(29 Days Until the Great Outdoor Games)
Paired up
Shaw Grigsby’s drop-shot technique isn’t the only new thing about the 2003 bass fishing event. For the first time, he and the other nine anglers will fish in two-man teams, which means they’ll have to share both a boat and the medal stand.
Although the tournament anglers are used to fishing solo, the change is fairly dramatic, but not necessarily unwelcome
“It’s going to change my strategy a little,” said Peter Thliveros, a two-time Great Outdoor Games gold medallist. “(Ron Shuffield and I) haven’t even had a chance to talk yet, but I think it’ll be a lot of fun.
“Everybody that’s at that level basically fishes the same way. Our styles don’t necessarily complement one another; Ron has always been more of a flipper and a jig fisherman. He likes to throw top-water (lures) a lot and I’ve always been more of a plastics and structure fisherman. I think it’ll be a pretty interesting concept all in all.”
The anglers have been paired by a random draw. The teams will be: Denny Brauer of Camdenton, Mo. and Rick Clunn of Ava, Mo.; Shaw Grigsby of Gainesville, Fla. and Gary Klein of Weatherford, Texas; Davy Hite of Prosperity, S.C. and Clark Wendlant of Cedar Park, Texas; Ron Shuffield of Bismarck, Ark. and Peter Thliveros of Jacksonville, Fla.; and Jerry Shawver of Jacksonville, Fla. and Zell Rowland of Montgomery, Texas.
“Every one of us is used to making all the decisions and now we’ll have to look over the decisions and decide what’s best for the team,” said 2001 and 2002 bronze medalist Clark Wendlant. “We’ll have to make that change, but I think we’ll have a good time.
“I think it’s a great format. Davy and I have been friends for a long time, and I look forward to it.”
Looks like a winner
The results are in from a Reno-Tahoe art contest to design the volunteers’ T-shirt for the 2003 Great Outdoor Games. McQueen High School’s Omar Pierce came out on top with a montage of elements representing the Games. Pierce competed against students at six local high school art programs for the $500 top prize.
“It was an extra credit assignment along with our final,” said Pierce, who is interning at a local advertising agency during the summer and will study art at the University of Nevada – Reno in the fall. “I just wanted to do simple versions of the main ideas, like dog sports and fishing and things, so I just kind of did contoured outline drawings of them.
“I also thought about what would look good on the back of a t-shirt, so it’s taller than it is wide.”
The volunteer program is sponsored by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the Great Outdoor Games’ conservation partner that contributed Pierce’s prize money and will provide the volunteers’ T-shirts.
The entries were judged by Great Outdoor Games staff and Denise Sins, the executive director of the Children’s Museum of Northern Nevada. Pierce’s design can be seen as “winning design” at ESPN Outdoors website.
Just in time for Father’s Day
The Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation, a Great Outdoor Games sponsor, recently conducted a national survey that reports that Tom Hanks and his son Colin are the preferred celebrity father/son or father/daughter duo with whom most Americans would like to spend time on the water.
President George W. Bush and his father, former President George H. W. Bush, came in a very close second. An overwhelming 92.1 percent of the respondents said it would be better to spend time together doing an activity like boating and fishing on Father’s Day than it would be to give a gift – which is hardly a surprise to fans of the Great Outdoor Games.
Big Air reminder
The 2003 Big Air Classic will be this Sunday at the Sparks Marina in Sparks, Nev. and is open to all dogs and handlers. If you think your dog can jump his or her way into the Great Outdoor Games, this is not an event to miss.
