The qualifiers will begin earlier than 2013 with the first match taking place on the River Calder, Mirfield on Sunday 22nd June.  The qualifiers will then continue on a weekly basis through to the last qualifier for 2014 on Saturday 1st November on the River Nene, March.  Three anglers from each qualifier will progress to the grand final on the Wye in Hereford on 15th & 16th November 2014.

Angling Trust’s RiverFest enters its second year and once again will carry the biggest ever individual prize for a river match, a whopping £12,000 going to the winner of the grand final, an increase of £2,000 on the  2013 first prize.

Angling Trust Ambassador, Dave Harrell, the man behind the original concept of the competition said, “We have worked closely with different clubs and associations and introduced eight new venues to the list for this year.  We have also planned things so that there is only one qualifier for each of the first 20 weekends of the season.  This will give anglers the chance to plan their matches more easily, and also give clubs and associations the opportunity to run practice opens in the lead up to the qualifying matches.”

Ben Thompson, Senior Competitions Manager stated “We were absolutely delighted with how RiverFest was received by match anglers in its first year and it is an excellent addition to the calendar.  Building on that success was very important and in addition to eight new venues, we are delighted to be able to increase the total prize money on offer for RiverFest 2014 to £29,000, with the winner taking home a very impressive £12,000.  The prize money is subject to sell outs during the qualifiers and retaining the level of sponsorship from 2013.  We received overwhelming support from clubs and associations offering their venues for this year’s qualifiers and we would like to thank everyone who has come forward offering their support.”

The format for the competition will be the same as last year and entry forms to apply for the qualifying matches will be available from the Angling Trust, and a coupon will be available in the two weekly angling publications, Angling Times and Angler’s Mail from Tuesday 18th March.  Further details will also be available on the Angling Trust website.
 

Dates and venues for Angling Trust RiverFest qualifiers 2014

1. Sunday 22nd June - River Calder at Mirfield.
2. Saturday 28th June – River Swale at Morton.
3. Saturday 5th July – River Severn at Lower Lode.
4. Sunday 13th July –Bristol Avon at Newbridge.
5. Saturday 19th July – River Trent at Newark Dyke.
6. Sunday 27th July – River Trent at South Clifton, North Clifton, Laughterton.
7. Saturday 2nd August - River Weaver at Northwich.
8. Sunday 10th August – River Soar at Sutton Bonnington.
9. Sunday 17th August – River Yare at Beauchamp Arms.
10. Saturday 23rd August - River Tees at Bowesfield, Yarm.
11. Saturday 30th August - River Don at Sprotborough.
12. Sunday 7th September – Great Ouse at Littleport.
13. Sunday 14th September – River Wye at Breinton, Bartonsham, Eign.
14. Saturday 20th September - River Severn at Bridgnorth.
15. Sunday 28th September River Trent at Burton.
16. Saturday 4th October – River Thames at Oxford.
17. Saturday 11th October – River Severn at Worcester, Upton.
18. Saturday 18th October - Warwickshire Avon at Evesham.
19. Saturday 25th October – Yorkshire Ouse at Hunters Lodge, Linton-on-Ouse.
20. Saturday 1st November – River Nene at March.

GRAND FINAL 15/16 November – River Wye at Hereford

The Angling Trust and Dave Harrell would like to offer their appreciation and thanks to the clubs and associations who came forward to propose their venue for a qualifier in 2014, those venues which have not been selected in 2014 will be considered for selection in future years.

Source: Angling Trust Fishing News