WEYMOUTH’S Rory Eastlake is set for another exciting year as he works towards representing England in this summer’s World Youth Shore Angling Championships in France.
This will only be the 18-year-old’s second time representing his country, having previously competed at last year’s World Championships in Spain.
The competition takes place in Ambleteuse, France from July 15-22, and Eastlake is looking forward to the challenge after getting a taste for it last year.
He said: “I’m really pleased. I can’t wait for it.
“I represented England last year in Spain for the World Championships and it’s exciting to have been called up to do the same this year in France.
“It was a really good experience. There were seven other countries participating and it was a really good atmosphere. It was in October so it was warm and the beaches were a lot different to here so it was a lot harder.
“We didn’t do very well, because the conditions were so different to what we were used to. We came fifth overall as a team.
“But I learnt loads over there. There’s so much pressure and there’s no rest because when you aren’t fishing you’re preparing.”
Eastlake is relatively inexperienced having only started fishing in recent years, and he explains how it was his friends who convinced him to start competing.
He said: “I live by the beach so started fishing a couple of years ago but only started match fishing about a year and a half or two years ago and it’s gone from there really.
“I joined the angling club and started doing the club matches as well as the local matches.
“I was invited to a competition in Ireland, it was a winter tournament that I went to with some friends and they all said they were looking for someone for the England team, so I applied for the role and that saw me compete in Spain last summer.
“There’s five of us in the team and I compete in the youth set-up which is for 17-21-year-olds.
“My friend used to fish for England but stopped due to work, but because I did well in Ireland and beat some of the other players I was asked to apply.”
Preparations are underway for Eastlake ahead of competing in France in July, and he will be hoping the England team can perform better than last year. Eastlake would like to thank Weymouth Town Charities for their support.
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