From: Bassfan.com
Story By: Todd Ceisner
Kudos to the Bluegrass State for its plans to add fishing to the list of sanctioned high school sports in Kentucky for the 2012-13 school year.
“We’re not going to be afraid of trying something new around here,” said KHSAA Commissioner Julian Tackett in the January edition of High School Today, the monthly newsletter of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFSHSA). “I hope [nobody’s] thinking that this is just going to be more of the same. No way. We’re going to try some new things; it’s going to take people outside their comfort zone. But that’s OK, because we’re going to do what the kids need.”
A couple weeks ago, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources announced that 231 high schools signed up to participate in its statewide tournament. Currently, Illinois is the only state that conducts such an event at the high school level.
All of this got me to thinking that my native New York needs to get behind this movement sooner rather than later, as do a lot of states. New York is blessed with a number of reputable bass lakes (Erie, Oneida, Champlain, anyone?) and the fall would be the ideal time for a little competition in my corner of the world. With minimal costs to school districts, this might be one of the best ways to get more young people involved in the sport.