ROANOKE TIMES 

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, May 6, 1990                   TAG: 9005070219
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B9   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: TIM TUCKER Cox News Service
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

WOMEN LAND EQUAL RIGHTS IN B.A.S.S. COMPETITION

This fall, the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society will have women competing in its tournaments for the first time in its 23-year history.

B.A.S.S. officials made no announcement of this major policy change. Instead, they simply removed from the rules a restriction prohibiting women for the 1990-91 season, which begins in September.

B.A.S.S. is holding two major tournaments in Virginia this season, the Wrangler B.A.S.S. National Championship on Smith Mountain Lake, June 28-30 and the B.A.S.S. Masters Classic on the James River in Richmond, August 23-25.

After battling the participation of female anglers in the courts, B.A.S.S. has cleared the way for the country's top women bass pros to have an opportunity to share some of the $2.7 million in cash and prizes offered on the Bassmaster Tournament Trail.

The first season, however, the women anglers will be limited to the Bassmaster Invitational Tournaments when qualifying for the Classic. The Top 100 Super B.A.S.S. Pro-Am Tournaments, including the one Oct. 11-14 on Kerr Lake, are open to anglers who rank high in B.A.S.S. standings. The women won't have a chance to be ranked their first season.

Tournament director Dewey Kendrick refused comment on the acceptance of women, referring questions to Ann Lewis, B.A.S.S. director of publicity and information.

"This change is in response to the fact that we're a service organization and we service our members," Lewis said. "When our members ask for something, we usually try to provide it. In years past, we haven't had a great many women request to get in our tournaments. But we're seeing an increased interest. And as the interest grew, we saw a need to change the rules and that's what we have done."

The decision to allow women to compete with men on the front deck of bass boats reflects a change of attitude among the leaders of the Montgomery, Ala.-based organization, which has more than 500,000 members.

The president and CEO at B.A.S.S., Inc., is Helen Sevier, who has called the shots since founder Ray Scott sold the tournament organization and publishing conglomerate almost four years ago.

In the past, B.A.S.S. has refused to follow the lead of some other tournament organizations that allowed female anglers to compete.

In the mid-70s, one prospective female competitor took the fight to a New York court, which ruled in B.A.S.S.'s favor, citing the conflict caused by the lack of toilet facilities on the boats and a rule that requires that tournament partners remain within sight of each other throughout the fishing day. The judge ruled that pairing a female angler with a male partner violated the right to sexual privacy.

The sexual privacy argument was used by B.A.S.S. as the reasoning behind prohibiting the participation of women in the 1980s.

Scott, who serves as the master of ceremonies at the tournaments, host of The Bassmasters television series and is president of B.A.S.S. (the membership organization, not the corporation), admits he isn't in favor of the change.

"My personal feeling is that this is the last vestige of personal privacy," said Scott, who is no longer involved in the daily operation at B.A.S.S. "I don't agree with the decision, but I accept the change. I don't think it's proper, but I guess I'm old-fashioned. There are a lot of things I don't believe in. But we'll go on holding great bass tournaments with ladies in the boat. There are some great lady fishermen out there."

The decision has been greeted with a lukewarm response from many male bass pros. The men are concerned that the involvement of women will prove to be an inconvenience and a distraction, especially to those who consider tournament fishing their livelihood. But B.A.S.S. officials are hoping to attract only the most serious of the female pros.

B.A.S.S. began accepting entry registrations last week and filled all of the tournament slots for the entire season (except MegaBucks) in less than two hours. The registrants reportedly include female pros Linda England and Fredda Lee of Tennessee who will be among those becoming a part of fishing history next season.

Outdoor Editor Bill Cochran also contributed information to this story.

Keywords:
FISHING 


 by CNB