June 18-22 – Florence Alabama
Build it and They Will Come –
SAF High School Anglers to Compete for over 1.1 Million Dollars in scholarships and prizes on Pickwick Lake.
The Student Angler Federation’s 10th Annual High School Fishing World Finals & National Championship dual event is June 19-22 on Pickwick in Florence Ala., with a prize pool exceeding 1.1 MILLION dollars. Let that soak in.
MORE THAN 1.1 MILLION at a high school event!
The Student Angler Federation (SAF), under The Bass Federation (TBF) umbrella, held the first High School Fishing World Finals in 2010 after three years of building infrastructure to support an event unlike the industry had ever seen.
Now, the industry will bear witness to the dream come to life with the epic upgrade, not only for high school fishing in the 
US, but also the entire fishing industry with life-changing prizes at stake for the young anglers.
The event that started the national high school fishing movement will expect nearly 400 teams from almost every state, plus anglers from different countries and continents, including as close as Canada, and as far away as Zimbabwe.
“Most of the fishing world gave little notice when we founded SAF and the national high school program in 2007,” Cartlidge said. “Company after company responded with little or no interest. However, it was such a passion for the federation so we took on a “Build it and They Will Come” mantra. In 2010, TBF launched the first High School Fishing World Finals event and the rest they say is history.”
Ranger Boats, Pure Fishing and TBF’s partner in fishing at FLW were the first companies to see the vision and partner in SAF’s efforts. Soon after the 2010 inaugural World Finals event Evinrude, Lowrance, Lews, Cabela’s and many more integral sponsors followed to help propel high school fishing.
In 2011, TBF/SAF and FLW rolled out state championships in dozens of states and by 2012, there was a SAF State Championship or an FLW open offered in every continental US state and one in Canada.
“While it’s true TBF had a vision and pursued it relentlessly, without these partners it never would have reached the heights it has and we’re nowhere near finished,” Cartlidge continued. “We are still expanding and growing rapidly. In fact, in the coming year under the SAF umbrella of affiliated and sanctioned events lead by TBF/SAF and FLW nationwide over 40,000 participants will spend a day on the water in a high school fishing event. We’re very proud of that.”
SAF has an ever-growing list of industry partners and colleges now stepping up to see this dream come to fruition.
Bethel University offered scholarships to World Finals anglers from the start. In the last 9 years, Bethel University is approaching nearly 1 million in total scholarship offers to SAF anglers alone. Bethel University has recruited some of the top young anglers in the nation to help build the leading National Champion Collegiate Program in the US to date. Deeper than that, young people are getting top-notch educations.
Now, in 2019, the largest leap forward anyone could imagine will happen at the 10th annual event thanks to Kentucky Christian University (KCU). KCU is coming on board and offering a total of 1 million dollars in college scholarships divided among 10 teams at the 2019 World Finals event.
Head Coach Brain Slone is dedicated to building a top-level college fishing team from the ground up and ECU is behind him 100 percent.
Factor in the annual commitments from long-time SAF/TBF national supporters, Bethel University, the FLW scholarships, the TBF/SAF scholarship offers sponsor bonuses and more scholarships still in the works it pushes the total prize purse in scholarships and prizes to well over 1.1 million dollars.
“THAT is what this program is all about, Education Through Fishing. Cartlidge continued. We as an industry cannot thank KCU, Bethel University, and all the other post-secondary educational programs, partners and sponsors for their support of our young anglers. Not just for the scholarships but also providing incredible educations in wholesome atmospheres and understanding the importance of the future of our sport and our young people as a whole, as so many of our partners do.”
You can follow the daily action including Facebook live morning takeoffs and live streaming weigh-ins during the 2019 High School Fishing World Finals and National Championship, June 19-22, on www.HighSchoolFishing.org as well as daily stories & pictures on Facebook and on www.flwfishing.com
The High School Fishing World Finals is OPEN to all SAF members worldwide so that ALL high school anglers that want to come and have a chance at a scholarship if they do well can do so and earn an education on their own merit. Sign up today at www.highschoolfishing.org, as always there is NO tournament entry fee.
Event Fact Sheet
• More than 14 scholarships up for grabs some up to $100,000.00 per team!
• Prizes galore each day from our sponsors
• NO Entry Fee
• Friday Night Senior Night and Pizza Party, ALL 2019 graduating senior receive a graduation gift. Food fun and games for all.
• Week-long family vacation event.
