South Africa's top fly fishers have qualified to compete in the 2006 World Fly Fishing Championships being held in Portugal from 9 to 18 September, it was announced at a function last night.
Sybase SA, the sole African representative of Sybase Inc, the world's largest enterprise software company, simultaneously announced it will help elevate the profile of this sport by sponsoring the SA team - the Sybase Proteas, over the next two years.
"This sponsorship will ensure our country's leading anglers have the opportunity to compete on a global stage," says Alan Cowley, CEO of Sybase South Africa. "Our team represents the cream of South African fly fishers, and having qualified to participate in the world championships, have proven they have the quality and dedication to compete against the world's best."
Fishing is the largest participatory sport worldwide, with fly fishing being the fastest growing component. This trend is reflected in South Africa, where the sport's popularity is increasing. Currently there are an estimated 350 000 fly fishers in SA. Cowley says the sponsorship also gives Sybase SA the chance to participate in helping grow the popularity of the sport locally and elevate SA's profile as having some of the best fly fishing waters in the world.
"It has become very much a team sport, with five anglers working together with the guidance of a team manager to take into account the multitude of variables that can be the difference between a blank or hauling in the fish!" says Robert Van Rensburg, chairman of SARFA (The South African Representative Fly Fishing Association), the governing body that controls competitive fly fishing in South Africa.
"To acknowledge a person's dedication to any sport, that results in them reaching a level that their peers can aspire towards is admirable, whether it be our hallowed domain of rugby or the many disciplines of angling," says Gareth George of leading fly fishing organisation, Wildfly.
The 2006 World Fly Fishing Championships will feature 25 countries competing in both rivers and lakes, in five distinct sessions over three days, explains George. Each session is a separate competition in so far as that placements are done on an individual and team basis in each session and it is this placing that carries one through. "Naturally it's all catch and release and barbless hooks, with a marshal per angler making sure rules are complied with," he says. "Points per fish are accrued for that session only and if, for argument's sake, you come 12th in that session, you get 12 points and it is only these points that you take through. Next session, you start from scratch. So, you have to perform in each and every session, blanking means that you accrue maximum points, which can destroy your chances."
Mark Yelland, the winner of the silver medal in the 2001 world fly fishing championships and a current member of the 2006 squad, says that fly fishing has many facets. "It requires years of practise to be proficient in each, from accurate and delicate fly casting, tying imitative fly patterns that can deceive a fish to reading the water and knowing where the fish should be holding, all of which are important in becoming a complete angler."
MC Coetzee, a veteran of four world championships, says: "Although one can be lucky to draw a productive fishing beat, the world's top anglers will meticulously work through every nook and cranny of the river structure and produce fish in any barren stretch of water, but consistency is the key."
Supersport will air a production on the Sybase Proteas, which will highlight the challenge to become a springbok angler and will follow the squad to the 2006 World Championships.
The squad leaves for Europe on 30th August, with Robert van Rensburg (non-fishing captain), Mark Yelland, Gary Glen Young, Pieter van der Westhuizen, Johan Ferreira, MC Coetzer and Pete Roberts (team manager), making up the seven-man contingent that will take on the world.
Sybase SA
Sybase SA is the sole African representative of Sybase Inc, the largest global enterprise software company and has emerged as a formidable local IT solutions company, with an impressive 15-year profit history and portfolio of 300 customers across 3 000 sites.
Sybase Inc has enjoyed 21 years as a global leader in data management, mobile, wireless and financial services solutions.
The company has more than 40 000 enterprise customers worldwide, with 95 of the Fortune 100 companies running Sybase technology.
Sybase is dedicated to creating the 'unwired enterprise' for organisations by providing products and services that tie different information systems together and distribute that information to whoever, wherever and whenever they need it. Whether it's for Web-based development, operational systems, decision support or mobile applications, Sybase technology is helping companies get more out of their information and its success is demonstrated in its 73% market share of the mobile solutions market, with a major focus in government and the top global financial, insurance, healthcare and telecommunications companies.
"Today, companies are producing and demanding access to more data than ever before and an increasing number of organisations are recognising information as a strategic part of their business," says Sybase
CEO Alan Cowley. "As more organisations put the idea of 'data as an asset' into practice and recognise the strategic value of information, so too will companies move to ensure that information is consistently useful, relevant, and ready to deliver economic value."
To this end, Sybase SA provides benefits to customers in creating an information edge over their competitors. "With Sybase software solutions, customers can optimise and enhance the investments they already own, link together the valuable data resources already in place and extend the reach of business-critical information to users on the front lines - giving them financial agility and a productivity edge across all areas of their business," says Cowley.
For more information, visit the Sybase Web site at www.sybase.com or www.sybase.co.za.
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