Displaying items by tag: NFA

Fred Jennings OBE, one of the most influential figures in the development of coarse angling, has sadly passed away in his sleep at the age of 76.

West Midlander Fred had a major impact on angling, both at club level and on a national scale.

He was the first full-time executive chairman of Birmingham AA – at a time when they had a staggering 60,000 members (they have 12,000 today) – and was the National Federation of Anglers president from 1973 to 1978.

Fred was also a board member of Severn Trent Water and chairman of its Fisheries Advisory Committee, as well as being the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food’s appointee to the National Water Council.

The NFA has signed a three-year sponsorship deal with Dulley Ceilings and Partitions Ltd who will sponsor the National Championship for Anglers with Disabilities. The DCP Ltd sponsorship will also enable the championship to become one of the country’s leading disability competitions.

The sponsorship deal only recently finalised will allow DCP Ltd full naming rights of the competition, with the event now being called ‘DCP Ltd National Championships for Anglers with Disabilities’.

The sponsorship brings forward a new era for anglers with disabilities and provides competing teams with the opportunity not only to fish at the highest level but also to receive significant prize money with a prize fund of almost £4,000.

The Championship is made up of eight regional teams who will have the chance to compete for the top team prize of £1,500. It’s not only the winning team that will receive financial rewards as the second placed team will also receive £1,000 and the third placed team £500.

Individual anglers competing will also see the rewards of DCP Ltd’s sponsorship as the first placed angler will receive £500; second placed, £200 and third place will receive £100.

The involvement of DCP Ltd will not only help raise the profile of angling with disabilities but also increase the level of interest in disability sport as a whole. The sponsorship will encourage top anglers to fish the competition, providing the ideal platform for the England team manager to select the finest anglers this country has to offer from to compete in the World Championships.

DCP Ltd will also be looking to support existing programmes such as the Creating Positive Images for People with Disabilities (PIPs) scheme, which supports the training of people with disabilities to become Level One and Level Two angling coaches. These coaches will also then be encouraged to work at a local level with DCP Ltd’s preferred charity ‘The Children’s Trust’, introducing them to the benefits of the sport.

The deal was signed with the NFA but will transfer to the new Angling Trust which will be launched in January 2009. Marketing and Communications Manager for the NFA, Tom Goldspink commented, “DCP Ltd’s sponsorship of the Championship is a hugely significant contribution to the development of angling for the disabled. It will help raise the profile of elite angling for the disabled and hopefully attract the best anglers in England to the competition.”

Chris Dulley, Managing Director of DCP Ltd, said, “As a successful company, DCP have for many years supported children with disabilities at The Children’s Trust in Tadworth, Surrey. We feel that by taking the opportunity to sponsor the National Championships for Anglers with Disabilities, we are not only promoting the sport, but encouraging disabled children and adults to enjoy the many benefits of angling. This seems a natural progression of our existing charity work and we are proud to be associated with the NFA’s National Championships for Anglers with Disabilities and in the New Year are very excited to start working with The Angling Trust.”

Angling Trust Chief Executive Mark Lloyd is looking forward to raising the profile of angling for people with disabilities, commenting, “This sponsorship is a great achievement for the sport of angling. The Angling Trust is looking forward to working with DCP Ltd and ensuring that their generous support will deliver success on a national and international level. We will be looking to build on this positive step to demonstrate one of angling’s great strengths: that it is accessible to everyone”.

Source: National Federation of Anglers