FLW, the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, announced today that Polaris, the leading global powersports manufacturer, has been named the presenting sponsor for the coveted Polaris FLW Tour Rookie of the Year (ROY) award. The award is given to the highest-ranked first-year angler on the prestigious Tour, which features some of the top anglers in professional bass fishing.

Polaris will award a Polaris Sportsman® 570 – the best-selling automatic 4×4 ATV of all time – to the rookie that accumulates the most points after the seven-event FLW Tour regular season. This year’s ROY race features 34 FLW Tour rookies.

“We are thrilled to support newcomers to the sport through this award,” says Kyle Duea, Vice President of ORV Marketing for Polaris Industries. “Polaris was founded on a passion for the outdoors, so it is only fitting that we reward the hardest working rookie with a vehicle that allows him or her to stay connected with the outdoors.”

The 2019 FLW Tour rookie class includes some of professional bass fishing’s most promising up-and-comers, including Costa FLW Series champions, Bass Fishing League (BFL) All-American champions and FLW College Fishing standouts. Historically, former ROY winners have gone on to enjoy successful careers highlighted by both regular-season wins on the FLW Tour, and the sport’s most prestigious tournament – the FLW Cup. Currently, Wade Strelic of Alpine, Calif., leads the ROY race with 357 points.