The recent FIPSed Fédération Internationale de la Pêche Sportive en Eau Douce Youth Championships held on Serbia’s DTD Canal marked a historic event for England, who achieved treble gold in a weekend filled with unexpected challenges.
Due to thick floating duckweed that rendered the venue unfishable, organisers cancelled the second day of the Under 15s and Under 20s events. The Angling Trust Facebook page quoted England U20s manager Jason Kirks response to the cancellation of day two:
It’s been a shambles. Our start time was put back twice, and we then had someone in each peg pulling weed out with a landing net while the anglers were trying to fish! There was then a massive row about floating poles on the water to create a boom, and in the end, the match was cancelled.
This decision did not dampen the spirits of the Tackle Guru Under 15s and Beechfield Headwear Under 20s, who were declared champions based on the results from the first day. Barnaby Newman was crowned the Under 15s individual champion, with Charlie Drinkwater finishing as the runner-up.
The Sensas UK Under 25s team, however, faced a tougher competition. After finishing fourth on the first day, they struggled to improve their standing, remaining in fourth place despite a better performance on the second day.
Tackle Guru England U15s
In the Under 15s category, the four-member team comprising Barnaby, Charlie, Alfie Swieton, and Tommy Higginbottom, supported by bank runner Charlie Isaacs, scored eight points. Barnaby and Charlie secured section wins, while Alfie and Tommy contributed with second and fourth place, respectively. This strong performance placed them six points ahead of Spain and seven points clear of France.
Barnaby achieved a weight of 2-396 from peg 5 in D section, while Charlie closely followed with 2-093 from peg 8 in B section. Alfie managed 1-683 from peg 3 in A section, and Tommy recorded 1-373 at peg 4 in C section. All four anglers focused on small fish at 10 meters, the only weed-free area available.
Beechfield Headwear England U20s
In the Under 20s category, the defending champions posted a score of 12 points on day one, leading Italy by four points, with Portugal in third place with 18 points. Billy Kirk led the team with a section second from peg 14 in A section, weighing in at 2-373. Alfie Nicholls added four points with 1-339 from B section peg 8, while outgoing individual World Champion Josh Duffy and George McHugh each secured third place in their respective sections.
Sensas UK England U25s
The Under 25s team, despite finishing day one in fourth place, found themselves significantly behind the leaders. With a total of 28 points after day one and an improved 25 points on the second day, they concluded with 53 points, 26 points adrift of Italy in third place. The Netherlands won the category with 23 points, followed by France with 25 points.
Josh Duffy, Barnaby’s older brother, was the standout performer for the Under 25s, narrowly missing out on individual bronze with four points. Lewis Bray and Will McCranor each contributed 13 points, while Yestyn Septhon’s performance on day one led to his replacement by Josh Derry, who returned with 10 points on the second day.
