Female angling star, Emma Pickering from Doncaster has added to the England medal collection this summer with an Olympic display at the World Ladies Angling Championships in Hungary last weekend (16th/ 17th August) as she fished for Subfish NFA Team England Ladies.
As England continue to climb the medal tables in Beijing with one of our most successful Olympics ever, non-Olympic sports are also upping their game to bring home gold.
Angling is one of the largest female participation sports in the country with 66,000 going fishing every year, which is a huge number compared with most sports. With such participation, there is a huge following of our Subfish England team and immense pressure on them to bring back medals.
Thankfully for English sport Emma Pickering daughter of angling superstar Tommy Pickering didn’t buckle under the limelight and achieved her dream of winning a World Championship, angling’s equivalent to Olympic gold. Having already seen success this year, winning the Ladies Fish ‘O’ Mania live on Sky Sports, she can now add the World title to her list of achievements.
Emma won the championships with 3 points and a total weight over the two days of 12.650kg. The top four anglers were all level on points; however it was Emma’s superior weight that landed her gold. Emma fished a very consistent match landing 197 fish on day one and 198 fish on the second day.
Talking to Emma she commented, “I really didn’t expect it, the match was fished on one of the best venues I have been to which made it such a close contest. I was concentrating on just fishing for the team positions, however as the second day wore on I knew that there was a chance [individually]. Winning the World Championship was a real shock, but from a personal achievement perspective this has to be one of the best experiences I have had.”
The second placed angler was Valérie Nadan from France who finished behind Emma with 11.850kg and in the bronze medal position was Jôzsefné Devecseri from host nation Hungary who ended with 11.370kg, over a kilo behind Emma Pickering.
In the team classification it was always going to be an uphill battle to beat Hungary on their home waters, and true to form they took gold with 25 points and a final weight of 54.240kg. Unfortunately the Subfish NFA Team England Ladies were unable to emulate Emma’s gold, finishing fourth for the third year in succession.
“It was always going to be difficult to beat Hungary, however all the team did exceptionally well with every member finishing in the top 25 positions individually. This competition was just so close, and with all the competing nations continually improving and building strong infrastructures we really need to take our fishing to the next level to continue the success we had in the 90’s”, said Tommy Pickering manager of Subfish NFA Team England Ladies.
Tommy continued, “I am really proud of Emma winning the gold medal, but it is hugely disappointing not to win the team gold, that is what we practice for and why we go to the World Championships.”
However, the fourth place does not tell the full story as Subfish NFA Team England Ladies were in medal positions throughout the match but due to a late flurry of catches from the French team in the last five minutes of action, sadly England once again watched a medal slip from within their grasp. The team finished on 41 points and 47.360kg, just one point behind bronze medalists France with 40 points and 47.230kg. The silver medal went to the Italians who excelled on a strong day one and put in a solid second day to finish with 39 points and 48.030kg.
Paul Derbyshire, Managing Director of Subfish the official sponsor of Subfish NFA Team England Ladies added, “The whole experience of being involved in the World Championships has been absolutely fantastic. Of course it’s disappointing not to win a medal for the team, but we have to congratulate Emma Pickering on becoming individual world champion the ultimate achievement in our sport.”
Subfish
Subfish tackle shop was opened in June 2007 it has grown dramatically in the short period of time since its launch and has doubled in size covering 3000 sq ft. Subfish is known for being the supermarket of tackle shops. Customers have commented that subfish tackle shop is “4 times larger than the average tackle shop”.
Subfish is a highly stocked tackle shop ensuring the highest availability at all times including top end tackle. Although Subfish is in its infancy they hold accounts with most major brands including Garbolino, Daiwa, Shakespeare, Preston, Shimano and Drennan & Sensas to name just a few.
Subfish is staffed by two professionally sponsored anglers with a great wealth of knowledge and experience who will advise on all areas of angling from beginners to professional. Subfish tackle shop hopes to encourage more ladies and families into the sport.
The National Federation of Anglers
The sport of angling is recognised by Sport England and the Government as offering key benefits to society through participation in a healthy outdoor activity. As anglers we already know how our sport helps us to unwind from the stresses of everyday life and enjoy the pleasures that our countryside provides.
We also play a key role in the conservation of our rivers and lakes as we are often the first to notice water pollution and fish disease. It is through our efforts that we help to safeguard the environment in which our sport takes place, and protect the very existence of our sport.
Angling caters for every cross-section of the community irrespective of age, gender, race, physical ability, mental ability or social standing. Through our pro-active coaching and development programmes we are helping to educate youngsters about the skills required in everyday life, as well as the current issues that affect our sport and how they can participate and contribute to the development of angling.
By joining the NFA you are supporting our work which promotes and protects your sport. It is only through adopting a collective stance that we can highlight the issues that threaten the development of angling as a modern and vibrant sport.
