Scotland Nets World Fly Fishing Championships

Region : Other

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - The International Federation of Sport Fly Fishing (Fips-Mouche), at the 38th Congress of The Confederation International of Sport Fishing (CIPS) in Prague, has announced Scotland has won the rights to host the 2009 World Fly Fishing Championships.

Dr. Neil McCarry, International Organiser of the Scottish Anglers National Association (SANA) who presented the successful bid said: "For the first time the World Fly Fishing Championship comes to Scotland and it will be the biggest such event ever held in our country. The Championship will highlight our superb fishing, set in magnificent scenery and will enable anglers from all over the globe to enjoy the unique fishing experiences which we have to offer."

The event is expected to welcome more than 25 countries over seven days of competition and will be broadcast through cable television, showcasing the fishing sites and surrounding landscapes of Stirling and Perthshire to an international audience.

Paul Bush, Acting Chief Operating Officer of EventScotland, the national events agency, said: "Attracting the World Fly Fishing Championships in 2009 is a coup for Scotland and will help to promote the quality of Scottish fishing, consequently raising the profile of the country as a fishing destination to anglers across the world.

"The award of these Championships also helps us to sustain Scotland's reputation as a destination for major, international events and builds upon our recent success in attracting World and European Championships to the country."

Stirling Council's Executive Member with responsibility for the Economy, Councillor Colin O'Brien said: "We welcome this opportunity to host the World Fly Fishing Championships in 2009, which will illustrate the world class standard of the fishing available within Stirling and hope that the participants will enjoy the quality of our hospitality and appreciate the beauty of our landscape. We wish the competitors every success and hope that many will return to enjoy our hospitality after the event".

A recent research study, prepared for Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department, concluded that freshwater angling in Scotland is worth over £100million each year to the Scottish economy.

Mark Irwin, VisitScotland's Fishing Product Manager commented: "We look forward to the arrival of the World Fly Fishing Championships in 2009 and see it as a great opportunity to promote Scotland as a world-class fishing destination. Scotland is home to such a variety of fishing throughout the year and we hope that this event will encourage more anglers to come experience the fantastic fishing that is available and our renowned Scottish hospitality."

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NOTES TO EDITORS:

EVENTSCOTLAND

EventScotland is the national organisation for sporting and cultural events and co-ordinates the delivery of the Major Events Strategy published by the Scottish Executive in November 2002.

The strategy is designed to maximise the benefits of existing events, attract new events, showcase Scotland's assets and encourage more people to visit Scotland experiencing at first hand, major sporting and cultural events being staged in the country.

For further information about EventScotland please visit EventScotland.org

SANA

Established in 1985 by amalgamating the Scottish National Angling Clubs Association with the Scottish Anglers Association, the Scottish Anglers National Association (SANA) represents the interests of all game anglers and works with other related bodies and environmental interests to protect and enhance the Scottish aquatic environment in order to take game angling through the 21st century.

It is totally Scottish looking after the welfare and interests of all Game Anglers in Scotland.

SANA is recognised by SportScotland as the Governing Body for the Sport of Game Angling in Scotland and its current Mission Statement asserts that its objectives to:

 

1. Promote the sport of Game Angling in Scotland 2. Promote friendship and co-operation among Scottish anglers by encouraging the formation of Angling Clubs, Associations and Federation of such clubs and Associations 3. Protect, represent and advance the interests of SANA members in dealings with Government, Local Authorities and other interested groups 4. Co-operate with other angling bodies to promote these objectives 5. To protect and further the interests of angling and anglers in Scotland

For further information contact www.sana.org.uk

VISITSCOTLAND

VisitScotland is Scotland's national tourism organisation. Its core purpose is to maximise the economic benefit of tourism to Scotland.

The organisation has five roles:

1. To give strategic direction to the tourism industry.

2. To attract visitors by marketing Scotland and the country's tourism assets to all parts of the world in the UK and internationally.

3. To provide information ? and inspiration ? to visitors and potential visitors to enable them to get the best out of a visit to Scotland.

4. To provide quality assurance to visitors and quality advice to industry partners to ensure the industry delivers to meet ? or exceed ? visitors' expectations.

5. To promote partnerships with the wider industry to ensure we all reap the economic benefits of collective effort.

VisitScotland is working with the tourism industry and other partners to achieve a 50 per cent growth in tourism revenues for Scotland by 2015.

The organisation employs over 1,000 people and has offices and tourist information centres across Scotland.

Tourism employs 200,000 people in Scotland in 20,000 diverse businesses. The industry generates over £4billion revenue. Tourism supports around 9 per cent of employment in Scotland (13 per cent in the Highlands).

For VisitScotland's press releases go to http://www.visitscotland.org/media_centre.htm

For Scottish tourism statistics go to   http://www.visitscotland.org/research_and_statistics.htm

For frequently asked questions go to http://www.visitscotland.org/about_us/faqs.htm

For holiday information on Scotland go to   www.visitscotland.com

Contact: Leon Thompson
Phone: 0131 472 2312
Fax: 0131 472 2310
Email: leon.thompson@eventscotland.org
Website: http://www.EventScotland.org

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