THE Queensland Branch of the Australian National Sportfishing Association (ANSA Qld) recently announced the Vic McCristal Sportfishing Writer scholarships for 2018. The Vic McCristal Sportfishing Writers Scholarship was established by ANSA Qld in 2017 to support budding writers on their sportfishing writing journey.
Two very different but highly motivated recipients were selected with one being awarded to Susan Fairbairn from Cardwell and the second to Nicholas (Nick) Thompson from Rockhampton. Susan is a member of the Cardwell Sportfishing club while, at just 10 years of age, Nick is currently the youngest recipient of the scholarship.
As part of the strategy to help recipients prepare their first sportfishing article, the scholarship program has brought onboard three experienced mentors. Adam Royle, who is currently serving on the ANSA Qld executive, will lead the program with the assistance of two seasoned sportfishing writers Warren Steptoe and Bill Bowtell.
“Warren and Bill are both highly respected sportfishing writers and it’s both a privilege and a pleasure to have them on our mentoring team”, ANSA Qld vice president and fellow mentor Adam Royle explained.
“I know from past experience that the recipients will gain wonderful insight into the world of sportfishing journalism given the vast array of experience on offer from our mentors”. Adam said.
With support from mentors, each of the scholarship recipients will now begin to blend their personal passions with the skills of a sportfishing journalist to complete a feature article before the end of the year.
“While both of our recipients are very different, possessing good writing skills and knowing how to engage with readers of fishing publications is a fundamental skill that Susan and Nick will both need to develop. As mentors our job will also be to help each of our recipients build a network of fellow writers and contacts within publications.”, Adam explained.
Over the next few months each of the scholarship recipients will plan, develop and deliver a feature article on a sportfishing topic of interest that incorporates the core values of ANSA QLD – Sport, Conservation and Integrity in angling.