Should Fishing be a Varsity Sport?
We all know that high school kids can "letter" in football, baseball, basketball, volleyball and even La Crosse. Now comes a story about efforts make fishing a "letter" sport. Really? Really.
It's reported that some high schools in South Carolina are trying to make fishing an official sport, with teams, leagues and even varsity letters. They say with pro tournaments and fishing television shows more popular than ever, it’s time for schools to recognize fishing as a full-fledged sport.
Camden High School in Columbia is just one school among many around the Palmetto State that are working with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources to make fishing a competitive sport.
No one is claiming fishing is as demanding as that other sport that counts ‘tackle’ in its lexicon, but the anglers say there’s more to fishing than sitting back and watching for a bobber to start dancing.
“I heard that throwing 150 casts is equivalent to throwing 100 pitches in a game,” said Camden High Fishing Club member Carson Morgan. And, according to their coach, serious anglers often make 500 casts in a day.
Camden students and their counterparts from 13 other schools have signed a petition asking the South Carolina High School League, which regulates school athletics in the state, to sanction the activity as a sport. They’re looking for at least two more schools to sign on before they submit it.
Fishing is a wonderfully relaxing pastime, but making it a competitive sport could take a lot of the fun out of it. What do you think?
Some fisher folk will tell you fishing is a holy activity, blessed by Jesus himself. The first four men Jesus chose to be disciples were fishermen. Jesus fed the five thousand with a few fish and two loaves of bread. Just after Jesus' death and resurrection, the only thing Peter could find to say was "I'm going fishing." And when they did all go fishing, they found Jesus on the shore cooking up some fish for them.
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