THE BBH/NFA England Team for Anglers with Disabilities had to endure two days of wind, rain and hail in the World Championships fished on the five-acre Lago Borghese lake at Monsummano Terme in Italy at the weekend (Saturday/Sunday, October 4/5.)
Nine nations participated in the storm-lashed event and vehicles had to be driven into the organisers marquees to prevent the tents and equipment from being wrecked. England coach Dave Vincent said: “In more than 30-years of competition fishing I have never seen conditions like it. One section of the bank was closed because officials feared the bankside would collapse under the weight of the competitors.”
The BBH sponsored England Team looked resplendent in their new kit and they were confident they would finish in the medal positions. “The weather was the same for all the competitors but the venue was very ‘peggy’ and we suffered badly with the draw on both days,” commented Dave Vincent who had planned a waggler and pole assault on the resident stock of roach, skimmers, carp, bass and carasso.
England‘s rain battered anglers were lying sixth after day one with 19 points despite a storming performance from Bury angler Stefan Gent who won his section with 7.240 kg. John Dunn (New Barnet) 1.980 kg; Keith Williamson (Wirral) 1.400 kg; and Martin Kershaw (Rochdale) 0.760 kg all finished with six points. France led on day one with 12 points followed by Portugal (13) and Belgium 14. Four poor draws on day two gave the England team little chance of finishing in the medals. Day one hero, Stefan Gent, could only manage 0.400 kg – worth eight points. The teams top performer on the second day was Martin Kershaw with three points from 1.520 kg. Keith Williamson and John Dunn both recorded eight points from 0.660 kg and 0.220 kg respectively. The luckless team finished the day in seventh place with 27 points. Portugal and the Czech Republic tied with ten points but Portugal claimed a superior weight total of 19.740 kg against 16.440 kg.
The new World Champions are Portugal who recorded 23 points from a total weight of 33.080 kg. The team boasted two of the top three individuals and three in the top eleven. The Czech Republic (29.760 kg) disputed the silver medal position with France, (21.600 kg); both teams finished with 28 points but superior weight confirmed the Czech Republic had won silver while France claimed bronze. Three anglers recorded a total of three points but it was the outstanding Orlando Basto of Portugal who claimed the Individual World Crown with a total weight of 14.120 kg – the heaviest weight in the championships. Viktor Pavelka (Czech Republic) collected silver with 10.860 kg while the bronze went to Antonio Alcada (Portugal) with 8.500 kg.
RESULTS: Teams: 1/ Portugal 23 points: 2/ Czech Republic 28 pts: 3/ France 28 pts: 4/ Italy 30 pts: 5/ Belgium 30 pts: 6/ England 46 pts: 7/ Bosnia 52 pts; 8/ Slovenia 54 pts: 9/ Germany 69 pts:
Individuals: 1/ Orlando Basto, Portugal 3 points: 2/ Viktor Pavelka, Czech Republic 3 pts: 3/ Antonio Alcada, Portugal 3 pts; 4/ Giovanni Bottazzi, Italy 4 pts; 5/ Johan Cremery, Belgium 4 pts; 6/ Ota Petracek, Czech Republic 4 pts; England positions: 13/ Stefan Gent (Bury) 9 pts: 16/ Martin Kershaw, (Rochdale) 19 pts: 26/ John Dunn (New Barnet) 14 pts: 27/ Keith Williamson (/Wirral) 14 pts:
