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2007 saw the
Home International being fished at Grafham Water in
Cambridgeshire. At 1600 acres it can seem quite daunting
but a number of the England team fish there on a fairly regular
basis so we were hopeful that we would be able to get a lot of
information abut what was working well to help us in our
preparation for the event.
Captain for
2007 is Sue Hunter and it was obvious that her organisational
skills are exemplary. Each team member was furnished with
an indexed folder detailing everything that was relevant for the
International and in the run-up to it.
Many of the
girls (and lots of support crew) fished at Grafham a number of
times prior to the official practice days. As well as
gaining valuable information it was also an opportunity to
become more familiar with the water and its potential hotspots.
Early in 2007 we had some team get-togethers which involved
meetings with experienced anglers as well as some fishing in
pairs - the more experienced anglers and team manager were
initially paired with the four new caps to help to allay any
areas of concern that they may have.
May arrived and
the team was getting very excited by now and lots of information
was filtering back to everyone via the captain. It was
soon time to pack the navy blazer and start the journey to
Grafham. Most of the girls intended fishing on the Sunday,
as an extra practice day, but the wind was so strong that the
boats were grounded. Monday was here and we had the
official reception - this was accompanied by some wonderful
music on the fiddle and guitar by Gina Le Faux and her
accompanist, Mark.
Tuesday and
Wednesday were our official practice days and as always plans
had been put in place to gain as much information as possible
that would give the team the edge over our competitors.
Both evenings, before dinner we held a team meeting to log all
that had happened and to work out a plan of attach for the
all-important match day.
Thursday was
soon here and everyone was bussing with anticipation -
especially the new caps. After breakfast we made our way
from Wyboston Lakes to Grafham. After tackling up all the
teams were marched down to the water to the music of a piper -
this can be a very emotional time as you suddenly realise what
you are doing - you are fishing for your country, ENGLAND, and
it is a wonderfully proud moment. There cannot be many
there who do not fee the sense of occasion.
We take to the
boats and all the ladies are paired with someone from another
country and, to assist on the day, boatmen are allocated to each
pairing. The briefings have been done and the tension is
mounting - we just want to get out there and give it our best
shot. It is 9am and the gun is fired, the engines are
revving and the boats head out - the majority of them went up
towards the dam area. Onlookers and support crew stay
behind feeling helpless now - all the groundwork has been done -
the girls are on their own. Fish are being caught and,
before too long, it is 5pm and we are all back on the jetty.
It soon becomes obvious that it has been a tough day and the
anticipation is mounting as the weighing-in begins.
We put in a
good show and we did our best but were well and truly beaten by
the Welsh ladies. The Scots came second, England third and
Ireland fourth. There were squeals of delight from the
Welsh camp as they realised that they had won gold medals - it
was a well deserved win and many congratulations go to them all.
There were big celebrations that evening and the dancing went on
until the early hours - all the teams enjoy a great rapport with
each other. England, as always, are very gracious in
defeat.
In 2008 the
Home International will be on Lake of Menteith in Scotland and
we will endeavour to bring back the silverware to England again.
No doubt the other three countries will do their utmost to
ensure that we don't! Let the battle begin
.................. (only joking).
Sue Shaw |