Swedish fishermen cast in to cast off

Posted: Tuesday February 16, 2010

It is a bit surreal to see a team of fishermen casting off – in our athletics stadium.

We can assure you that we’ve not been flooded, instead it was the Swedish Casting Federation holding a training camp at Club La Santa.

They were practicing precision and distance casting for the sport, which could soon become an Olympic discipline.

Casting is over a 100 years old and athletes compete in 9 different categories, either in distance or accuracy.

It all began in England the USA and in the first event was held in London, in 1881. Since then its popularity has spread to over 30 countries, particularly Germany and the Czech Republic.

One problem is that due to the speed with which it moved from country to country, there was a distinct lack of specific rules, so a number of variants existed until 1955, when 14 countries formed the International Casting Federation.

Not a bite

While the aim of the game is casting, not catching, the sport did have its origin in fishing. Indeed it’s only since the 1970s that it moved to dry land.

Casting has been recognised by the International Olympic Committee, but for it to be included in the Games, the number of disciplines needs to be reduced and the sport has to be united in a World Federation.

At the moment, the best casters compete against one another in the World Games, which takes place every 4 years.

The world record holder in the discipline fly distance, Jan Luxa from the Czech Republic, managed in 2001 to throw this lightweight animal over 70 metres with one hand!

The equipment for casting consists of a rod; in most cases a fishing rod, and either flies, spinners or multipliers.

Casting enthusiasts are starting to use specially designed rods, which are stronger than regular fishing rods, but to learn the techniques in the precision part of this sport, regular fishing equipment is the ideal to use.

But it is not just fishing enthusiasts who perform this sport. It requires mental strength and many training hours if you want to succeed and become good at this technical demanding sport.

The Swedish Casting Federation are planning to return later this year, so at least now you’ll now why people are attempting to fish on dry land!