Texas State Champ Zay Ridgle earns a spot in the annual Bassmaster CastingKids National Finals
By Chad Wilson Editor

Zay Ridgle, a Brownsboro Elementary Third Grader, has advanced to the CastingKids National Finals on Feb. 23.

The State of Texas was represented by two Brownsboro ISD students on November 10 at the 2007 Bassmaster CastingKids Semifinal competition in Kissimmee, FL.

Brothers Issac and Zay Ridgle earned the right to participate in the annual event after claiming the state title earlier in the year.

Representing Texas in the Central Division the boys competed against kids, both boy and girl, from Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana (2), Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma.

Zay, 8, competed in the 7- 10 year old age group and with a score of 130 out of a possible 150 earned the Central Region Championship.

Three players came within ten points of tying Zay with a score of 120. Those kids were Alex Eubanks of Mississippi, Bayley Schuman of Nebraska and Sheldon Collings of Oklahoma.

Only two kids scored higher in the challenge than Zay. Those contestants were Chris Guest of North Carolina with a score of 140 and defending National Champion Sierra Voisin of Ontario, Canada. Voisin scored a 150.

Ray Scott, founder of BASS, congratulates the kids who advanced to the National Tournament. Brownsboro's Zay Ridgle is pictured far left.

Issac Ridgle, 10, scored a 120 while competing in the 11-14 year old age group. He was 20 points shy of the leader, Shea Baumgartner from Nebraska.

Earning the Central Division Championship, Zay will now compete in the 2008 Bassmaster Classic on February 23 in Greenville, South Carolina.

He will compete against five other contestants in hopes of being named the 2008 CastingKids champ in the 7- 10 year old age group.

All kids competing at the National event will be awarded an academic scholarship. First place earns a $5,000 scholarship while second place earns a $2,000 scholarship.

In 1991, BASS created the Bassmaster Castingkids program. The program is similar to the NFLpunt, pass and kick competition. The kids involved with Castingkids are faced with the challenge to flip, pitch and cast a hookless lure onto a bullseye target, the closer to the center the more points are awarded.

According to ESPN.com "Mastering these three techniques will give any angler the skills they need to present any lure and catch monster bass."

"Participants compete in local events conducted by an affiliated BASS Federation Nation club. Each local event has two winners, one in each age group. The winners then proceed to their respective state finals, where each state then determines two winners to represent their state at the National Semifinals. From the National Semifinals only 12 contenders will advance to the National Championship, which is conducted in conjunction with the Bassmaster Classic each year. [One contender per each age group representing the Northern, Southern, Eastern, Mid-Atlantic, Western and Central Divisions]" as stated on the Castingkids information page on ESPN.com.

The Castingkids program is designed to help kids develop their fishing skills. Since 1991 more than 18,000 events have been held, including 900 events this season.

More than 3.3 million dollars in prize money and scholarships have been awarded through the program.

Stacy Twiggs, senior manager, Federation Nation Youth told espn.com, "The friendly spirit of competition in the CastingKids program is wonderful, and it's very rewarding to see a child's self-esteem thrive and self-confidence flourish from what this program teaches."