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about the CASTING sport. |
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| Text by Thomas Maire, Germany |
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It's a fact, that several of todays practised sport-events are sourced in the systemical training to control different fishing-, hunting- or fighting equipment.
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Was there in early history the previous reason for training based on obtaining the daily food or in surviving on the battle-field, so had appeared with an increasing civilisation also the idea of comparing each other in sport-competitions. Castingsport is one of this ancient sourced sports. In the same way as for example the javelin throw in athletics was evoluted from hunting, the roots of the castingsport are anchored in fishing with rods.
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But while no spectator will ask the javelin-athletes about their prey, the castinsport-athletes are confrontated often with fool questions about catched fishes, during they're moving with their tackle on the grass-fields for training or competitions.
The castingsport was born in the past century by the idea of some fishermen, who trained for a better controlling of their tackle and reaching in that way more sucess at fishing. This training was practised on grass fields to make it easier and more effective.
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Substantiated in the modern humans nature to compare with others by sport-competitions, this kind of training grow up in many small steps to the todays castingsport, when the sport-fishermen asked themselves who achieved the greatest distance or who was able to cast in the most accurace way. In the beginnings, this sport had been arranged on lakes or rivers. But depending of the great efford for fixing the targets on water surfaces or measuring the reached distances, nowadays it is executed on lawns. So the word CASTING simply means, what the athletes are doing. Making casts with sportfishing tackle. But here of course mounted with special tournament weights and tournament flies all without hooks. No fish will be injured in the castingsport.
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| (7,5 grams casting weight)
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(tournament-fly
without hook) |
The oldest form of castingsport is fly-casting. A form of fly-accuracy was practised in the USA already in 1861.
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Some years later, a singlehand-distance event was added so that the sum of accuracy points and distance feets made the score. In the year 1864 the castingsport was recognized in fishing magazines cause of the worlds perhaps first official casting-competition in New York.
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Following this sport became more miscellaneous and since 1884 the spinning accuracy event with revolving-spool-reels was added as well.
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When in beginning of this century the fix-spool spinning reel was invented, the castingsport spreaded again over more different disciplines and todays there are used three types of casting-tackle combinations: The fly-casting, the fixspool spin-casting and the revolvingspool spin-casting. Each type is used for accuracy, singlehand or/and doublehand distance casting.As there exist many different dynamic possibilities to catch a fish, as wide spreaded are the disciplines to achieve in the castingsport, cause during it's evolution there was an importance to reflect almost any way to cast for fishing in one casting event.
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So while among the spectators the designation Adry-fishing@ has got a magical attraction, the castingsport is just the tournament sport of the sportfishermen. It is practised on sport fields and gets increasing relevancy as public sports but also it is an pretentious activity.All distance-casting events resemble in their movements and also in their body-liability several athletic events, like the discus- or javelin-throw. The accuracy events are setting similar requirements to the caster as in the shooting-sport.As diversified the fishing itself is pictured, as same diversified is it to practise the castingsport. Here it 's not only important to insert lasticity or only endurance or concentration. The caster has to adopt some of anything.
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Moreover there is a good technical comprehension and a good spacial view requested, so that high level requirements are necessary to comply for a good caster, but especially this versatility is making the castingsport so very interested.
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So the castingsport in his totality is an official by the national governments mostly acknowledged sport and contains 9 single events. Especially within the national federations and in the fishing-clubs, there exist almost a special support to encourage beginners and youthful anglers in castingsport. Here partly is offered an alternate in lifting programs also for these fishermen, who don't wanna spent their whole freetime in a costly training-programm to win competitions, but only perhaps want to experience some single events or even likes to have some training for better handle the fishing rods and get more fishing-success in this way.
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Castingsport also is acknowledged as an olympic sport since 1958. Evidented on the here shown copy of a protocol from the session of the International Olympic Commitee at 14th may 1958.
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| But the castingsport is performed as non-olympic sports, substantieated in the amount of about 30 nations actually participating in tournaments of this sport. To be consider in olympic games there are 80 nations required in tournament-participations. So this sport is executed among the non-olympic sport-events at the World-Games. |  |
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Hereby a short review over the different castingsport events:
Event No. 1 - fly accuracy
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Similarly to the fly-fishing, the athlete has to cast an artifical fly, of course without hook, with a special fly-rod into 5 waterfilled hollow-disks with a diameter of 60 cm in a prescribed order and within a specified time-limit of 5 2 minutes. This event is divided in dry-casts where the fly-line is only allowed to extend or shorten while it is rolling through the air and with swinged rod, and in wet-casts where no extra rod-swinging is allowed between the casts into the target-bowls.The targets are distanted between 8 and 13 meters of the casters position and each target has to be hit twice in the dry-casting row and also twice in the wet-casting row.Each hit counts 5 points and so there are total 100 points available.The tackle is limited to a maximum 3 meter fly-fishing rod and an at least 13,50 meters long flyline with maximum 38 grams total weight. The length of the leader has to be between 1,80 and 3,00 meters.
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The court:
Event No.2 fly distance singlehand
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As already the name explains, the caster has in this event to cast the tournament fly as far as possible.For the score there have the two longest casts the relevancy and each meter counts one point. The time is limited to 6 minutes. The competitor can grade the time by himself, following at tactical aspects, to reach for example advantageous wind conditions. The complete amount of casts he makes lastend is insignificant and even if there are in 6 minutes about approximate 10 casts available, theoretical it would be sufficient for the score to complete only two of them.Important is to land the tournament fly in a defined sector similar to the javelin throw of the athletics, what is marked in a distance of 50 meters at a width of 25 meters and in a distance of 100 meters at a width of 50 meters.The used tackle is basically subjected to the same determinations as in the fly accuracy event, only difference exists in the men class, where the flyline has to be at least 15 meters long.
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The sector:
Event No 3 Spinning Arrenberg
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stage 2 |
stage 3 |
stage 4 |
stage 5 |
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| pendulum cast |
right-side-cast |
overhead-cast |
left-side-cast |
free-style |
Onto a green target-cloth with four marked target circlets, each 30 cm wide, and all arranged around the black coloured 75 cm diameter timber-disk in the center, the athlete has to cast from 5 different positions respective two times to reach his score.The casting positions are between 10 and 18 meters distant from the center and at each position there is a special casting-type prescribed, except of the last position, where the style is in free choice from a distance of 16 meters. So the caster has to execute from 10 meters the pendulum-cast, from 12 meters the side-cast at the right side and from 14 meters the sidecast at the left side. At the longest distance of 18 meters the athlete has to make the overhead-cast. All casts have to be completet within a time-limit of 5 minutes.Each hit at the centre is scoring with 10 points, so that there are maximum 100 points possible. Hits into the outer circles are lower valued from centre to the edge with 8, 6, 4 and 2 points.
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As specified tackle has to be used an at least 1,37 and maximum 2,50 meters long singlehand-rod with a fixspool reel and the 7,5 gr castingweight.
The court:
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Event No 4 Spinning Accuracy
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(the overhead-cast) In this event, the caster is standing against 5 as well between 10 and 18 meters distanted and slanting built target-plates with a diameter of 76 cm each. These plates are yellow coloured, the front-edge is 5 cm above the ground and the rearward-edge is 17 cm above the ground attached.Within a time-limit of 8 minutes the athlete has to cast with a free style in two turns respective two times to each target. A hit counts 5 points so there are with all 20 casts maximum 100 points achievable.
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This probably most nerves-exhausting event in the castingsport has to be realized with the same tackle as in the spinning-precision.
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Event No 5 Spinning distance singlehand
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Similar to a discus-thrower, here the caster is turning in a 5 meters run up zone in front of the starting-board and has to cast the 7,5 grams casting-weight in the defined sector as discribed in the fly-distance event.The longest distance of three attempts is measured and the reached meters are multiplied with the factor 1,5 to reach the valid score for the competition. So with a 70 meters-cast is reached a score of 105 points.Lands the casting-weight outside the sector the cast is invalid. So the athlete has not only to cast as far as possible, he also has to hit at least one time within his three attempts inside the sector to reach a score.Just as in the spinning-accuracy event, here the rod may not exceed the length of 2,50 meters and also the monofil-line has to imbue a diameter of at least 0,18 mm.
The Sector:
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The casting-weight is exactly described. No other type is allowed to use for all 7,5 grams specified casting-events, what are spinning precision, spinning accuracy and the single hand- distance event.
Event No 6 Fly-distance doublehand (salmon-fly)
Similarly to the event no 2 here the tournament-fly has to be casted as far as possible. But now the rod is up to 5,20 meters long and has to be moved with both hands. The fly-line has to be at least 15 meters long and is not allowed to exceed a weight of 120 grams.
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(preparing the cast with the backswing) Valid for the score here are as well the two longest distances what are reached within the time-limit of 7 minutes. They were added and each meter counts one point.
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 The court is the same as in event no 2: |
This disciplin is - like all fly-casting events - executed from a start-platform what is 1,5 m long, 1,2 m wide and 0,5 m high. This podest is a relikt from older days of the castingsport, when the fly-casts were executed from the footbridges at the water.
Event No 7 Spinning distance doublehand (18 grams)
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This is the probably most vibrantly event in the castingsport. By using a 3,50 up to 4,0 meters long rod the caster shoots an 18 grams casting-weight in the casting-sector as described in event no 5.Four seconds later anything is over and the weight lands clearly beyond the 100-meters-mark. As well as in the singlehand-distance casting the athlete here has three attempts and for scoring, the weight has to land inside the marked sector. Also the reached meters are multiplied with the extension factor of 1,5. So the 100 meter cast will value 150 points.Cause of the here arising enormous speedup-power an at least 0,35 mm diameter strike-line has to be use to avoid line break-offs. Anyhow the castingweight starts with a velocity of 300 Km/h. The running line is prescribed with at least 0,25 mm diameter.
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Event No 8 Multi accuracy (18 grams)
As well as in the event no 4 here the athlete has to cast 20 times onto the yellow target-plates, but with an specific multi-castingrod and a mountet revolving-spool reel. Also the targets are distant further - between 12 and 20 meters - and the 18 grams castingweight ist used.The score is analogously to the spinning-accuracy, but the time-limit is 10 minutes.
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Compared with the spinning reels, the revolving-spool reel ist the older
type of fishing reel. It was used already in early days of the castingsport,
while the fixspool spinning reel exist since beginning of this century.
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Event No. 9 Multi-distance doublehand (18 grams)
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This doublehanded distance-cast with the 18 grams castingweight is similar completet to the doublehand-spinning event but with an instead of the fixspool-reel mounted revolving-spool reel. The rod is here almost about up to 4 meters long, but having a softer action than the rod in the event no 7. For the security against line break-offs there is used a 0,30 mm diameter strike-line. And for the running line also the 0,25 mm diameter monofil as in the event no 7.The reached distances were find between 90 and 110 meters, depending of the wind conditions and here is the same sector described and the same value for the score than in the doublehand spinning-distance event.
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knowhow. The decision of a good or a medium result is direct dependend of a fast running reel.
This event has to be executed with the only allowed special 18 grams casting-weight like in the doublehand-spinning distance and in the multi-accuracy as well.
Good relathionship with Fishing and Casting.
Any fisherman who occupy intensive with this sport will reach a good support for his fishing as well.
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Because then it will become easier for him to make precise casts or long casts even with difficult conditions around the water and then he also will certainly be able to imagine, that without a diligent target-, technic, power- and fitness-training a succesful castingsport is impossible.
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But it is pictured differently by the total lowbrow viewers at this sport, who are missing the required background-knowledge. These might be unable to understand the processes on the lawns during a casting-competition and probably they will ask about the captured fishes.
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Also sometimes not correct treated in press reports, this sport don't deserve it to be pictured in a ridiculous way. The castingsport in opposite is an outmost pretentious sport, what demands beside the adjuncts like power, adroitnesses and skillfulnes also innovation and good nerves by the athletes. Because here the race isn't run already after 9 seconds. The contests continue over at least one day, international tournaments even until 3 days - depending by the number of the participants.And by watching the action on the casting-field during a contest, it will indicate, that the athletes have to own good nerves for the target-casting events as well as power and elasticity for the distance-casting events.
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But that a good fitness is needed for holding the concentration in stand by over a complete tournament day with including a constant inset-readyness for the odd events, that only can imagine who adepted this at his own body.What more than 100 years ago english and american sportfishermen started to improve their casting-achievement for a better and more succesful fishing, grew up to a performance-sport what demands not only high requirements to the athletes but also to the tackle.The caster expects a maximum performance of his rods, reels and lines as an important basis for the success.So a number of evolutions for the fishing-tackle found their outset in the castingsport, what therefore can be named the formula-one-racing of the sportfishing.
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But the castingsport contents not only to execute many different target- and distance-casts with fishing-tackle. It also causes to connect people across borders around the whole world. The big money cannot found with this sport and so it is almost practised for his own and in a sincere way. Sportsmanship and fairness posses a high weight and by the athletes there exist a honour bound to assist and to help among themselves even during the contests.
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The sportsmanlike ambitious fisherman,
the sport-fisherman can measure his abilities in comparing to others without
impair a creature without injure any fish.
The casters are standing for the sport in
the sportfishing.
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For the interested beginners it's not necessary to start
already with the high-tec tackle what is used by the worlds top athletes
and what is of course quite expensive as well.
Here it is sufficient to prepare a tip-action spinning
rod specified for a castingweight of 30 -40 grams and with a length of
less than 1,50 meters for the spinning-accuracy and the spinning-precision
events by mounting with a small and lightweight fixspool-reel and accoutring
this with at least 20 meters of a 0,18 or 0,20 mm diameter monofil fishing-line.
Of course the rod has to be at least 1,37 meters long, what is prescribed
by the international casting-rules.The fly-casting beginner can start
with a 9 to 9 1/2 feet fly-fishing rod of the class 11 what is having
a tip-action or a semi-parabolic-action. Mounted with a standard flyreel
and accoutring this with a fast-sinking fly-line in one class lower than
the rod is specialized for, he will be able to execute the target-event
and the singlehand distance event as well.
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The line has to have at least 13,50 meters for the accuracy and 15 meters for the distance casting, what is prescribed by the international rules.
Indeed this tackle is not allowing to become a world-champion, but it is enough to explore an interesting and miscellaneous sport and possibly it is the first step on a way what will end actually at a world-championship one day.
Thomas Maire