TBF ROLLS OUT
HIGH SCHOOL
LIVING THE
DREAM PACKAGE
E
76
ach year since The Bass Federation founded
the national High School Fishing movement
and launched the Student Angler Federation
(SAF), high school anglers have had only $25 annu-
al dues, which covers TBF and FLW memberships
and allows members to fish any TBF or FLW High
School Fishing events nationwide with no entry fee.
TBF is once again upping the bar and providing
more for SAF High School Fishing members with
the High School State Champions TBF Living the
Dream package, which was voted into place by TBF
state presidents as a means to start transitioning
high school anglers into the adult program ranks.
The new Living the Dream package is open to
high school state champions that are 16 years of
age or older. It includes a fully-paid TBF adult/FLW
competitor membership and a spot in the angler’s
home region TBF adult National Semi-Finals event
as a co-angler.
From there, high school anglers could qualify for
the TBF National Championship, then to the T-H
Marine FLW Bass Fishing League All-American. If
they can earn a boater’s spot at the National
Championship via their TBF National Semi-Finals
they could advance through the system all the way
to the FLW Cup.
The new high school iteration of the Living the
Dream program is another way TBF is striving to
grow competitive fishing for young people and set
up greater opportunities beyond high school.
“Under all TBF programs – Adult, Junior and
High School – all membership fees do not cross
over,” says TBF President Robert Cartlidge.
“Everything we do is user pay/user benefit. That is
to say that Adult membership dues only support
Adult programs, Junior dues only support Junior
programs and High School dues only support High
School programs. To expand them, they have to
grow. Thankfully, due to the work at the local grass-
roots level, all our programs are growing steadily
and doing well.”
The 2019 season is in full swing now with teams
in the South already participating in state champi-
onships for the Living the Dream opportunities.
There are a lot of other opportunities and plenty of
support available for high school anglers as well.
TBF and FLW provided more than $200,000 in col-
lege scholarships and prizes to high school anglers
in 2018, all with no entry fees.
Check out highschoolfishing.org to learn more
about the Student Angler Federation and High
School Fishing.
STATE
CHAMPIONS
THROUGH
FEB. 28
Florida
Harris Chain
Feb. 2
Joey Bloom and
Dylan Westhelle
Texas
Lake LBJ
Feb. 2
Logan Drake and
Colton Zahn
South Carolina
Santee Cooper
Feb. 16
James Schneider
and Shelton Shealy
Alabama
Lay Lake
Feb. 23
Justin Hamlin and
Colin McCullough
North Carolina
Shearon Harris
Feb. 23
Konner Kinlaw
and Corbin Yow
FLWFISHING.COM I SPRING 2019