Young angler looking forward to the freedom of the dam again
Hazeldene’s angling sensation Sylvie Richards has been keeping busy during lockdown.
Angling has become a way of life for Hazeldene angler Sylvie Richards (14).
She was introduced to angling (fishing) at the age of five years old and has not looked back.
“It all started during one of our family picnics at the dam, when her dad, Phillip, took out one of his old fishing rods and Sylvie discovered the fun of hooking worms as bait and daddy casting the rod in for her,” said her mother, Georgia.
“Angling also became a therapeutic outlet for Sylvie, who was then diagnosed with ADHD.”
It did not take long for Sylvie to start making her mark as a young potential in the angling world and climbing the ranks with her first junior club record of a 2.6kg grass carp in May 2015 during a Simmer Club competition at Biermans at the Vaal Dam.
Sylvie, clearly having gotten the hang of it, brought in another record 8.51kg carp in June 2015 during a Simmer Club competition at a private venue.
“She was then invited to be part of the Gauteng League Juvenile Division in 2017, during which the team was awarded a gold medal for first place,” said Georgia.
Shortly after that competition, the then 11-year-old Sylvie joined the Central North West team with the juniors and was moved to the u-19 young ladies team, where she took part in her first South African Angling Championships in Bloemhof in 2017.
After having placed among the top five anglers during her first national trials in 2017, Sylvie achieved her national South African Fresh Water Bank Angling Federation (SAFBAF) colours for the first time in 2018, and has subsequently made the national SAFBAF team three years in row since the age of 11 (2018, 2019 and 2020).
Sylvie, at the age of 12 years old, paved the way for other juniors to participate in higher divisions, with her outstanding performance during the provincial league competitions in April 2018.
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She achieved a gold medal with the Rand Piscatorial Association senior ladies.
Sylvie was fortunate to be exposed to the highest standard of angling during the World Fishing Games (the Olympic Games of angling), in February 2019, where she was invited by the Senior Bank Angling Protea team (the captain is Johan Kruger) to practice with them as preparation prior to the World Fishing Games competitions.
The Covid-19 pandemic has placed a halt on all the national and international angling competitions for the year, as well as the much-anticipated September 2020 SAFBAF tour that Sylvie was going to be part of with the u-19 young ladies team.
Sylvie is not wasting any time during the lockdown and is keeping busy with schoolwork via online classes and keeps in touch with her passion in different ways.
Keeping up with the social media trends, our young angler was nominated by a fellow angler to do the mieliebom challenge (speedy bait application) on Facebook, and she completed the task in 8.98 seconds.
“The lockdown is particularly challenging for all those who love the outdoors and nature, and anglers are part of them.
“At the moment, there is no fishing, but the fishing rods have not been packed away,” said Georgia.
“All the gear is being cleaned, tracers are being made by the hundreds, and practise carries on.”
Between schoolwork and chores, Sylvie finds the time to practise her kol gooi (target casting) on the front lawn in order to keep her aim sharp and accurate.
Sylvie is passionate about angling for many reasons; the sport of angling has taught her to be patient and focused and that the battle is between herself and the waters of the dam.
And mostly, to remain humble and grateful at all times and never give up.
Sylvie is ranked sixth on the SAFBAF u-19 ladies national ranking list for 2018-2019.
“Our angler is keeping safe during the lockdown and patiently waiting for the day when angling competitions will be allowed to resume,” said Georgia.
“On the white board in Sylvie’s room is written ‘freedom will come’, which is possibly an insight into how our little angling star is patiently waiting to get back to putting her feet in the dam.”
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Contact the newsroom by emailing: Melissa Hart (Editor) germistoncitynews@caxton.co.za, Leigh Hodgson (News Editor) leighh@caxton.co.za or Busi Vilakazi (Journalist) busiv@caxton.co.za.
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