SHREVEPORT-BOSSIER CITY, La.. – Due to recent unsafe conditions and high water on the Red River, BASS relocated the Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Women’s Tour Championship, set for Oct. 16-18, to Cypress Black Bayou Lake, located in Benton, La.
The event will mark the first Bassmaster event on the fishery. The WBT Championship, the culmination of the 2009 season, will feature the top 20 pro and co-anglers from the regular-season Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Women’s Tour Angler of the Year standings.
Anglers will get their first crack at Cypress Black Bayou on Thursday, Oct. 15 on the official practice day. On Friday, the three-day tournament will kick off.
Tournament launches, beginning at 7 a.m. CT each day, will be moved to Cypress Black Bayou Ramp;135 Cypress Park Drive out of Benton, La., 71006. Weigh-ins will be held, as previously scheduled, at the Academy Sports + Outdoors store located at 2801 Beene Blvd. in Bossier City, La., beginning at 3 p.m. CT Friday-Sunday.
Anglers are competing for a piece of $94,000 in prizes, including the winner’s take of $5,000 and a Triton/Mercury boat package valued at $55,000. Twenty other qualifiers will compete in the co-angler division, fishing from the back of pros’ boats for a $40,000 Triton/Mercury boat rig, plus $3,250, awarded to the co-angler winner. In both divisions, the second-place prize is a Skeeter/Yamaha rig.
Besides being the championship event, the Oct. 16-18 tournament is the finish line in the 2009 Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Women’s Tour Angler of the Year race, in which the big plums are a berth in the 2010 Bassmaster Classic and a new Tundra. With an entry in the Feb. 19-21 Classic on Lay Lake out of Birmingham, Ala., the 2009 AOY will become only the second woman to qualify for a Classic.
All events are free and open to the public. Fans can visit Academy stores for additional information on the WBT and find out more about the organization at www.Academy.com.
Live, daily weigh-ins and real-time leaderboards will be available throughout the tournament at Bassmaster.com.
Sponsors of the Women’s Bassmaster Tour: Title Sponsor -- Academy Sports + Outdoors; Official Sponsors -- Toyota Trucks, Berkley, BOOYAH Baits, Mercury, OPTIMA Batteries, Skeeter Boats, Yamaha Marine, Ramada, Triton Boats, LaserLure and Legend Boats.
Local sponsors for the event include Shreveport Regional Sports Authority.
WBT Championship Qualifiers
Pro Field
Place Points
1. Pam Martin-Wells Bainbridge, Ga. 862
2. Juanita Robinson Highlands, Texas 841
3. Laura Gober Pendergrass, Ga. 807
4. Judy Wong Many, La. 807
5. Dianna Clark Bumpus Mills, Tenn. 800
6. Tammy Richardson Amity, Ark. 785
7. Janet Parker Little Elm, Texas 784
8. Sheri Glasgow Muskogee, Okla. 782
9. Debra Petrowski Arlington, Texas 776
10. Kim Bain-Moore Alabaster, Ala. 759
11.Melinda Mize Ben Lomond, Ark. 754
12. Meta Burrell Fort Worth, Texas 748
13. Lisa Sternard Clarksville, Tenn. 745
14. Paula Alexander Lincolnton, Ga. 739
15. Lisa Johnson Centre, Ala. 732
16. Lucy Mize Ben Lomond, Ark. 732
17. Cindy Hill Smyrna, Tenn. 732
18. Robin Babb Livingston, Texas 727
19. Emily Shaffer Mount Juliet, Tenn. 721
20. Patti Campbell Waxahachie, Texas 714
Co-Angler Field
Place Points
1. Terri Bittner McKinleyville, Calif. 870
2. Donna Newberry Van Buren, Ark. 836
3. Martha Goodfellow Simpsonville, S.C. 823
4. Stacy Zhelesnik Hoboken, N.J. 822
5. Debbie Pegoli Loveland, Ohio 802
6. Colleen McKay Worcester, Mass. 781
7. Monica Altman Angier, N.C. 781
8. Bonnie Ward Snohomish, Wash. 768
9. Gail Wood Russellville, Ark. 761
10. Kim Martin Clayton, Ind. 757
11.Linda Owens Brandon, Miss. 756
12. Teri Cindric Hermitage, Tenn. 743
13. Barbara Gaskins Suffolk, Va. 741
14. Sherry Melton Monterey, Tenn. 727
15. Vicki Henderson Ashdown, Ark. 722
16. Charlotte Frazier Dallas, Texas 722
17. Diane Smith Fayetteville, Ga. 716
18. Bertha Cavakis Amity, Ark. 708
19. Kala Wright Spiro, Okla. 706
20. Linda Walker Beebe, Ark. 704
About BASS: For more than 40 years, BASS has served as the authority on bass fishing. The organization advances the sport through advocacy, outreach and its expansive tournament structure while championing efforts to connect directly with the passionate community of bass anglers through its Bassmaster media vehicles.
As the flagship offering of ESPN Outdoors, the Bassmaster brand and its considerable multimedia platforms are guided by a mission to serve all fishing fans. Through its industry-leading publications Bassmaster Magazine, BASS Times and Fishing Tackle Retailer; comprehensive Web properties in Bassmaster.com, ESPNOutdoors.com and ESPN360.com; and ESPN2 television programming, Bassmaster provides rich, leading-edge content true to the lifestyle.
BASS oversees the prestigious Bassmaster tournament trail, which includes the Bassmaster Elite Series, Bassmaster Opens, Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Women’s Tour, BASS Federation Nation and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the Bassmaster Classic.
BASS offers an array of services to its more than 500,000 members while spearheading progressive, positive change on issues related to conservation and water access. The organization is headquartered in Celebration, Fla. |
