The Angling Trust is now inviting applications from talented young coarse anglers for the 2014/15 England Talent Pathway programme.

Events will begin in May and will be delivered throughout the country providing opportunities in the North, Midlands, and Southern regions for young anglers aged 13-17 to showcase their skills, and be selected to take part in a series of high performance training programmes, and aim for an invitation to the Sensas Team England under 18 trials for the 2015 World Championships.

Anglers attending the screening events will perform in a match environment under the watchful eye of Angling Trust talent coaches and be assessed on their technical, tactical and mental attributes. Nationwide a total of 36 coarse anglers will be selected to progress to stage two of the programme, which involves a series of coaching and competitive opportunities focused on tactics and techniques required for International angling. Sessions will be led by Angling Trust talent coaches and elite coaches from Team England squads.

Ben Thompson, Angling Trust Talent Development Manager said “This is a great opportunity for young anglers to learn from some of the best anglers and coaches in the country. The 2013/14 programme resulted in Jake McNeil progressing from the Talent Pathway to Sensas Team England U18’s squad to compete in the World Championships this July in the Netherlands. This year will see Frankie Gianoncelli, Lee Kerry, Matt Godfrey and Tom Scholey join the coaching teams around the country. If there are any young anglers with the desire to fish for their country then entering this programme will give them a great platform to achieve their ambitions.”

The Angling Trust England Talent Pathway identifies anglers’ aged 13-17 showing potential, and those anglers enter a training programme designed to develop understanding of tactics and techniques required for international style angling. There are Northern, Midlands and Southern squads in both game and coarse angling, and a sea angling programme will also be launched in the South for 2014/15.

Anglers interested in getting involved should visit www.anglingtrust.net/talentpathway for more information and details of how to apply. There is a small entry fee of £10 for each event and all participants must be individual members of the Angling Trust and membership is FREE for anyone under 18 years of age. Angling Trust membership is available online at www.anglingtrust.net