World Carp Classic - Official Global Website
Lake Bolsena 2nd - 8th September 2012
| JRC Support Aussie Team |
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 With just a few days to go before the starting rocket launches into the Madine sky, our final preparations for this years World Carp Classic are being wrapped up by penning the last few ticks on our epic check list.
The journey our little Aussie team has travelled in the months preceding this point has been nothing short of meteoric... or should I say ‘manic’? In truth I really don’t know what we would’ve done had it not been for all the amazing help our sponsors have provided for our team, what with bait from section sponsor CC Moore, and tackle from event sponsor JRC. Not to mention all the help and guidance we’ve received from Ross Honey and his co-workers, during what has proven to be pretty stressful time for us both outside of carping.The assistance we’ve been given has far surpassed all of our initial expectations. By that I mean that when Ben and I approached prospective sponsors at the beginning of our quest, the response was quite negative. Being completely unknown entities in European carping circles, we were not entirely surprised by this reaction, and accepted that this was to be the likely trend throughout, no matter which company we spoke with?  We’re now delighted to be proven the contrary of these early, and perhaps premature assumptions. Though, before leaving home we’d both felt bitterly disappointed when Australia’s only national coarse angling federation snubbed us, after having had some rather exhaustive negotiations with their committee. We’d counted on their assistance in some form or another, but to be totally ignored really left us on the outer, and feeling rather despondent to say the least. Considering that our entry in an international carp competition of this magnitude is a first for Australia, we were shocked by their lack of interest to become part of the undertaking. By this time we’d already fully committed ourselves, having formally entered into the competition. It left us facing an uphill struggle from the offset, without resources or help from anyone... not even from our own country! The way things were shaping up it appeared that Ben and I would have to go it alone and shoulder the logistical and financial burden entirely independently. However, our despondency quickly turned to elation when section sponsor CC Moore offered to supply all of our bait requirements for the event. This was a significant turning point and massive confidence boost for us indeed. With bait well sorted our focus one again returned to tackle... or rather the lack of it! The list (one of Biblical proportions) of required kit I’d compiled back in Oz, was so daunting I was too scared to refer to it, thinking that it had been ridiculously unrealistic of me to have even written it in the first place!  As mentioned in an earlier blog I’d flown from Oz with next to nothing, and since being in the UK I’d managed to borrow quite a bit of fishing gear from friends. Despite this extraordinary kindness, there were still some huge deficits in what we really wanted to be armed with as a team during the competition. Gaps that until recently we’d believed were insurmountable due to lack of available funds. That was until JRC stepped up to the plate to bail us out! Thanks to them, namely Robert Valkeneer, who has coordinated this rescue mission, I can confidently say that all of our ‘gaps’ are now filled and we are fully kitted out!Revisiting ‘the list’ this week it now seems a lot less intimidating. I don’t think either Ben or I could have envisaged being this confident, or to be so well equipped as we are now, just days from kick off. Had it not been for CC Moore and JRC’s intervention we would’ve been disadvantaged compared to the rest of the WCC field I think. Now, I feel that we are on a much more even par with the other teams, and we just need some more Aussie luck to locate some cooperative carp to top off the whole experience? Lastly, a big thank you to Dayna for modelling some clothing and other items donated to us from Australia’s Platypus Fishing Lines. My next Oz blog will be from the lake, if I can get my Netbook working in France? Andy ‘Niblet’ Wallis Vice Captain CC Moore AUS |
