BASS announced Thursday that the 2010 Junior Bassmaster World Championship will be held Oct. 29 on Cross Lake, and Louisiana will be represented by Paulina’s Matt Nobile.
The event will pair with the Federation Nation Championship (Oct. 27-29), which will be held on the nearby Red River on Oct. 27-9.
As usual, the JWC will feature two age divisions: 11-14 and 15-18. Youth competitors in each division will square off for a top prize of $5,000 in scholarship money – plus state-based sponsorship contingency prizes.
The field will consist of 12 competitors – six in each age division – who qualified from one of the six BASS Federation Nation Divisionals. Participants include 2009 JWC champion John Duarte Jr., who will look to defend his JWC title scored on the Harris Chain in October 2009.
Shreveport-Bossier City will serve as the host city for the event. The region continues to be a strong supporter of BASS competitions and established the 2009 Bassmaster Classic attendance record with more than 130,000 spectators attending the three-day event.
JWC competitors are beginning to make their mark in the top ranks of professional bass fishing. 2004 champ Bradley Roy, who became the youngest Elite angler ever to compete in 2010, landed the 2010 Rookie of the Year award while former JWC qualifier Kyle Fox is sharpening his skills on the Open level and is looking to qualify for the Elites.
“The skill level and knowledge of these youth anglers is tremendous,” said Stacy Twiggs, senior manager, Federation Nation and youth. “We are beginning to see the JWC evolve into a feeder system into BASS’ top-level of events.”
This will be the first BASS competition on Cross Lake, an 8,575-acre fishery that provides the water supply for the City of Shreveport. Thursday, Oct. 28 will serve as the official practice day for JWC competitors. To qualify for the annual JWC, youth anglers must work their way up a ladder of local, regional, state and divisional qualifying tournaments.
The six divisional events of 2010 began with the March 29-April 2 Southern Divisional out of West Point Lake and Lagrange, Ga., and will end Sept. 24 after the conclusion of the Eastern Divisional on Candlewood Lake out of Danbury, Conn. The full field of qualifiers will be determined then.