Bill Hargreaves Fishing Rodeo - June 12 - 15, 2014
Bill Hargreaves Fishing Rodeo
The Bill Hargreaves
Fishing Rodeo started in 1971 with 18 anglers on Mother’s Day.
Bill
Hargreaves started the rodeo as part of a Kiwanis program whose goal
was to
fight the war on drugs in this country. Bill was then in charge of
children’s
activities with the Kiwanis and thought that a fishing rodeo would be a
good
family event. The entry fee for the rodeo was 25 cents and in its first
year
made only $12.50. From these very humble beginnings, the Hargreaves
Rodeo was
on its way.
Hargreaves believed that involving
both parents and children
in a family fishing event was the way to help combat drugs, promote the
sport
of family fishing and strengthen the family unit as a whole. “I thought
if I
could get to them before they got involved in that stuff, that would be
the
thing to do”, said Hargreaves.
The rodeo event was
changed to Father’s Day weekend due to the suggestion of many mothers
who were
without husbands and children on Mother’s Day weekend. Plans now start
in early
January to get this event off the ground and it takes less than a dozen
volunteers working hundreds of hours to set the wheels in motion. The
Hargreaves Fishing Rodeo has grown into a four-day event, starting with
Thursday’s Registration and Captain’s Meeting and ending with the
Awards
Ceremony and Fish Fry on Father’s Day Sunday.
Now sponsored by numerous community
leaders and businesses,
the tournament hands out cash prizes for 12 different categories of
fish in the
Open Division, totaling over $7200. There are 32 fish categories in the
Junior
Division awarding $50 Savings Bonds in each....something unique for
Pensacola.
The Hargreaves Rodeo awards the most
prizes to junior anglers of any rodeo in town. The underlying theme of
the
rodeo is the children. Bill’s biggest thrill in the fishing rodeo that
bears
his name, was watching “his kids” having a great time. “ I feel good
about it,”
stated Hargreaves. We at Grand Lagoon Yacht Club feel good about it
too.
Registration tickets are $35.00 for
anglers 13 years and
older, which includes tax and a Fish Fry ticket. Anglers 12 and under
fish
free; and are encouraged to pre-register, which will assist in speeding
up the
compilations for the Awards Ceremony on Sunday.
More Stuff
Tickets can be purchased at
the following locations...
Directions to the Rodeo
The Rodeo is held at the Grand Lagoon Yacht Club located at 10653 Gulf Beach Hwy