High School and College Bass Master Championship in Paris

PARIS, Tenn –Family and friends came out to support anglers in one of the biggest fishing competitions for high school and college students.

Organizers said high school and college teams came from all over the United States and Canada just to be apart of this special competition.

“We run those competitions nationwide and into Canada, too. We qualify teams to come to this tournament and that’s what we are doing. We’re crowning a national champion,” Championship senior manager Hank Weldon said.

The three-day competition brings the best of the best to compete for scholarships.

“We’re going to award over $70, 000 in scholarships this week. So we get to send some more kids to school and help them pay for that,” Weldon continued.

The fishing is not as easy as it looks.

“They’re working hard, they’re standing and fishing all day long,” Bass Vice President of Communications Dave Precht said. “From 5:30 in the morning to late afternoon, they are working hard, they are in good shape and they are very hard working students.”

“This series has helped keep kids in school. It has also aspire them to help them go to college because this high school platform does feed into college,” Weldon said.

Fishing is an activity that makes family members proud especially grandfather, Ed Holley.

“I’m proud of him.” Holley said about his grandson who is competing this year. “I’m proud of him. He could be doing a lot of things that are negative. This is positive.”

Friday’s event will narrow the over 100 teams down to the top 12 in the high school competition and the top two teams in the college division.

Saturday morning, the finalist will hit the waters again and hope to be awarded with trophies and scholarships at the ceremony in downtown Paris.