The squad is:
Mark Bartlett and Kevin Hewitt, Jack Stamp and Kia Sanger, Dan and Jake Wildbore and reserves Billy Flowers and Jamie Londors.
Team manager, Ian Huntington, said:
“I can honestly say that picking the final four pairs has been the most difficult of tasks for co-manager Pete Holehouse and me.
We feel that we have learnt a great deal that we can take forward, particularly at this level of angling. We agreed that all the remaining pairs in the trial process have shown similar ability to catch fish when presented with the opportunity and with this in mind, we decided to base our selection on the pairs that we feel are best suited to tackle Lac Corbul, the World Championship venue in Romania.”
Turning to the practicalities of launching an assault on the biggest prize in carp match fishing, Ian said:
“The real work starts now and we have a number of things planned including a visit to the championship venue to gather intelligence. We also plan to hold a number of meetings to discuss tactics and team requirements. These will to give everybody a chance to discuss things as a group and the emphasis will be more on team discussion than actual fishing.”
Dick Clegg, International Events Director at the Angling Trust, commented:
“The new management of the Angling Trust’s Carp Team England have been meticulous in their preparation for this year’s World Championships in Romania. Both Ian and Pete have really impressed me with their professional approach to both the team selection and the administration required to compete at international level.
I am sure that the team sponsor, Korda, will be of the same opinion and I believe that this squad is very capable of breaking South Africa’s stranglehold on the event. Well done to all those selected and if effort is going to be rewarded then a gold medal is on its way back to England at the end of September. My thanks must go to Korda whose sponsorship involvement is paramount to the success of the team.”
