The Angling Trust England management team of Dave Brookes and Joe Roberts held a Ladies assessment day on Sunday 9th October 2016 on the Stainforth canal in South Yorkshire. Ten of the best female anglers in the country took part in the event and were eager to impress to secure a place in England Ladies team for the 2017 FIPS-ed World Angling Championships.

Conditions on the day were far from ideal, a recent drop in overnight temperatures meant fishing was always going to be difficult and so it turned out. The event was fished to international rules which meant a limited supply of bait which included bloodworm and joker. The challenging conditions meant that some anglers struggled to catch but in addition to fishing skills, the management team used the event to understand the skills and attributes required to fish in an England shirt and identified potential team members of the future.

Dave Brookes stated “In the last 9 years there has only been one country who have won these championships more than once and that is Italy. Next year’s event looks like being at Szolnok in Hungary, and although the England team didn’t make the podium it was held on this venue in 2008, Emma Pickering became individual World champion.”
“Emma will make a welcome return after a couple of year’s absence as she replaces Wendy Locker who retired after this year’s event in Spain. The rest of the squad remains the same with Sam Sim, Abbi Kendall, Julie Abbott, Helen, Dagnall and Kayleigh Smith completing the line up. I was impressed by all ten ladies who fished at Thorne they are very good, but the international experience of those that made the squad just shone through. We are now looking forward to next year when we expect to get back on the podium after narrowly missing out in 2016”.

Assessment results;
Helen Dagnall 3.680
Kayleigh Smith 3.570
Emma Pickering 3.330
Julie Abbott 2.460
Sam Sim 2.160
Jeannette Halliday 1.840
Abbi Kendall 1.590
Sarah Taylor 1.470
Charlotte Gore 1.140
Leanne Knott 0.990

Dick Clegg, OBE, International Events Manager said “All the internationals that England fish are becoming more and more difficult to win and the Ladies championships are no different. With many of Eastern Europe’s countries continuing to improve it makes getting on the podium a huge challenge. We are still trying to compete with highly funded countries who have the chance to practice in advance of many competitions, so once more we will be fundraising at events throughout the country next year so I would like to ask again for your support”.