November 22, 2017
By Florida Sportsman Editor
Annual 101-day event wraps with awards banquet; adult and youth anglers win boat packages, scholarships and more.
CCA Florida STAR youth winners
CCA Florida STAR, presented by Yamaha, officially wrapped with the awards banquet for the 101-day, family friendly fishing competition on October 21. As the organization's largest STAR to date, the 2017 event officially concluded with CCA Florida and partners awarding over $300,000 in prizes and scholarships to anglers from across the state and beyond, including new boat, motor and trailer packages, scholarships and more.
As the state's leading organization dedicated to marine fisheries conservation, education and advocacy, CCA Florida launched STAR as a catch-and-photo competition to educate the public about the importance of conservation of Florida's marine resources. This year's STAR included over 20,000 catch entries from more than 5,800 anglers (including 1,000 youth anglers) in 15 divisions, and is the largest fishing competition in the state, engaging recreational anglers, their family and friends, and community partners and sponsors.
“The STAR banquet was an absolute blast for everyone in attendance, and we were extremely excited to award prizes to so many anglers in this year's event, especially the youth anglers with scholarships,” stated Leiza Fitzgerald, STAR Director.
Awarded prizes included $100,000 in college scholarships to 12 anglers in the Youth Scholarship Division presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors. Additional prize packages included Contender, Sea Hunt and Pathfinder Boats, Stumpnocker by Salty Boats, Salt Marsh Skiffs and Bossman Boats as well as EZ GO and Textron Off Road vehicles, Costa Sunglasses, Power Pole, Roundabout Watercraft, LIVE Watersports, Engel Coolers, Bull Bay Rods, Florida Fishing Products and Guy Harvey Outdoor Resorts, among others.
The banquet also included a live performance by UMG Nashville Recording Artist Brandon Lay (Rolling Stone named Lay as one of the Top 10 must see Country Music Awards artists), a catered dinner, cocktails, silent and live auctions and Kids Fun Zone. CCA Florida STAR launched in 2015 and has since awarded over $650,000 in prizes.
