Gerry Barlow appointed as North Wales Angling Participation Officer

Paul Dancey on 03/01/2012

Gerry Barlow of Rhos on Sea has been appointed to the new post of ‘North Wales Angling Participation Officer’ by the Federation of Welsh Anglers. Having taken early retirement after 24 years as a Police Staff member with North Wales Police, Gerry, a keen angler and former Charter Boat Skipper, is currently setting up projects aimed at introducing people to fishing as a new sporting pastime, re-introducing those who have taken a break from angling and developing current anglers who wish to qualify as Angling Coaches.

The Federation of Welsh Anglers was formed in 2005, to form a single point of contact between Sports Council Wales and the sport of angling and is jointly funded by Sports Council Wales and Environment Agency Wales. The umbrella body for angling in Wales, the Federation of Welsh Anglers, contributes positively towards the Welsh Government’s ‘Climbing Higher’ objectives, particularly those of maximising the synergy between sport, physical activity and the natural environment.

The main thrust of Gerry’s work will be to:

• Support clubs with volunteer training and development
• Assist clubs to recruit volunteers
• Promote qualified Coach Training
• Promote angling taster sessions to give potential new members, particularly young people, an angling experience
• Encourage clubs to establish junior sections which offer coaching and
  competitions for young anglers

The strategy for Angling Participation is underpinned by a set of unique factors:

• Angling is socially inclusive
• Angling has no age barriers
• Angling is a favoured activity for people suffering from a wide range of physical and sensory disabilities
• Angling caters for all skill levels and corresponds to a variety of levels of physical activity, the choice of the participator
• Angling is a proven tool in reducing crime and anti-social behaviour amongst young people
• Angling is the only sport that raises government revenue through a direct licensing system
• Angling is an educational vehicle for promoting awareness of environmental and conservation issues

These unique factors have attracted generations of people to angling, however, a changing society offering a range of easily accessible leisure- time activities has meant that some of the more traditional routes to the sport has been lost, the computer age, for example, has created an indoor life-style whereby fewer young people explore the great outdoors, almost automatically venturing into angling as in the past.

In coming weeks, Gerry Barlow will be contacting local Angling Clubs in order to offer support and with setting up projects aimed at helping people to either take up fishing as a new activity or to come back into fishing after a break, and to help current anglers who wish to progress and become qualified Angling Coaches.

In the meantime, anyone wishing to learn more or take up a new sport, should contact Gerry Barlow by Email at gerry.barlow@tiscali.co.uk, or by telephone on 07754 108944.

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