Football, Baseball, Track and Field, Bass Fishing?

First posted on 02-11-2009

If John Neporadny and a growing group of advocates could have their way, Missouri high schools would get a brand new sport: bass fishing.

Neporadny, a nationally known outdoors writer, is leading the effort to bring bass fishing front and center for Missouri schools. He says the sport is already sanctioned as a high school activity in Illinois where 214 of that state’s 775 high schools will compete this spring in a series of fishing tournaments that will eventually crown a state champion.

With pristine lakes and rivers and excellent habitat for largemouths, bass fishing is extremely popular across Missouri and the rest of the Ozarks. Neporadny thinks a lot of students are interested in the sport and providing a way for them to participate in tournaments would bring in students who may not have other ways to compete at the high school level.

He said that many students in this part of the country are brought up fishing and he feels the sport, if recognized, could offer teaching opportunities in biology, meteorology and math.

Neporadny’s proposal to the Missouri State High School Activities Association lays out the way tournaments would be conducted:

The state would be divided up into four regions and each of those regions would hold a sectional tournament. The top ten teams in each sectional would advance to a state-wide tournament.

Each participating school would send four anglers that would fish as a team in two different boats. Total weight of bass caught per team would be credited to that school’s points. For safety reasons, all boats would be operated by a coach or a school representative. Students would only be allowed to operate the trolling motor.

Neporadny said that, if enough interest is garnered, the proposal would be put on a ballot to be voted on by representatives of member schools as early as this spring. If the measure passes, bass fishing would become a school activity that could become a recognized sport if it becomes popular.

For more information or to express interest in the concept of bass fishing as a Missouri high school sport, you can contact John Neporadny at 573-365-4296.

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