Kids targeted by new Angling Trust survey

A campaign to attract thousands of youngsters into angling has been given a major boost after the launch of a ground-breaking survey.
Junior participation has dropped alarmingly in recent years, but the Angling Trust is now attempting to reverse the trend by creating a national questionnaire for under-18s.
The governing body hopes the move will help it understand what the sport needs to do to make it more appealing to youngsters.
Trust communications manager Will Smith said: “It is vital that we know what the sport can do to get thousands more young people to go fishing on a regular basis.
“This kind of research is essential because, ultimately, the more anglers we have, the stronger the future of our sport.
“Even if you have never been fishing, or only fished once or twice, we really want to know what we can do to make you get involved in angling,” he added.
Get Hooked on Fishing is the UK’s leading angling charity and its bosses have given the latest development their full support.
Chief executive Sarah Collins believes the results from the project could be vital to securing the future of fishing.
“This is a fantastic idea and we will be encouraging all the juniors who we coach to get involved in the project,” she said.
“Angling has to adapt to draw in more kids, but at the moment I don’t think we know exactly which direction to head in.
“We have two choices – we can either try to second-guess what young people think, or we can ask them directly. In my mind, it is clear that asking them will produce a more accurate picture of what needs to be done,” she added.
Anyone under 16 should get consent from an adult or guardian before filling in the form, with all participants having the option to enter a free competition to win up to £200 of Amazon vouchers.
Visit www.surveymonkey.com/r/ATYP to fill in the survey.