The Angling Trust and partners have taken the decision to postpone all competitions up to and including 18th April 2020 as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. This decision includes scheduled Fish ‘O’ Mania qualifiers.
At this stage, Fish ‘O’ Mania 2020 will be going ahead as scheduled with the final on 11th July at Hayfield Lakes, however this is an ongoing situation that will be carefully monitored by Matchroom Multi Sport and the Angling Trust.
Jamie Cook, Angling Trust Chief Executive, said: “Having discussed the situation with Matchroom Multi Sport today, we have taken the decision to postpone a number of upcoming qualifiers for Fish ‘O’ Mania. We are comfortable that with the precautions and processes in place, anglers participating are safe in doing so, however, we also have a duty of care to our staff, stewards and volunteers.
“It is important we take into account the individuals who have, in good faith, purchased tickets and have taken the responsible measure of self-isolating to avoid this virus spreading further who would otherwise miss out.”
All ticket holders for postponed events will be guaranteed spaces for the re-arranged dates.
Jamie Cook continued: “We have issued guidance to anglers and organisers to keep them safe when participating in competitions – the nature of competitions around the draw and presentation bring groups of anglers together at pinch points which our advice seeks to mitigate.
“Fishing is a fantastic means of getting active and outdoors, engaging with your environment and provides significant benefits to our health and wellbeing which are important considerations in the current climate and we would advise anglers to continue fishing.”
The Angling Trust will continue to work with partners in both the public and private sectors to monitor the situation with updated competitions schedules published on the events website. Ticket holders with questions should contact Sandra.johnson@anglingtrust.net or call 0115 822 4519.
