RAY SCOTT OUTDOORS

NEWS RELEASE 

Is Women's Pro Bass Fishing

Ready For Prime Time Sport?

WBFA's Willie Cook Caught
In Catch-22 to Focus
Media Attention on Lady Anglers…

Women in professional sports find it more of a hard-ball game. Sure, there's the WBA, the Women's Basketball Association. The LPGA, the Ladies Professional Golf Association. The alphabet of women's sports, also, includes the WBFA.

The WBFA? Spell that out as the Women's Bass Fishing Association. The three-year old organization, based in Pelham, Alabama, is the offspring of a fishing wife's desire.

"When the Bass'N Gals professional circuit folded and Sugar Ferris called it quits, my wife didn't have a tournament circuit to follow," explains Willie Cook, the director of the WBFA. "There were a lot of other ladies, wanting to fish pro tournaments, in the same boat."

So, Willie Cook, a long-time employee of the Bell Telephone System, started dialing numbers, hoping to stir up interest in his wife Carole's fishing hobby.

There's been a lot of hang-ups on the WBFA's start-up. Willie Cook believes he sees a light gleaming at the end of the long, dark road, but is it getting brighter as far as the future of women fishing professional tournaments?

"Sugar Ferris had a dream, a vision to give women the opportunity to compete in bass fishing," says Willie Cook. "But, at the end, it wasn't the lack of interest among lady anglers, but the lack of support of the fishing tackle and marine industries.

"We're still fighting Sugar's battle and it's not getting any easier," points out Cook, who has dipped into his own family savings to keep the WBFA afloat.

Unlike the mostly-male dominated Bassmaster Tournament Trail or the FLW tour, the lady anglers are fishing in a small pond, as far as prize money. The rewards reach six-figures in the men's leagues.

Twenty-six of the WBFA's top 2000 season qualifiers go rod-to-rod, November 9-11, at Lake Neely Henry with the Women's Classic World Championship at stake. The champion takes home a fully-rigged $25,000 Triton bass boat, powered by a 150 horsepower Mercury outboard.

"We're grateful for the support from Triton Boats and Earl Bentz, the Mercury Marine involvement and the interest from Humminbird Electronics, and the best boost yet - the State of Alabama being willing to get behind women's professional fishing," said Cook.

The two previous Women's Bass Fishing Classics have played out at Percy Priest Lake, near Nashville, Tennessee and on the Red River at Marksville, Louisiana, where a casino rolled the dice to mix gaming and fishing interests.

Willie Cook seems destined to go up against the house. Sometimes it's tough to beat the odds. The State of Tennessee dangled the bait offering to host the women's Classic finale, again. Then, cooled to the plan when cuts trimmed the promotion budgets. Folks, in the Alexandria, Louisiana area, were so impressed with the WBFA Classic last year and skills of the lady anglers, they urged Willie Cook to come back. However, getting state funding wasn't forthcoming.

All the time Willie and his fisherwomen were about to miss the boat. The State of Alabama was waiting at the dock.

Gov. Don Siegelman stepped on board. The Alabama governor authorized funding of $50,000 to bring the Third Annual Women's Bass Fishing Classic to the state. Mayor Steve Means of Gadsden was quickly lined up to offer the city and its City Docks Park's support.

The future is now for the WBFA. Gadsden and the northeast Alabama area are well-schooled in professional fishing tournaments, having hosted numerous events from the Bassmaster Top 100 stops to the national B.A.S.S. Federation Championship and, most recently, the Affiliated Club Championship (ACC) conducted by the WBFA in June.

The fishing fan base for the Women's Bass Fishing circuit is growing, but slowly. While the high-profile male-dominated events are being covered on ESPN, TNN and Fox Sports, with increased audience exposure, the ladies league struggles for airtime and headlines.

"We're trapped in a Catch-22," admits Willie Cook. "To gain more national sponsors and their promotion dollars, the WBFA has to attract fans. Without the bigger purses, such as the FLW is paying out, the national media won't play our game."

The WBFA's 1999 Classic was covered by the popular Birmingham, Alabama-based "Fishing Southern Style," and ran on a regional hookup. Cook says co-hosts Ramsey and Darlene Davis have expressed interest in airing the 2000 Classic. The Classic television special would be in eight Southeastern states over the Comcast/Charter Communications Company (CCS) network.

"Team Triton," a cadre of 40 top anglers from the B.A.S.S. Top 150, the Pro Walleye Tour, and including seven WBFA's ladies, is sponsored by Triton Boats of Ashland City, Tennessee.

"Triton's certainly in the forefront of promoting interest in women's fishing," comments Willie Cook.

Call him "Willie the Wonder," if Cook pulls off the task of putting women's professional fishing in a "Big League of Their Own."

However, he's making the calls, and right moves. Including publishing a four-color WBFA Outdoors magazine, "the women's source for fishing and outdoor activities," and creating a WBFA Junior member program.

To WBFA's credit is the Classic tournament. The event is well run, well done, and (hopefully) well attended.

But, Willie Cook and the WBFA are playing - for now - against a stacked deck.

Holding a weigh-in on Saturday afternoon in Alabama conflicts with college football season. A 2:30 p.m. final weigh-in on November 11th could be a tough sell, but a week later there's little doubt - Alabama plays Auburn - they'd be ZERO crowd, but plenty of untapped waters to fish on Lake Neely Henry.

"For us (WBFA), it's third and long," opines Willie Cook. "But, we're still in the game. We're not ready to punt, yet. Our goal is to make women's bass fishing as big as football in Alabama."