A Scheme To Be Proud Of

What about this for a scheme then, to attract new people into angling.

Excellent, I was very impressed with the efforts and results of the SAFE team. This is exactly the way to beat the anti-angling campaigners and take angling into 21st century. It was also nice to see older participants making a come back or having a go for the first time. If I didn’t live in a very rural area then I would be willing to give my time to an organisation such as SAFE.

What a top scheme,an obvious blueprint to be used elsewhere,but howcome this is the first i have heard about it?Surely this is the sort of thing the angling media should be shouting about from the rooftops?
More power to all associated with this truly worthy scheme.
Peter.

On behalf of everyone involved with SAFE a huge thank you for your superb review. I enjoyed every minute of our last event, as did all the participants and instructors, everyone caught fish and went away happy and eager for more. Everyone's welcome to attend our events even if it's only to have a look around and see what we do. SAFE is going from strength to strength at the moment and gaining not only local but national recognition. Once again thank you for your exellent review and support

Great idea, I know Dolphin Tackle in Stoke do a Tues night fish-infor newcomers (Sedge) on the cut by the shop-just turn up, they provide everything bait, kit, advice-right the way throught he summer.

Great scheme, I hope it does really well, and it gets the recognition it deserves.

The Get Hooked On Fishing scheme in Durham (which is run through Durham police as part of their crime provention policy) is doing well and getting good publicity. I think out of the 132 kids who have been on the scheme 130 are still fishing. I did have the pleasure of talking to it's organiser Mick Watson, who said when they go to a school and ask who would like to go fishing the hands just shoot up. It cerainly is a good sign in these supposed days of doom and gloom about dropping numbers of anglers.

I wish the SAFE scheme every success, and hope it can be the start of many other such projects. The people who put their time in to this type of thing should be applauded.

Excellent article, encouraging others to take up this great sport of ours is something every angler should be doing at all times.
Especially juniors,despite reports to the contrary, all of them do not want to sit allday in bedrooms, playing computer games.
In the last twelve months I have been trying to convince the Angling magazines I work for,that a junior / beginners page is a 'must have'priority.
S.A.F.E. and projects like it, must be given high profile coverage in the press to s.a.f.e.guard the future of Angling.

There are several similar schemes in existence in other areas of the north west.

Warrington AA have several qualified angling coaches who run events every week, during the evening and at weekends contact Martin James 01925 266 040.

Lymm AC also have a flourishing junior section, again with a qualified coach in attendance, contact Mark Dineley 0151 486 4401.

Leigh and District AC also have regular weekly tuition sessions, contact Ken Buxton 01942 517 610.

There are also regular events at Sefton Park Lake, Liverpool as recently reported in the Liverpool Echo, contact Lee Gibbon 0151 727 7363.

As to why the mainstream angling press give so little regular coverage to events and groups such as SAFE, I have no idea.

I was involved with the NFA Coaching roadshow last year when we visited 28 venues spanning the whole of the country throughout July and August.
This entailed 10 qualified coaches on each venue every day. It was a truly massive series of coaching events and was an ideal opportunity for potentially new anglers of all ages to try the sport for the first time or for beginners to receive a bit of free coaching.
We received superb coverage on Sky,satellite, local and national TV and radio.
Yet for whatever reason the angling press with 1 or 2 exceptions (CF being one of them) gave us a wide berth. At virtualy every single event a member of the public would arrive and say ''if it had been in the 'paper' I would have brought my kids, scout group, youth club'' etc. As such many potential participants missed out because of this apparent lack of interest/foresight from the mainstream angling press.

i have also been running coaching courses for youngster for the last two years since qualifing as a PAA coach i now work in conjunction with the local council leisure dept, and angling is part of the sports available in the school holidays.
these are fully booked this summer but i can get no interest from school heads etc for any exta curricular activity and i find no supprt whatsoever from tackle manufactures, local tackle shops help out with vouchers etc and i have now been asked to branch out and do private courses in coarse and carp fishing

All the best

dave Godwin