FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2010 CABELA’S MASTERS WALLEYE CIRCUIT
Minnetonka, MN – November 3, 2009 – The Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit (MWC) has released its 2010 schedule and has announced a few changes for the upcoming season. The MWC will continue with its three divisions (Central, East and West) but has lowered their entry fees from $800 per team down to $650 per team. “We felt lowering our entry fee was the right step to take given our country’s current economic state,” shared Tournament Director, Jeff Ahlstrand. “We are the premier team format walleye circuit in the country but also consider ourselves a grassroots organization, too. At $650 per team, we feel that we remain a great option for anglers looking to share costs but yet enjoy the competitiveness of a professional circuit, while at the same time we are hopeful that purse sizes will increase due to larger fields.” The MWC will televise four tournaments in 2010 to air on Versus Television Network, one in each division and the World Walleye Championship.
Teams that sign up for all three tournaments in a division during our early session will be called Premier Teams. Advantages of signing up as a Premier Team are:
· Cabela’s Gift Card Contingency Bonus! Over $9,000 in Cabela’s gift cards will be given away to Premier Teams throughout the qualifying season. The top finishing Premier Team at each tournament will win a $500 gift card, the 2nd highest finishing Premier Team will take home a $300 gift card and the 3rd highest finishing Premier Team will win a $200 gift card at each qualifying event in 2010.
· Enter new bracket for a Championship berth! Each Premier Team will automatically be entered into a bracket for their respective division with the winner of the bracket receiving a spot into the following year’s Championship. Once boat numbers are assigned, each Premier Team will be placed into a slot on the bracket. On each day of the tournament, half the field will best their bracket to move on to the next round. After the final tournament of each division, a bracket winner will be determined and automatically receive a spot in the 2011 Championship. In addition, each division winner of the Premier Team Bracket Challenge will win a $500 Cabela’s gift card.
· Special Premier Team Merchandise! Premier Team members will each receive a special Premier Team hat and t-shirt for committing early to fishing all three tournaments in a division.
· Delayed payment for each tournament! All Premier Teams will be allowed to delay payment for each tournament until 30 days prior to the event. This allows teams to hold a spot in the field without paying for all events at once.
“I am excited for 2010,” shared Matt Davis, 2009 Team of the Year and World Walleye Champions team member. “The schedule looks great and I love the incentive programs! To have a chance to win over $10,000 worth of Cabela’s gift cards just for signing up early as a Premier Team is terrific. We had a blast participating in previously bracketed events and I can’t wait for the team against team competition to start again. Having another chance to make it to the Championship this way is a great opportunity!”
The MWC Championship purse is not contingent on field size throughout the year. The Championship purse has consistently been around $101,500, with the winners taking home $25,000 and remains the same for the 2011 Championship. As noted above, there is a new avenue available for anglers working towards qualifying for the Championship. Anglers will qualify for the 2011 MWC Championship in this manner:
· Premier Team Bracket Challenge Winner – West Division
· Cabela’s MWC West Division Point Total (must fish all three tournaments in the West with the same partner)
· Premier Team Bracket Challenge Winner – East Division
· Cabela’s MWC East Division Point Total (must fish all three tournaments in the East with the same partner)
· Premier Team Bracket Challenge Winner – Central Division
· Cabela’s MWC Central Division Point Total (must fish all three tournaments in the Central with the same partner)
· Cabela’s MWC Challenge (must fish all three tournaments in a division with the same partner plus one outside of your division to be eligible for the Challenge)
The MWC will begin accepting Premier Team registrations on Wednesday, January 6, 2010. The early registration session period will end on Wednesday, February 10, 2010. Sponsor contingency bonuses are still being worked on but there are plans to continue with many of the programs from 2009. The MWC will continue to pay out to 20% of the field with sample payouts shown below:
Place
200 Teams
150 Teams
100 Teams
50 Teams
1
$30,000.00
$20,000.00
$15,250.00
$10,000.00
2
$10,200.00
$8,300.00
$6,400.00
$4,300.00
3
$6,800.00
$5,100.00
$4,200.00
$2,900.00
4
$5,000.00
$4,100.00
$3,400.00
$2,000.00
5
$4,200.00
$3,600.00
$3,000.00
$1,650.00
6
$3,500.00
$3,200.00
$2,800.00
$1,350.00
7
$3,200.00
$3,000.00
$2,400.00
$1,200.00
8
$3,000.00
$2,500.00
$1,800.00
$1,000.00
9
$2,800.00
$2,200.00
$1,500.00
$850.00
10
$2,500.00
$2,000.00
$1,400.00
$750.00
11
$2,400.00
$1,900.00
$1,300.00
$26,000.00
12
$2,200.00
$1,800.00
$1,200.00
13
$2,000.00
$1,700.00
$1,100.00
14
$1,900.00
$1,600.00
$1,050.00
15
$1,800.00
$1,500.00
$1,000.00
16
$1,700.00
$1,400.00
$1,000.00
17
$1,600.00
$1,300.00
$900.00
18
$1,500.00
$1,200.00
$800.00
19
$1,400.00
$1,100.00
$780.00
20
$1,300.00
$1,100.00
$750.00
21
$1,200.00
$1,100.00
$52,030.00
22
$1,100.00
$1,100.00
23
$1,100.00
$1,000.00
24
$1,100.00
$1,000.00
25
$1,100.00
$1,000.00
26
$1,000.00
$1,000.00
27
$1,000.00
$1,000.00
28
$1,000.00
$950.00
29
$1,000.00
$850.00
30
$1,000.00
$750.00
31
$1,000.00
$78,350.00
32
$1,000.00
33
$1,000.00
34
$1,000.00
35
$1,000.00
$104,600.00
Chad Maloy of Fargo, North Dakota is excited about the second year of the West Division. “I think it was a good move for the circuit to stick with the same water for a second year with plans to switch things up a little in the future,” shared Maloy. “Fishing new water is a lot of work and the 2010 schedule should help teams gain confidence zeroing in on a game plan a little quicker. The waters on the West division’s schedule are all fun waters to fish as they all contain many different species of fish, are loaded with walleyes and all have potential for big baskets.”
The MWC will continue its 25-year tradition of donating $15 per boat to the local conservation fund. This money will be given to the community or conservation club who assists in tournament operations to use towards fishery enhancement projects. The Masters Walleye Circuit has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to local communities to help improve their fisheries. “The MWC has always been a good neighbor working with local host communities,” shared Kristine Houtman, Executive Director of the MWC. “Our commitment to conservation efforts has never waivered and the anglers support this one hundred percent!”
Here is the 2010 Cabela’s MWC schedule:
Central – March 27 & 28 – Spring Valley, Illinois (Illinois River)
Central – June 5 & 6 – Oshkosh, Wisconsin (Lake Winnebago) (combined with Cabela’s NTC)
Central – September 11 & 12 – Escanaba, Michigan (Bays de Noc)
East – April 17 & 18 – Trenton, Michigan (Detroit River / Michigan Lake Erie)
East – June 18 – 20 – Sandusky, Ohio (Lake Erie)*
East – August 6 – 8 – Au Gres, Michigan (Saginaw Bay)*
West – May 8 & 9 – Mobridge, South Dakota (Lake Oahe)
West – August 21 & 22 – Devils Lake, North Dakota (Devils Lake)
West – September 18 & 19 – Webster, South Dakota, (Waubay Lake)
World Walleye Championship Pro/Am – October 13 – Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin (Mississippi River – Pools 9 & 10)
World Walleye Championship – October 14 – 16 – Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin (Mississippi River – Pools 9 & 10)
*Denotes blow day built into schedule
Cabela’s, the world’s foremost outfitter for hunting, fishing and outdoor gear, is entering their ninth season as title sponsor of the MWC. Official sponsors of the MWC include: Ranger Boats, Mercury, MotorGuide, Lowrance, Fishouflage, Versus (Vs.) Television Network and North American Fishing Club. Associate Sponsors include: Farm & City Insurance Services, O2 Marine Technologies, 3-IN-ONE No Rust Shield, Fin-tech, Ryjus and Reflections.
The Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit is the longest running professional walleye tournament circuit in the United States and is entering their 26th season in 2010. For more information on the Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit, visit: http://www.masterswalleyecircuit.com. Questions – email: [email protected] or call toll free: 877-893-7947.
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For more information, contact: Jeff Ahlstrand | O: 952-988-7417 | C: 612-298-5119 | E: [email protected] | http://www.masterswalleyecircuit.com