During the inaugural Georgia High School Association fishing tournament regional qualifier, held January 23 at Lake Seminole in Bainbridge, Ga., the MPC fishing team placed third out of 118 teams. Mount Paran Christian team members C. Koza (senior) and J. Thomason (senior), will advance to the State tournament at Lake Lanier on May 8. The MPC bass fishing team was the only Cobb team represented and advancing to the State championship.
The Mount Paran Christian fishing team, currently with 17 members in both middle and high school, has been involved in Georgia high school bass fishing for five years through Georgia Bass Nation High School Fishing. During this time, MPC fishing has had a high level of success, with teams traveling to State and National championships. With GHSA’s recognition of bass fishing as a sanctioned sport, student anglers will have more opportunities to grow as an angler and fish more tournaments.
Mr. Koza said, “As an avid tournament angler, it means a lot to have GHSA recognize fishing as a sport. I look forward to finishing out my high school fishing career with a few more tournaments added to the schedule. The first GHSA tournament ran smoothly, and our team is already preparing for our next event.”
Bass fishing was first recognized as a sanctioned sport by GHSA in January of 2020 and debuted during the current 2020-2021 school year. In early March 2020, GHSA announced its partnership with The Bass Federation (TBF) and Fishing League Worldwide (FLW), making Georgia the fifth state to do so. The sport is co-ed, with four state-qualifying tournaments held throughout the state, culminating in a State championship tournament.
