No Fish But Watch Out For High Flying Lead Sinkers

Illawarra Mercury

Wednesday September 8, 2004

By AGRON LATIFI

VISITORS to Fred Finch Park recently would have been surprised to see grown men and women casting fishing lines.

The scene may have looked weird as there was no water in sight or fish to be caught - but these people were at the Berkeley ground for a reason.

Namely, they were there to take part in the first national competition for tournament casting in Australia.

Thirty casters from three different states competed in the unusual sport, which is similar to javelin and discus.

Casters compete on land, throwing sinkers of four different weights as far as possible, within a v-court virtually identical to the javelin court in the Olympic Games.

However, the distances are far more extreme.

Scott Selby, who along with Ces Selby and Dave Solomans achieved the furthest cast of 199m, said to project a lead this far with line attached took a lot of skill and practice.

"Casting is a low profile sport in Australia, however it demands the same level of skill and commitment as any major athletics event - throwing a sinker over 200m takes an awful lot of technique and practice," Selby said.

"However, with tuition several casters who were complete novices to the sport were able to improve their distances from around 100m to just over 150m, a skill which will serve them both for future tournaments and a range of fishing situations.

"This is the first of what we are hoping will be quarterly events, the next to be held in the last week of November."

For those wishing to learn more about this highly interesting, unusual and competitive sport, contact Scott Selby on 4228 6011 or 4271 4018.

© 2004 Illawarra Mercury

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