A YOUNG sea angler from Barry and his teammates have just become the first under-16 team to fish for Wales at a world championship.
Harvey Ogston-Price, 15, from Barry, Harri Rice, 14, from Carmarthenshire, Jasper Lewis, 15, from Milford Haven, Max Worsey, 14, from Cardiff, and Jamie Thomas, 15, from Swansea, all represented Wales at this year’s junior shore angling world championships in Massa Carrara, Italy.
And the quintet certainly made their mark fishing along the Tuscan coast, finishing fourth of the nine competing nations, with their charge for the medals only cut short due to the weather.
The teams had been scheduled to battle it out over three four-hour matches across three competition days on Massa and Carrara beaches, but the fishing was cut short 90 minutes before the end of day two, due to a severe weather warning – which also resulted in the third day being cancelled.
Once the results from the two days had been calculated, the Welsh team were left just one position point behind hosts Italy, who took bronze, with Spain and Ireland in first and second respectively.
“We had started finding fish just before the whistle blew and were climbing the rankings. We honestly believe that, if the match had continued, we’d have finished higher, but we’ll never know,” said team manager Ben Worsey.
Back in July, Harvey, Harri, Jasper, Max and Jamie teamed up and bagged silver medals in that age category for Wales at the annual home nations championship on the beaches around Folkestone in Kent – only missing out on gold to England on countback.
The team, managed by Ben Worsey and assisted by Stephen Hoskins, had four days of unofficial practice, two on each beach, ahead of the opening ceremony.
An official practice day on Massa – fished under match conditions – then followed for Team Wales, before the competition began for real.
The team then made an excellent start once the competition got going, finishing third after the first day on Carrara, with Harvey Ogston-Price, Jasper Lewis and Jamie Thomas all finishing in the top three in their zones.
Back on Massa for day two, a red weather warning meant that all beach activity had to cease for 24 hours. Day three was also cancelled.
Wales were sat in sixth position on day two and, once the results to include the previous day were verified, they ended fourth overall in the team standings.
Harvey Ogston-Price finished in 11th in the individual rankings, with Jamie Thomas in 13th.
“It’s amazing. When I first got picked for the team I was buzzing. All my hard work and effort finally paid off,” said Harvey.
“I’m very grateful to be part of such an amazing team.”
By Carl Field
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