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

DATE: MONDAY, April 25, 1994                   TAG: 9404270061
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B-6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By BILL COCHRAN OUTDOOR EDITOR
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

B.A.S.S. PLUGGING NEW TOURNAMENT FORMAT

The Bass Anglers Sportsman Society has announced major changes in its competition format, which means the 1994-95 season will have more tournaments, more divisions, more competitors and more prize money.

``I think it is going to bring a lot of new people into B.A.S.S. [tournaments],'' said Dewey Kendrick, the organization's tournament director.

The schedule includes a contest on Kerr Lake at South Hill, April 27-29, 1995.

The 1995 BASS Masters Classic will return to High Rock Lake and Greensboro, N.C., Aug. 3-5. This year's Classic is set for Greensboro, July 28-30.

As in the past, the tournament trail will be composed of both Bassmaster Top 100 and Bassmaster Invitational events. Fishermen will be able to qualify for the Classic in either circuit, but there are several new twists.

The number of Top 100 tournaments has been boosted from four to six. Invitational tournaments will jump from six to eight and be divided into a Central and Eastern division, each with four events.

Classic qualifiers will include the 25 highest scoring anglers from the Top 100 pro division and MegaBucks tournament and the top five anglers apiece from the Central and Eastern divisions.

``Most of the pros tell me they are going to fish the Top 100 trail and one of the invitational trails, either Eastern or Central,'' Kendrick said.

In the past, most pros fished all of the B.A.S.S. events, and qualified for the Classic either through the Top 100 or the Invitational circuit, depending on where they scored highest. Under the new format they can win a berth in the Classic through the Top 100 and either the Eastern or Central tournament circuit, not both. The fact that the pros must declare the invitational trail of their choice in advance is going to open doors for other anglers, Kendrick said.

``They won't be competing with the pros. It is going to be the best of all worlds for everybody.''

Fishermen can qualify for the Classic by taking four weeks of vacation rather than six, said Kendrick. There will be two, instead of three practice days, and tournaments will end on a Saturday rather than a Friday.

``So there is less time away from work, and contestants won't have to drive as far because they will be within one region.''

Tournament results, as in the past, will be determined by the number of pounds and ounces of fish weighed during a contest, but anglers will qualify for the Classic and Bass Angler of the Year based on the order of finish instead of weight. For example, the winner of an Invitational tournament will earn 300 points, and other contestants will receive points in diminishing order.

The fisherman accumulating the highest total number of points in the Top 100 tournaments and the Bassmaster MegaBucks tournament becomes the B.A.S.S. Angler of the Year.

The total prize money for B.A.S.S. events has been boosted from $3 to $4 million.

The Eastern division will include competition on the Potomac River, Sept. 15-17; Lake Santee Cooper, S.C., Oct. 13-15; Lake Lanier, Ga. Dec. 1-3; and Kerr Lake.

by CNB