Ferrari F430 Shows Its Natural Track Skills in Start of Racing Season
Powerful V8 Dominates ALMS Opener and Shows-off in the Ferrari Challenge Series Opener
The Ferrari F430 opened strong in Florida over the weekend with dominant finishes in the season opener of the American Le Mans series at Sebring and fast paced action at the start of the Ferrari Challenge series at Homestead.
The 2009 ALMS series kicked off at Sebring, FL where the #62 Risi Competizione Ferrari of Pierre Kaffer, Jaime Melo and Mika Salo won the GT2 class race in a dominant fashion – leading the season-opening Twelve Hours of Sebring from the second hour until the finish. Finishing eighth overall, they led home a Ferrari 1-2, and the team’s Krohn Racing drivers Tracy W Krohn, Nic Jonsson and Eric van de Poele rounded off an excellent day for both the team and Ferrari with a sixth place finish.
The #62 Ferrari’s showing was all the more remarkable as it had started from the back of the grid at the start of the race. It took Mika Salo less than 50 of the 332 laps that the #62 Ferrari completed to get from it starting position of 10th to the head of the class. The win, Salo’s 14th and Melo’s 13th, was the second in three years for the pairing (following the record-breaking 2007 GT2 finish), and Kaffer’s first on his debut with the team.
The Ferrari Challenge season, which utilizes race-prepared Ferrari F430s, got off to a competitive start in Homestead, FL with the 2008 favourites showing their strength in the 2009 season with some new faces threatening to steal the show. Leading the standing after the first weekend is Boardwalk Ferrari’s Scott Tucker, who finished second in the 2008 Challenge series and who put in a strong performance capturing both race wins as well as a pole position over the weekend. A strong performance was also turned in by 2008 Rookie of the Year Mark McKenzie who scoring two podium finishes over the weekend, securing both a second and third place finish. 2007 Challenge champion Mike Zoi, returned to form and captured a second place finish on Sunday.
Source: Ferrari North America
Tennis Growth Skyrockets 43 Percent!
According to Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association (SGMA) 2009 Sports and Fitness Participation Report
According to data just released by the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association (SGMA), Tennis is the fastest growing sport in America among individual traditional sports with an increase in participation of 43% from 2000 to 2008. According to the SGMA, tennis was one of only six sports to experience participation growth exceeding 40% from 2000 through 2008. Tennis is well ahead of other traditional sports like baseball, ice hockey, gymnastics and football, all of which suffered a decline in participation during the past eight years. In the last year alone (through December 31, 2008), Tennis experienced a 9.6% growth in participation.
The SGMA study is the latest in a series of reports and studies that have cited the extraordinary growth for tennis. In December, the Taylor Research Group (TRG) reported that tennis participation reached a record high of 27 million players in 2008, more than any other period in the past 15 years. Sales of tennis racquets and balls have both also increased significantly, most notably, an 88% increase in the sale of youth racquets from 2003 through 2008, according to the TRG report.
“The SGMA study is a clear validation of all the hard work and commitment that our industry has put into the sport,” said Jon Muir, president of the Tennis Industry Association (TIA), and General Manager of Wilson Racquet Sports. “We’ve focused not only on reinforcing our already strong base, but at the same time, we’ve developed new, innovative programs to bring players, of all ages and skill levels, into the game.”
“From programs like QuickStart Tennis that makes it easy for young players to get into the sport and begin a developmental pathway; to high school and college programs like USTA’s No-Cut and Tennis on Campus, which keeps them in the game; to the innovative and fitness based Cardio Tennis, which combines tennis with a healthy and fun work-out curriculum, the tennis industry is at the forefront of engaging and retaining players,” Muir added. “The TIA has also established more than 2600 Tennis Welcome Centers across the country, and provides an online GrowingTennis System that lets consumers find places to play, partners with comparable skill level and other programs that all serve to enhance their overall tennis experience.”
The TIA, USTA and many other industry partners have been united since 1993 in a joint effort to support “Grow The Game” activities, a strategy to increase tennis participation on several levels.
Tennis Participation vs. Economy
“We are especially pleased that interest in tennis has been able to withstand this soft economy,” added Jolyn de Boer, Executive Director, TIA. “We’ve charted the various economic indicators against industry shipments and participation numbers from 2003. We’ve clearly seen that tennis has experienced a level of growth unmatched among other major sports and participation doesn’t seem as impacted by a down economy.”
In addition to the rise in tennis participation, charting industry shipments over this same five year period showed shipments of adult racquets are up 30%, while shipments for youth racquets increased a remarkable 88% from 2003 thru 2008. Furthermore, tennis ball shipments for the same time period were up over 16%, continuing to demonstrate an increasing attraction to the sport. Muir adds: “While no industry can escape the current impact of the nation’s economic challenges, we will use the current report provided by the SGMA study and our own TIA/USTA Participation research to focus on creating even more players and consumers for our sport.”
TIA
The Tennis Industry Association, the not-for-profit trade association for tennis, is THE unifying force in the tennis industry bringing together competitive companies to work collectively to promote and grow the sport. The TIA works closely with the USTA and industry partners to develop and implement initiatives to increase tennis participation. Core TIA activities include Participation Research, Consumer and Trade Research and the Growing Tennis System. For more information, please visit TennisIndustry.org or GrowingTennis.com.
USTA
The USTA is the national governing body for the sport of tennis in the U.S. and the leader in promoting and developing the growth of tennis at every level — from local communities to the highest level of the professional game. It owns and operates the US Open, the highest attended annual sporting event in the world, and launched the Olympus US Open Series linking 10 summer tournaments to the US Open. A not-for-profit organization with more than 725,000 members, it invests 100% of its proceeds in growing the game. In addition, it owns the 94 Pro Circuit events throughout the U.S., and selects the teams for the Davis Cup, Fed Cup, Olympic and Paralympic Games.
SGMA
SGMA, the trade association of leading industry sports and fitness brands, enhances industry vitality and fosters sports and fitness participation through research, thought leadership, product promotion and public policy. SGMA produces the industry leading National Health-through-Fitness Day on Capitol Hill as well as representing the industry on trade and consumer issues. More information about SGMA membership and SGMA’s Sports Research Partnership can be found at www.sgma.com.
Current Tennis Industry Initiatives:
Tennis Welcome Centers: These public and private tennis facilities have led the charge in growing the sport by welcoming new players to the game the right way – through instruction. The facilities provide well-rounded programs to new and current players of all ages and abilities. On average, each Tennis Welcome Center, reports 39 new players, retains 34 players and 82 percent of the centers reported increased revenue from lessons. Visit http://www.tenniswelcomecenter.com/ for more information.
Cardio Tennis: This program brings new players to tennis by demonstrating the exercise and fitness benefits of the sport. Cardio Tennis is a fun way to get in shape and lose weight, even for someone who has never played tennis. In just 4 years, Cardio Tennis is now offered in over 1,700 facilities nationwide. Find more information about Cardio Tennis at: www.cardiotennis.com.
QuickStart Tennis for kids: This program is a great way to integrate children – primarily 10 years old and younger – into tennis by using a progressive format to teach basic skills on shorter courts, using smaller racquets, low pressure balls, and modified scoring. This method will train the next generation of tennis players as the QuickStart format is now being used in almost 1,000 locations across the country! For more information please visit: http://consumers.quickstarttennis.com/.
Tennis On Campus: Developed by the USTA to promote and support the expansion of recreational tennis on college campuses. Either through intramural tournaments and leagues or in a more structured sport club environment, teams compete interscholastically. Tennis On Campus focuses on providing opportunities for the entire campus community, and is currently run on more than 500 campuses across the country, providing organized play for 30,000 participants. For more information about Tennis On Campus please visit: http://www.tennisoncampus.com/.
No-Cut: This program was introduced to encourage and recognize high school coaches who make a commitment to their schools by not cutting any student who tries out for the team. Since its inception, the USTA’s No-Cut program has been embraced by coaches across the country, nearly doubling each year since its inception. With almost 1,800 coaches now implementing a no-cut philosophy, thousands of students who may have otherwise dropped the sport are now part of a team and competing for their school. Find more information about the No-Cut program at: http://www.usta.com/Coaches/HighSchool.aspx.
GrowingTennis System / Online Enrollment: The national TIA database has more than 20,000 facility listings and contacts that can post their programs and events online at GrowingTennis.com. Every month, more than 2.4 million consumer queries are made to these informational postcards on consumer sites including usta.com, tennischannel.com, tennis.com, tenniswelcomecenter.com, cardiotennis.com, quickstart.com and others. Visitors and players can also automatically register for programs, events or reserve court time online, saving time and money. For more information please visit: www.growingtennis.com/.
Source: Tennis Industry Association
Gatorade National Girls Basketball Player of the Year: Skylar Diggins
Indiana standout named nation’s top high school performer
In its third decade of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, in partnership with ESPN RISE, today announced senior guard Skylar Diggins of Washington High School (South Bend, Ind.) as its 2008-09 Gatorade National Girls Basketball Player of the Year.
The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the court, distinguishes Diggins as the nation’s best high school girls basketball player. A national advisory board comprised of sportswriters and sport-specific experts from around the country helped select Diggins from more than 449,000 high school girls basketball players nationwide. Diggins is now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade Female High School Athlete of the Year Award, to be presented at a special afternoon ceremony prior to The ESPY Awards in July.
The 5-foot-10 senior guard led the Panthers to a 26-1 record and a runner-up finish in the Class 4A state tournament, where they fell to the nation’s No. 1-ranked team, Ben Davis of Indianapolis, 71-69. This season, Diggins averaged a state-best 29.0 points per game, along with 6.3 rebounds, 6.2 assists, 5.4 steals and 2.2 blocked shots. A two-time Gatorade Indiana Girls Basketball Player of the Year, Diggins led the Panthers to state championship games in four consecutive years, including Washington’s title-winning season of 2007. A McDonald’s All-American Game selection, she finished her career with 2,790 points–the third-highest girls’ scoring total in Indiana history–for an average of 25.9 points per game. Also a Women’s Basketball Coaches Association All-American Game invitee, Diggins holds school records in career points, single-season points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks.
On the international scene, Diggins was a standout for the USA Women’s Under-18 National Team, starting all five games at the 2008 FIBA Under-18 Americas Championship in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and leading the United States to a perfect record and gold medal. Diggins averaged 10.8 points on 50-percent shooting from the field, 3.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2 steals in 23.2 minutes per game and ranked among the top 10 in the entire tournament in scoring (10th), field goal percentage (7th), assists (2nd), steals (8th), and assist-to-turnover ratio (2nd).
Diggins has maintained a 3.91 GPA in the classroom. A member of the National Honor Society and a peer mentor at Washington High, she has served as a physician’s-assistant intern in her school’s Medical Magnet Program. Diggins has also volunteered with the national Young Life ministry, and has participated in youth empowerment, leadership and educational-enrichment programs on behalf of her school’s Girlfriends Group, as well as the national Educational Talent Search and Project Excel programs.
“Everyone talks about Skylar’s offensive ability, but she’s like Michael Jordan,” said Dominic Ball, head coach at rival Penn High. “He was a great defensive player, too. And she’s a heck of a defender. I saw her block three shots in a matter of 15 seconds. She can get up, she can block shots, she can rebound. When she wants to put the clamps down, you’re not getting around her.”
Diggins has signed a National Letter of Intent to play basketball on scholarship at the University of Notre Dame this fall.
“Without question, Skylar is deserving of recognition as the nation’s best high school girls basketball player based on her statistics on the court and the impact her play had on Washington’s success,” said Gatorade Senior Vice President of Sports Marketing Jeff Urban. “But she is also a shining example to peers and aspiring young players of what a leader and a student-athlete should be. She represents everything we hope for in a Gatorade Player of the Year recipient.”
The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states that sanction high school football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track & field, and awards one National Player of the Year in each sport. The selection process is administered by ESPN RISE, which works with top sport-specific experts and a media advisory board of accomplished, veteran prep sports journalists to determine the state winners in each sport.
For more on the Gatorade Player of the Year program, including nomination information and lists of past winners and future announcement dates, visit gatorade.com/playeroftheyear.
ALL-TIME GATORADE NATIONAL GIRLS BASKETBALL PLAYERS OF THE YEAR
Year/ Name/ High School Status
2008-09 Skylar Diggins Washington/South Bend, IN High School Senior
2007-08 Nneka Ogwumike Cy-Fair/Cypress, TX Stanford University
2006-07 Maya Moore Collins Hill/Suwanee, GA Univ. of Connecticut
2005-06 Tina Charles Christ the King/Middle Village, NY Univ. of Connecticut
2004-05 Abby Waner ThunderRidge/Highlands Ranch, CO Duke Univ.
2003-04 Candace Parker Naperville Central/Naperville, IL Los Angeles Sparks
2002-03 Candace Parker Naperville Central/Naperville, IL Los Angeles Sparks
2001-02 Ann Strother Highlands Ranch/Highlands Ranch, CO Atlanta Dream
2000-01 Shyra Ely Ben Davis/Indianapolis, IN Chicago Sky
1999-00 Shereka Wright Copperas Cove/Copperas Cove, TX WNBA Free Agent
1998-99 Nicole Sachem North/Lake Rononkoma, NY Professional/ Kaczmarski Europe
1997-98 Tamika Williams Chaminade-Julienne/Dayton, OH Connecticut Sun
1996-97 Nikki Teasley St. John’s at Prospect Atlanta Dream Hall/Frederick, MD
1995-96 Jamie Walz Highlands/Ft. Thomas, KY Highlands HS Coach
1994-95 Stephanie Seeger/West Lebanon, IN Univ. of McCarty Toledo (Coach)
1993-94 Monick Foote Samford/Wilmington, DE Professional/ Israel
1992-93 La’Keshia Frett Phoebus/Hampton, VA Univ. of Georgia (Coach)
1991-92 Katie Smith Logan/Logan, OH Detroit Shock
1990-91 Michelle Central Catholic/Allentown, PA Univ. of S. Marciniak Carolina (Coach)
1989-90 Lisa Leslie Morningside/Inglewood, CA Los Angeles Sparks
1988-89 Lisa Harrison Southern/Louisville, KY Retired from WNBA
1987-88 Vicki Hall Brebeuf Preparatory/ Professional/ Indianapolis, IN Europe
1986-87 Kris Durham Union Catholic/Scotch Plains, NJ Seton Hall Univ. Grad.
1985-86 Susan Anderson Mt. Baker/Deming, WA Univ. of Texas Grad.
Source: Gatorade
All-Time Greats Joan Benoit and Henry Rono, Sullivan Finalist Phil Raschker Highlight USA Masters
March 20-22 at PGSLC with 12 OLYMPIANS and 58 World Champions among record 1000, Hosted by Potomac Valley Track Club;
12:30 PM FRIDAY: BENOIT, FIRST OLYMPIC WOMEN’S MARATHON GOLD MEDALIST, RACES 3000 METERS GOING FOR RECORD, FOLLOWING OLYMPIAN JOHN TUTTLE’S 3000 RACE; MEDIA WELCOME
Entrants are 30-95, Theme of Lifetime Fitness; LOCAL STARS abound
The 2009 USA Masters Indoor Track & Field Championships at Prince George’s Sports and Learning Center in Landover MD, Friday-Sunday, March 20-22, 2009, has attracted the country’s and world’s top masters athletes, including twelve Olympians and 58 reigning world record holders. With the theme of lifetime fitness, the meet is open to all athletes 30 and up. Oldest competitor is 95.
1000 — a record for national masters indoors (old record 849) since its 1974 beginnings and the most for any masters indoor meet ever in North America — will compete in the meet, hosted and organized by the Potomac Valley Track Club.
Joan Benoit Samuelson, 51 of Freeport, ME, the 1984 Gold Medalist in the first Olympic Women’s Marathon at the Los Angeles Olympics, is targeting the American and world 50+ records in an opening day event final Friday 12:30 PM, the 3000 meters. The M50 3000 features another 1984 Olympian, John Tuttle of Atlanta.
Kenyan-born running legend Henry Rono will run the mile Saturday at 12:30 PM and 800 meters Sunday. Rono, now 57, broke four open world records in 81 days in 1978 – the 10,000, 5000, 3000, and 3000 steeplechase.
Two-time Sullivan Award Finalist Philippa Raschker, 62, of Marietta, Georgia is in several running and field events. Twice in the last five years (including 2008), Raschker made the short list of the top five for America’s top amateur athlete of any age (with Michael Phelps, Apolo Ohno, Lebron James, and Tim Tebow).
In the mile and 800, Rono will compete with Nolan Shaheed, 59 of Pasadena, CA, who played lead trumpet with Count Basie, Natalie Cole, Stevie Wonder, and Diana Ross. Shaheed will play the National Anthem after his mile race Saturday.
The 60 Meters with all ages begins 9AM Saturday with the much enjoyed M 90+ at 10:30 AM.
Among local national stars in the meet are five-time Olympic trials qualifier (800 meters) Alisa Harvey, 43, of Manassas; 1976 Olympian Jim Barrineau, 53, of Burke in the high jump; lifetime 20-world and national sprint titles holder Larry Colbert, 71, of Bowie, U.S. high jump record holder Bruce McBarnette, 51, of Sterling; and many-time masters age group athlete of the year, James Stookey, 79, of Dickerson in the 60m, 60h, LJ, and TJ.
Oldest competitor entered: Leland McPhie, 95, of San Diego, in SEVEN events: Oldest DC area competitor is Charles Boyle, 85 of Annapolis.
PVTC President Craig Chasse is Meet Director. National Media Chair is Bob Weiner (Accokeek, MD), who with Larry Colbert and Tom Jones conceived and led the successful bid. Prince George’s Sports and Learning Complex is next to FedEx Field, home of the Washington Redskins.
Individual event finals begin 10:30 AM Friday, 9AM Saturday, 9:30 AM Sunday.
For detailed entrants and schedule, USATF’s meet home page is: http://www.usatf.org/events/2009/USAMastersIndoorTFChampionships/.
The PVTC site for more detail is www.pvtc.org/09_nationals.html .
Source: Robert Weiner Associates
Gagliardi Wins Walmart FLW Tour on Table Rock Lake
Chevy pro Anthony Gagliardi of Prosperity, S.C., caught a final-round total of 10 bass weighing 28 pounds, 14 ounces to win $125,000 in the Walmart FLW Tour on Table Rock Lake. Gagliardi outlasted one of the best final field of top-10 anglers in FLW Outdoors history, who have a combined career earnings of more than $7.8 million which included four Land O’ Lakes Angler’s of the Year, three Forrest Wood Cup champions and the 2008 Rookie of the Year. With nearly a four-day total of 15,000 people in attendance, the final day of the FLW Tour qualifying event in Branson was the largest in FLW Outdoors’ history.
Gagliardi topped his closest rival, Scott Suggs of Bryant, Ark., by 10 ounces to earn the win and 200 points toward qualifying for the $2 million Forrest Wood Cup presented by Castrol and BP, which will be held July 30-Aug. 2 on the Three Rivers in Pittsburgh, Pa., where they could win as much as $1 million – the sport’s biggest award.
“I was ready to go out and fish today,” said Gagliardi, who notched his third FLW Tour victory. “I haven’t won an event since 2006 [on the FLW Tour] and that was the only cut I made since 2005 so this feels really good.”
Gagliardi caught most of his fish in the White River fishing one creek that he had four or five spots on. He also spent time on the James River this week. “It wasn’t really my plan to run to both of these rivers,” he said. “I don’t like to do a lot of running. I had to run down one and back up the other and that was wasting a lot of time. I was hoping that I was able to figure something out so I would only have to go to one river but that never materialized.
“This week I caught my fish on a Lucky Craft Pointer,” he said. “The first two days I fished shallow because the fish were positioned up close to the bank. The second day I struggled but I did the same thing-fishing the bank with a jerkbait.
“I tried to keep moving out deeper as the days went on and at the end of the second day I caught two big fish in 15 to 30 feet of water.”
Gagliardi opened the tournament Thursday in 41st place with five bass weighing 15-4. He jumped to eighth place Friday with a five-bass catch weighing 17 pounds, 15 ounces to advance into the final round of 10 pros with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 33 pounds, 3 ounces. On Saturday, weights were cleared, and Gagliardi caught five bass weighing 14-6 to advance to the final day of competition in third place. Gagliardi added another five bass weighing 14-8 to his final-round total Sunday.
“I haven’t fished Table Rock before but it’s the same type of water and pattern that I am familiar with and the type of lakes that I fish back home,” he said. “I always have enjoyed fishing clear water and fishing a jerkbait is something that I like. This is actually the first time that I have been able to put together a jerkbait bite in a tournament.”
Suggs caught a final-round total of 10 bass weighing 28-4 to claim second place and $50,000.
“This is a tough loss,” said Suggs, who is the 2007 Forrest Wood Cup champion. “Coming this close and knowing that I lost by ounces is hard.”
Suggs caught all of his fish this week on a Berkley Hollow Belly. “Today, I caught all of my fish in 70 to 80 feet of water,” he said. “I was able to catch a limit before 9 a.m. all this week but today it seemed that the fish were just slapping at the bait.”
Rounding out the top 10 pros were Scott Canterbury of Springville, Ala. (eight bass, 26-3, $40,000); Dan Morehead of Paducah, Ky. (10 bass, 24-2, $30,000); BP pro David Walker of Sevierville, Tenn. (nine bass, 23-1, $20,000); National Guard pro Brent Ehrler of Redlands, Calif. (six bass, 14-5, $19,000); Febreeze pro Michael Bennett of Lincoln, Calif. (three bass, 6-11, $18,000); Pop Tarts pro Greg Bohannan of Rogers, Ark. (three bass, 5-11, $17,000); Chad Morgenthaler of Coulterville, Ill. (two bass, 4-5, $16,000) and BP pro Shinichi Fukae of Mineola, Texas (zero bass, $15,000).
“BP pro Shinichi Fukae was disqualified for fishing in an area where power boats were not allowed,” said FLW Outdoors CEO and President Charlie Evans. “There may have been a misunderstanding due to the language barrier, but because of the rule violation, his weights for the final round were zeroed out.”
Overall there were 26 bass weighing 69 pounds, 12 ounces caught in the Pro Division Sunday. The catch included three five-bass limits.
Patrick Majors of Rogers, Ark., won the Co-angler Division and $20,000 Saturday with a five-bass limit weighing 14 pounds, 3 ounces followed by Fred Martin of North Little Rock, Ark., in second place with five bass weighing 13-13 worth $10,000.
Majors opened the tournament in 23rd place Thursday with two bass weighing 8-12 while fishing with Lendell Martin Jr. of Nacogdoches, Texas. On Friday he jumped into seventh place on the strength of two bass catch weighing 8-11 while fishing with Kyle Mabrey of McCalla, Ala. He wrapped up his win while fishing with Dan Morehead of Paducah, Ky.
“All I do is fish for fun,” Majors said. “This really is a dream come true. I don’t know what else to say.”
Majors said that every fish except for one this week came off a purple with chartreuse suspended Rogue jerkbait. “What I would do is throw the Rogue out of the back of the boat and give it about 30 to 40 yards and starting jerking it,” Majors said. “While the pro is working the bank in the front I am strolling the jerkbait. I do this a lot at home on Beaver Lake.”
Majors said that his wife already has plans for the $20,000 that he won today. “My next step is to go to Beaver Lake and see if I can do it again,” he said.
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers are Brandon Hunter of Benton, Ky. (four bass, 16-15, $7,500); James Watson of Waynesville, Mo.(three bass, 6-11, $5,000); Zac Cassill of Fairfax, Iowa (one bass, 5-7, $4,000); Frank Divis Sr. of Fayetteville, Ark. (one bass, 2-3, $3,500); Alex Posey of Roswell, Ga. (zero bass, $3,000); Teddy Bradley of Mishawaka, Ind. (zero bass, $2,500); Dearal Rodgers of Camden, S.C. (zero bass, $2,000) and David Lauer of South Bend, Ind. (zero bass, $1,500).
Overall there were 19 bass weighing 51 pounds, 10 ounces caught in the Co-angler Division Saturday. The catch included two five-bass limits.
In FLW Tour competition, pros and co-anglers are randomly paired each day, with pros supplying the boat, controlling boat movement and competing against other pros. Co-anglers fish from the back deck against other co-anglers. The full field competes in the two-day opening round for one of 10 slots in Saturday’s competition based on their two-day accumulated weight. Weights are cleared for day three, and co-angler competition concludes following Saturday’s weigh-in. The top 10 pros continue competition Sunday, with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from days three and four.
Coverage of the tournament, hosted by the Branson/Lakes Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, will be broadcast on VERSUS, the network which brings anglers the best fishing programming on television featuring the most-trusted authorities on the water. The Emmy-nominated “FLW Outdoors,” will air April 19 from 12:30 to 1:30 ET. “FLW Outdoors,” hosted by Jason Harper, is broadcast to approximately 500 million households worldwide, including internationally through agreements with WFN (World Fishing Network) and Matchroom Sport to such countries as Canada, Germany, China, South Africa, Australia, Malaysia, Russia, Hungary and the United Kingdom, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoor-sports television show in the world.
The FLW Tour will award more than $8 million in cash to the world’s top bass anglers in 2009. Regular season competition includes three qualifiers and three opens. Each event takes anglers a step closer to the $2 million Forrest Wood Cup presented by BP and Castrol, which will be held July 30-Aug. 2 on the Three Rivers in Pittsburgh, Pa. The prestigious championship and outdoor show hosted by VisitPittsburgh will feature 77 pros, 77 co-anglers and bass fishing’s largest cash award – a potential $1 million first-place prize for the winning pro.
FLW Outdoors, named after Forrest L. Wood, the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world. FLW Outdoors also is taking fishing mainstream with FLW Fantasy Fishing, offering the largest awards possible in the history of fantasy sports, $10 million in cash and prizes. Sign up for Player’s Advantage for only $10 to get your edge and win.
For more information about FLW Fantasy Fishing and Player’s Advantage, visit FantasyFishing.com.
Bermuda’s Peter Bromby and Crew Magnus Liljedahl Win 2009 Bacardi Cup
Bermuda’s Peter Bromby and veteran Star Class crew Magnus Liljedahl of Miami won the 2009 Bacardi Cup Star Class Regatta Friday on Biscayne Bay in Miami.
Bromby and Liljedahl sailed to victory on the final race in the six race regatta to finish with a commanding six-point lead over Floridian Mark Mendelblatt, the 2005 Bacardi Cup champion, and crew Bruno Prada (BRA) who finished second overall.
Bromby took an early lead on the left side of the fleet following a very strong start and held the lead at each of the first three marks. He rounded the fourth mark in second place behind seven-time Bacardi Cup Champion Mark Reynolds of San Diego, sailing this week with crew Hal Haenel, but regained the lead on the final leg to capture both the Day Six victory and his third Bacardi Cup championship.
“Every time we needed some extra horsepower, we seemed to find it today,” said Bromby. “We were keeping an eye on Mendelblatt. If he would have taken control of us, things would have been very different. Our strategy was to cover him throughout the race.”
Added Liljedahl, “We attacked [Mendelblatt] at the start, tripped him a few more times, and sucker-punched him a couple times at the end. We just needed to stay ahead of him today.”
Rounding out the overall top five were New Yorker Rick Merriman and crew Phil Trinter; Switzerland’s Olympic Star sailor Flavio Marazzi and crew Petter Pedersen (NOR); and veteran Star sailor Paul Cayard, who has finished second in the Bacardi Cup four times, with crew Austin Sperry, the 2008 Olympian representing the United States in the Star Class.
“Our start was a disaster,” said 2003 Rolex Yachtsman of the Year Augie Diaz. Half way up the first weather leg, we had an opportunity to come across, but we got greedy. Had we gone toward the fleet, we might have been in the top 20. For us, it was combination of sailing badly and a bad start. Bromby, however, was on fire this week; he is very deserving of this victory.”
“I came in not knowing what to expect,” added Clay Bischoff, a Star Class up-and-comer and winner of the 2009 ISAF Team Racing World Championship with Team USA in Australia. “I came to learn as much as I could, regardless of the scores and standings. Growing up in Miami, seeing this bay, and being around a group of great guys willing to pass down their knowledge created just a perfect atmosphere for me as a young sailor. I can’t wait to come back to the Bacardi Cup.”
More than 60 teams representing 15 countries competed in the 82nd Bacardi Cup Star Class Regatta, one of the most competitive Star Class events in the world. The legendary Bacardi Cup, ranked as one of the best international sailing regattas in the world, is sponsored in full by Bacardi U.S.A., Inc. and co-hosted by the Coral Reef Yacht Club and the U.S. Sailing Center in Miami, FL. What started out as a three-day event with less than 10 boats in Havana, Cuba in 1927, remains one of the few sporting events in which weekend enthusiasts have the opportunity to compete head on with Olympians and Star World Champions.
Pos Bow/Sail Skipper Crew Club Points
1 54/ 8272 Bromby, Peter Liljedahl, Magnus BER 13.30
2 59/ 8267 Mendelblatt, Mark Prada, Bruno USA 19.00
3 62/ 8362 Merriman, Rick Trinter, Phil USA 39.00
4 64/ 8364 Marazzi, Flavio Pedersen, Petter SUI 40.00
5 60/ 8259 Cayard, Paul Sperry, Austin USA 45.00
6 76/ 8376 VanderMolen, Jon Ewenson, Geoff USA 46.00
7 32/ 8265 Wright, Peter Quist, Nathan USA 52.00
8 50/ 8250 MacDonald, Andy Fatih, Brian USA 53.00
9 46/ 8361 Pickel, Marc Mitchell, Steve GER 55.00
10 37/ 8261 O’Leary, Peter Goodbody, Tim IRL 58.00
Source: Bacardi Cup
Over 400 Disabled Veterans Register to Ski at National Event
As evidence of what President Barack Obama called America’s “unyielding commitment” to our nation’s Veterans, more than 400 severely injured Veterans will take part in the 23rd National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic from March 29 through April 3 in Snowmass Village, Colo.
The clinic, which is hosted by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and co-sponsored by the Disabled American Veterans (DAV), instructs Veterans with disabilities in adaptive Alpine and Nordic skiing, and introduces them to a number of other adaptive recreational activities and sports. This year’s clinic will feature a record number of participants, including many who served in the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki said that he will attend this year’s event and is “looking forward to celebrating the triumph of the human spirit over both physical adversity and fear of failure.” He believes that the event, and the volunteers who work with Veterans during it, “give so many young Veterans a glimpse of what is possible if they keep hope alive. I know of few greater gifts one can bestow on others.”
The clinic is an annual rehabilitation program open to U.S. military Veterans with traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, orthopedic amputations, visual impairments, certain neurological problems and other disabilities, who receive care at a VA medical facility or military treatment center. It is the largest adaptive event of its kind in the world.
An estimated 200 certified ski instructors for the disabled and several current and former members of the U.S. Disabled Ski Team serve as instructors to meet the unique needs of the participants.
“Now, more than ever, we need events like the Winter Sports Clinic to challenge and inspire our wounded Veterans,” said DAV National Commander Raymond E. Dempsey. “The complexity of the injuries suffered by some of our newest disabled Veterans and the health issues facing our aging Veterans make necessary the most creative and engaging recreational rehabilitation.”
At the six-day event, Veterans also learn rock climbing, scuba diving, snowmobiling, curling and sled hockey. They can also participate in additional events and workshops. The U.S. Secret Service will offer a course on self-defense.
“DAV is proud to have a committed partner in the Department of Veterans Affairs,” said Dempsey. “Without our friends at VA, these ‘miracles’ are not possible.”
VA is a recognized leader in rehabilitative and recreational therapies, and operates more than 1,400 sites of care, including 153 medical centers. DAV is a non-profit, congressionally chartered Veterans service organization with a membership of more than one million wartime disabled Veterans.
Contacts:
For further information, contact Richard Olague, VA public affairs coordinator, Winter Sports Clinic, at (202) 461-7541; or (202) 746-8552 (cell); Rob Lewis, DAV Communications, at (859) 442-2049, or Log on to the event’s Web site at: www.wintersportsclinic.va.gov