The Windmill Juniors Match 2023

Windmill Juniors: children beaming from ear-to-ear with those infectious smiles!

The apprehension surrounding hosting the second of our Junior’s match is that the general consensus could be – ”not quite as good as last year!” Oh, how wrong we were to harbour such concerns — it turned out to be even better than the previous year.

The weather forecast late on the previous night had predicted rain and thunderstorms, so we were ready to move start times etc, whatever was necessary to ensure an enjoyable day. However, as dawn broke on match day, the skies looked promising, and upon our arrival at Hunters Pool, it appeared to be another exquisite day in the making. The parents, grandparents and children started arriving and mulling around whilst a few of us decided on the pegs to be included (about every alternate peg) and the children drew themselves and then started to make their way – just as 23 Geese descended on the pool! However, with all the activity around Hunters at that moment, they quickly decided it wasn’t for them and went as quickly as they’d arrived.

The match got underway, and thankfully, it wasn’t long before all the children started to catch. Not big fish, but, the first target for the day had been met with the Roach and Perch showing up. Then Alex & Nick Metcalfe landed a Perch that was just under 2lb, so the race was on. Harley and his grandad then started to land Bream after Bream, up to about 3lb which clearly gave them the edge. James Flynn encountered a sizeable Carp, but unfortunately, his light tackle was no match for the fish’s strength, leading it to dart into the nearby lilies and snap his rig. We then had a couple of spells of light rain, but nowhere near enough to dampen the enthusiasm around the pool and, I think the children’s smiles forced the sun to do the decent thing and show up!

Isla Parker was catching well and, after sorting some problems out, Archie Gibson started to put a few more in the net as did Sebastian Braddock and even Oscar Sebes was starting to see a few fish go in the net.

Without exception, the children were beaming with those infectious smiles and the adults could only just hear themselves during the weigh in, due to their excited chatter and joking – which was the exact opposite of the start of the day and just what we’d hoped for.

There are lots of people that made this happen – so a massive thank you to Nick & Libby Metcalfe, Bob Hallworth, Allan Kaye, Pete Boyce, Stu Drabble and many, many more. Not to mention our appreciation to the parents and grandparents who patiently sat alongside each child, offering unwavering support every time a branch was snagged, a knot appeared in the line, or a young angler swung a fish several times over their head in an attempt to land it!

Our representative bodies were also approached regarding support for the Junior’s match. The Angling Trust and the Environment Agency didn’t disappoint either, generously contributing Shakespeare Caps and Top Trump Cards that brought sheer delight to the kids.

Arguably the most satisfying testament to the day was a parent, grinning from ear to ear, remarking, “the kids are already talking about next year’s match!”

So, the final results were…

With days like this, our club is undeniably shaping a promising future for itself and we have to support these events as frequently as we can. So, parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles, be prepared for next year—the kids are raring to go, and it’s up to us to organise it once again!