Announcing new Federation & Partnership for Grassroots Anglers in Ontario

Toronto, ON (January 19, 2009) – The Bass Federation, (TBF) is proud to announce its newest Federation in Ontario – the Canadian Bass Anglers Federation (CBAF).

The CBAF will join 47 state federations and over 1,900 TBF clubs with a membership of more than 28,000 grassroots anglers. The TBF is expanding into Canada by creating a solid partnership with the CBAF. The partnership between TBF and the CBAF (9 chapters across Southern and Eastern Ontario), will mean that well over 300 dedicated and passionate members will help ensure that the bar is raised for grassroots angling opportunities in Canada.

TBF Ontario started officially in 2008 with the creation of a chapter in Napanee and worked in conjunction with the New York TBF for the 2008 season as we were both starting out as new Federations” NY/ON Vice President Colin Friel announced. The CBAF formed in 2006 with six clubs in Southern Ontario.

Colin Friel stated, “New members can’t believe all the advantages to being a CBAF/TBF member. In 2009, the New York TBF will operate independently as will the CBAF in Ontario. The TBF is owned and operated by us - the membership; there are more opportunities for anglers to qualify for major events than any other organization. Furthermore, more incentives and discounts exist for members courtesy of TBF’s major sponsors like FLW, Ranger, Lowrance, Wal-Mart, Solar Bat and Castrol to name a few. Bass Magnet Lures, a Canadian owned lure company, has already stepped up and generously agreed to sponsor CBAF/TBF.”

CBAF and TBF Ontario have worked hard to establish a partnership that will see TBF Ontario chapters become member chapters of the CBAF. The new federation will be known as the CBAF and the camaraderie, fellowship, fun and focus on fishing will remain as the calling card that has enabled the CBAF to be the fastest growing grassroots tournament organization in Canada.

"We gladly welcome the merger with the clubs from eastern Ontario; we have always been and always will be open to new clubs interested in the CBAF. The eastern clubs have shown the same enthusiasm and love of fishing that gives all of us in the CBAF our common bond. They’re going to fit right in and help us continue to grow and provide a fun and friendly environment for competitive angling enthusiasts,” said Rick Weatherill, President of the CBAF. “Not only will members benefit from all of the TBF incentives they will also be able to take advantage of CBAF’s tried and true tournament format and prestigious Federation Cup!” Friel proudly announced.

"TBF is honored to have our angling friends from Ontario form a federation and join TBF in supporting our three core principles of fishing, youth and conservation. Obviously there is great passion for fishing among the Canadian anglers as Ontario has formed and chartered a full fledged federation with several hundred members in record time" stated Robert Cartlidge, TBF President/CEO.

Due to all the advantages of belonging to a CBAF/TBF chapter, we expect more and more anglers in Ontario looking for opportunities to expand their fishing options to be interested in starting their own CBAF chapter. The CBAF has made the process very streamlined, start by contacting the CBAF (rick@cbaf.ca) or (colin@cbaf.ca) and they will walk anyone wanting to start a chapter through the process from start to finish. If there isn’t a chapter near you, you can still join an existing club and take advantage of all the fishing opportunities while working to start a chapter for your area. Everyone is welcomed.

"I can certainly say that Ontario is lucky to have men like Colin Friel, Randy Lindenblatt and Rick Weatherill plus many others on their team, who have worked tirelessly to get things done. If our new members fish half as hard as they worked to get federated and joined up, I have no doubt that I will be crowning an angler from Canada as the first international TBF Federation Champion and Living the Dream angler sometime in the future!" says Cartlidge.

The CBAF is also creating walleye chapters in 2009. TBF and FLW are setting up a qualifying format to start getting walleye anglers more involved in our grassroots fishing federation. This is an opportunity to have clubs that can fish for both species almost year round and qualify for more major tournaments.

Rick Weatherill summed up the thought process the CBAF went through before embarking on this major step in its brief history, “We’ve always been a member driven organization that strived to find opportunities for our members to compete and learn and most of all have fun at our events. The executive contemplated the merger with TBF and realized that we would not lose our Canadian identity which was our only concern; in fact, our Canadian identity would be enhanced by having the opportunity to represent our country on an international stage. More fishing opportunities for our members, great discounts and incentives and a chance for our members to advance to the highest levels of bass fishing made the decision to proceed rather easy. The membership then validated our opinions and the TBF merger was overwhelmingly ratified. All in all it is a win-win situation for both parties as the TBF gains a strong Canadian partner and the CBAF becomes a part of the most respected grassroots bass fishing organization in North America. We look forward to 2009 and the future as a part of TBF.”