech we reminded the participants that these National Championships are still about the development of our ladies. Although there is a competitive element to it, at these events it’s important to help each other and, most of all, to have fun relax and enjoy it, taking time to appreciate the environment we have the honour of “playing” in.
The end of day one saw Gauteng North “A” coming in first place, with the fledgling KZN second, followed by Limpopo.
Read the full story in the February 2010 issue of FLYFISHING. |
|
