Day one of FLW Kingfish Series Championship canceled
Inclement weather, high winds raised too many safety concerns
ORANGE BEACH, Ala. – Day one of the Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series Championship in Orange Beach has been canceled due to high winds, strong thunderstorms and turbulent seas.
“With the present and forecasted conditions we have deemed it unsafe for our crews to head out today,” said FLW Kingfish Series tournament director Chris Hoover. “Our main priority is the safety of teams. We don’t want to do anything that will jeopardize their well being.”
With the cancellation of day one, competition will start Friday morning at the regularly scheduled time. The full field will compete Friday, and the top-five teams based on the day’s heaviest catches will move on to Saturday’s final round. The winner will be determined by the total weight of both Friday and Saturday’s catch.
The winning team will earn as much as $70,000 cash, which includes $30,000 for the win plus a $20,000 bonus from Hydra-Sports, Scarab, Seaswirl or Wellcraft and a $20,000 bonus from Evinrude or Yamaha if contingency guidelines are met.
Teams will take off and weigh in at The Wharf located at 23101 Canal Road in Orange Beach. Friday’s takeoff is at 6:45 a.m. with the scales opening at 4 p.m. Saturday’s final takeoff is at 7 a.m. followed by the weigh-in at 4 p.m. The FLW Kingfish Series Family Fun Zone will open at noon Saturday and will include a National Guard HD theater, rock climbing wall and Humvee display. Admission to all activities is free.
The Alabama Gulf Coast Sports Commission is hosting the event along with The Wharf, Brett-Robinson, Live Bait at the Wharf and the cities of Orange Beach and Gulf Shores. For more information, visit www.gulfshores.com.
Named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood, FLW Outdoors administers the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Series, Stren Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail presented by Abu Garcia, Ranger Owners Tournament Championship Series, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series, Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series and Wal-Mart FLW Striper Series. These circuits offer combined purses of nearly $43 million through 241 events in 2007.
Wal-Mart and many of America’s largest and most respected companies support FLW Outdoors and its tournament trails. Wal-Mart signed on as an FLW Outdoors sponsor in 1997 and today is the world’s leading supporter of tournament fishing. For more information about Wal-Mart, visit Walmart.com.
For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, call (270) 252-1000