DANDRIDGE, Tenn. — Two official B.A.S.S. Nation High School events, the Open and the Championship, will take place in Tennessee this summer.
The 2014 Bassmaster High School Open is scheduled for June 20-21 on Douglas Lake in Dandridge, Tenn.
This event will qualify eight high school teams to compete in the 2015 Bassmaster High School Classic held in conjunction with the 2015 Bassmaster Classic, Feb. 20-22, 2015, in Greenville, S.C.
Any high school club registered with B.A.S.S. can send teams to the Bassmaster High School Open. Competition will be on Douglas Lake; weigh-ins will be at the Point Resort in Dandridge.
“Based on the interest in last year’s inaugural High School Open, we expect hundreds of boats in the 2014 event,” Stewart said. “This will be a fun event for the anglers and their families. We will have a huge barbecue the night before the tournament, and the anglers can meet other anglers from all over the country with the same passion for bass fishing.”
The 2014 Bassmaster High School Championship will take place a few weeks later, July 16-19, in Tennessee on Kentucky Lake and Carroll County Reservoir. In this event, 96 of the best high school teams in the nation will compete for scholarships and merchandise, as well as for the first Bassmaster High School Championship trophy.
The teams will qualify through individual state B.A.S.S. Nation organizations. Each B.A.S.S. Nation state will send its best two high school teams.
“This is really kicking up the B.A.S.S. high school initiative,” said Jon Stewart, director of the B.A.S.S. Nation. “With the competition later aired on ESPNU, the growing high school sport of bass fishing will be showcased like never before.”
The first two days of competition will be on Kentucky Lake, with weigh-ins at Paris Landing in Paris, Tenn. The finalists will compete for two days on Carroll County Reservoir and weigh their catches on the campus of Bethel University in McKenzie, Tenn.
Besides earning the title of national champion, the winning team will receive a share of $21,000 in scholarships from B.A.S.S. as well as merchandise provided by sponsors. In addition, Bethel University will award $40,000 in scholarships; $5,000 a year for four years will go to the Top 2 finishing anglers if they are either a junior or senior in high school and plan to use the scholarship to attend Bethel University and become a part of the Bethel University Wildcats bass fishing team.
