Marine
Belcher returns to defend grand champion angler title in Mike Schmidt Winner’s Circle Offshore Challenge
PORT LUCAYA, Bahamas (March 26, 2008) – Gary Belcher returns to defend his 2007 grand champion angler title at the Mike Schmidt Winner's Circle Offshore Challenge, set for May 15-17. The event – hosted by baseball Hall of Fame third baseman Schmidt – is now in its ninth year.
Schmidt – who won a whopping eight National League home run hitting titles in his career – hosts the Challenge, which has been hugely successful throughout its existence.
The event is part of the Redbone @ Large Celebrity Tournament series and is one of approximately 30 Redbone Celebrity tournaments that are held each year, with all proceeds benefiting the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF). Redbone events raised $1,568,000 in 2007 alone, and have raised more than $11 million in 20 years.
The Challenge has raised over $1 million over the years, a figure that makes the Jupiter, Fla., native proud.
“Everybody does golf tournaments,” Schmidt says. “I wanted to do something different – an exclusive, invitation only, fishing tournament. I've received a tremendous amount of support from everyone. The event almost runs itself because so many of my friends have adopted this project.”
Financial support from the Redbone events has allowed tournaments such as the Mike Schmidt Winner's Circle Offshore Challenge to help CFF make tremendous progress in the field of cystic fibrosis research and care. The median age of survival for a person with CF has improved from early childhood in the 1950s to 36.8 years today. Cystic fibrosis continues to be a critical health matter, however, as most individuals with the disease must battle chronic lung infections their entire lives. At least one person dies from CF each day.
CFF's mission is to assure the means to cure and control the genetic disease that affects the lungs and digestive systems of approximately 30,000 children and young adults in the United States.
Redbone founder Gary Ellis and his wife, Susan, have supported CFF for two decades, not only because of its innovative and effective research efforts, but also for a very personal reason: their daughter, Nicole, was diagnosed with CF as an infant in the mid-1980s. Nicole is now thriving in the corporate world of international marketing, and she has witnessed - first hand - the advances made in the treatment of the disease.
The seeds for the Mike Schmidt Winner's Circle Offshore Challenge were planted in 1988, when anglers, fishing guides and sports celebrities organized a tournament in the Florida Keys village of Islamorada. The ground rules were simple – to win, the angler must catch and release at least one redfish and one bonefish.
The inaugural Islamorada event was a huge success, and spawned the “redbone” moniker. The current format of the individual tournaments includes freshwater, offshore and flats fishing.
The environments in which the Redbone events take place have played a critical role in their success. The Florida Keys, for instance, contain miles of clear flats with acres of turtle grass and marl, features that create a welcoming habitat and a diverse fishery that includes bonefish, tarpon, permit, redfish and snook. Tournaments are also held in such diverse locations as Massachusetts, Colorado, New Jersey, New York, Costa Rica, Pennsylvania, Ohio, the Bahamas, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Louisiana.
Mercury Marine, the official outboard engine of the Redbone events, began its support of the Series in 1992. For two decades, this collection of events has drawn the attention and support of big-name celebrities such as the late baseball great Ted Williams, baseball stars Mike Schmidt and Wade Boggs, football legends Boomer Esiason, Jim Kelly and Ken Stabler, and the late broadcasting icon Curt Gowdy.
For more information on the Redbone @ Large Celebrity Tournament Series and/or the Mike Schmidt Winner's Circle Offshore Challenge, visit on-line at www.redbone.org or call 305-664-2002 or 1-877-5-FISH-CF.
The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, headquartered in Bethesda, Md., is a donor-supported, nonprofit organization committed to finding therapies and ultimately a cure for cystic fibrosis, and to improving the lives of those with the disease. For more information, visit www.cff.org.
blockquote>WHAT: Mike Schmidt Winner's Circle Offshore Challenge
WHEN: May 15-17, 2008
WHERE: Port Lucaya, Bahamas
CONTACT:
Steve Fleming
Communications Director
Mercury Marine
Phone: 920-929-5340
Fax: 920-926-2346
Email: steve_fleming@mercmarine.com
or
Gary Ellis
Redbone Foundation
Phone: 877-5-FISH-CF or 305-664-2002
Email: gredbone@bellsouth.net
