World Carp Classic - Offical Global Website
Lake Bolsena 3rd - 9th September 2012

Change, improve, create or move!

Fishing the event ourselves...
Madine…did it, Amance...done it, Orient....did it, Madine...doing it again!

Whether my business has grown over the years because of the media attention it gained through the WCC, or the WCC has grown because of the effort and sponsoring I have invested, I don't mind. One thing is for sure, both companies started in the same year and both companies were founded by a guy who didn't have much of a clue about carp fishing! What we did know was how to run our own business, how to be creative and where to find opportunities to support our ideas.

The first two years at Madine, the first at Amance and the first at the Orient in particular, were a great lesson. We all became proud to be a member of what Ross has now created. I'm proud of myself for what I've achieved, being inspired by Ross with his continuous desire to develop the World Carp Classic and set new standards. This year Carp Connections has sold over 40 tickets, and if Madine were twice as big, with twice the number of pegs, we would have sold these too!

Being a sponsor didn't mean I could just relax. The more energy you invest in the event, the more media attention, the more you achieve and for the time being we’ve had ten great years.

Time for a change ?
Due to the fact that it’s a Classic, the public accept that everyone has to buy a ticket to compete. If this was the official World Carp Cup, The Olympic Carp Games or The European Carp Cup no one would expect anyone to buy himself a place. A World Event should be for the best of the best, it should be for those who have won that little enduro in their 'next door lake' and have entered the regional finals. Winning the regional finals should then open the door to enter the National and move on to the Euro Carp Cup! Winning this event then makes you worthy to fish the World Carp Classic. That’s how it should be in my opinion. If we could achieve that then the WCC deserves the title. Others have tried to organise such an event and others have managed to make a mess of it and not continue what they started. There are so many anglers that have not been able to enter the event that something needs to be done. The public deserves to know which event IS the real World Championship. Therefore I challenge Ross Honey to move on.  Do what he is best at. Change, improve, create and succeed!

Entertainment
Another challenge for us as sponsors is to make the event attractive enough for the visitors too!

Team competition and its Gladiator games
My company has sponsored the Team Competition for several years with 18 free holidays at the Lac de Villedon. We decided to create the Gladiator games which take place on site at the event prior to the opening ceremony. This is located on the beach at Madine 2/3. Our Carp Connections team compete in the event, and has also entered the Gladiator games. Weightlifting the magical 30Kg while sitting in photo-pose was great fun, but also the Indyline ‘six-against-six’ braid-pulling contest attracted a lot of public attention. The Madine ‘row, row, row the boat’ regatta was hilarious! This event is both set up to give attention to the sponsored teams and to entertain the public. Last year it was great fun!

e-siss JRC-radio
Fishing the event myself and missing out on prizes all these years (except for the biggest fish in 2003), made me come up with another idea. I wanted to know what was being caught during the event I discussed this with Ross and the World Carp Classic e-siss radio was born! This dedicated radio station includes news every hour; with ‘Fish caught’ news flashes between the news blocks. The station also broadcasts interviews with the competitors and sponsors to entertain us all and provides great music. The great thing about this is that anglers from all over the world can tune in and be kept right up to date with what is being caught and also get a feeling of the fantastic atmosphere. This is made possible by logging onto the website and clicking on the radio link. All this seemed to be a great investment and without the support from JRC we would never have been able to set this up. There were some really funny moments and some of these will be available shortly via the website so for those of you that were not there or even those of you that were and would like to listen to it again you will be able to.

The competitors were very enthusiastic about this first try and their radios were on 24/7. Therefore, Carp Connections have decided to continue the station and, for 2009 we will have four DJ's (yes guys, one lady this time!). We are pleased to add that we have worked out how to improve the broadcast quality. Change, improve, create or move you! 

Teamwork
In the years since the start I've gone through some changes, and Ross and I had grown apart....I learned how to fish and Ross never progressed. The good thing about that Ross spent his time looking, listening and implementing. Carp fishing is about knowledge and hard work. Therefore Ross has gathered a great number of very capable advisors and works with them thought the year.

The use of boats to catch more fish, keep or ditch peg draw for the excitement, opening party (to be improved for 2009), peg selection, early-bird tickets - which made the event sell out completely in January - All these initiatives were set up by Ross and his advisors.

For 2009 this same team will be working for you all again. The event's history tells us the first time on a venue always brings errors. 2008 however, was the best year ever. Will this mean 2009 is going to again set new standards? Let’s hope so.

From what I've heard there are some really good developments going on. According to the planned entertainment, I advise all who haven't been able to buy a ticket to come to Madine, bivvy up on a special reserved camping for guests, and join us for the Saturday evening BBQ and disco party organised by Lac de Madine's Aziz and the e-siss radio DJ's. Let’s have 1000 people at the peg draw on Sunday evening, why not! Pick and ditch peg draw is fantastic and we all expect a lot of excitement there.

Fish Madine to practice
Like last year, I will be fishing Madine this spring. Many of us will be present and we expect the crowds on the banks.

All competitors who bought a ticket have paid for the legal night fishing permit for the year. This means you save a lot when you decide to fish Madine this year. These AAPPMA permits are not easy to understand for there are 13 different permits and prices. For those who want more information on the fishing permits and are planning a session, call Carp Connections* and we will help you with what we’re good at. 

I personally wish all competitors a great time at Madine in 2009 and look forward to seeing you. If you are a competitor do practice, do make sure you read the rules carefully this year. There was the first disqualification last year and that is not a good thing. To enjoy this event and continue to move the event forward, we are all responsible to ensure that everybody abides by the rules. We all must respect the rules and correct each other if something goes wrong. Help each other check out the boundaries of the swims and do not let your fishing be ruined by a few who will be disqualified in the end.

Have fun, enjoy your fishing and see you on the banks of Madine.

Hans Sissingh (CarpConnections).

*Click on picture for contacts: