Sport Fishing Championship heads back to Florida for Emerald Coast Classic
by Sport Fishing Championship 22 Jun 2023 12:05 UTC
June 22-25, 2023
Sport Fishing Championship (SFC), the governing body of saltwater tournament fishing, announced today the opening of the Emerald Coast Blue Marlin Classic, starting June 22. The tournament will be broadcast on the CBS Sports Network.
Three teams to watch coming out of Gulf Coast Masters are Team Quantified, Team Rebecca, and Team Quicktime. The three teams together had 68% of all fish caught with 35 out of 51 billfish released during Gulf Coast Masters with Team Quantified releasing 16 sailfish and four white marlin; Team Rebecca released 10 sailfish and six white marlin and Team Quicktime released nine sailfish. Team All In has been consistent throughout the Gulf circuit and are currently sitting in first place with 8500 points. They need a strong finish to keep things going, but are the team everyone is currently chasing.
The Emerald Coast Blue Marlin Classic is the biggest tournament of the SFC Gulf Circuit. With a purse of $1.8 million dollars, a fleet of over 80 of the best sport fishing anglers in all of the Gulf of Mexico are all stationed in one marina. This year's Emerald Coast Blue Marlin Classic marks the 21st anniversary of the event in Sandestin, Florida. Competition begins on June 22, with boats heading out from Baytowne Marina at the Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Competitors will spend three days in the Gulf of Mexico fishing day and night, returning on Saturday afternoon, with awards to be held at an event at 10 a.m. Sunday, June 25.
Fans can watch exclusive coverage of all the action at 3 p.m. on YouTube and 4 p.m. on the CBS Sports Network on Friday and 12 and 10 p.m. on the CBS Sports Network and at 3 p.m. on YouTube on Saturday.
SFC tournament points accrue based on a team's placement in the final tournament standings, with the first-place team earning 3,500 points, the second-place team 3,000 points, and so forth. Placements in the tournament standings are determined from tournament-only points based on species of fish caught and released, with the highest consideration given to blue marlin, then white marlin and spearfish, and finally sailfish and swordfish.
The season schedule next brings anglers to Cape May, New Jersey, for the South Jersey Yacht Sales Offshore Showdown from July 6 to July 8. Events thereafter include: the Oak Bluffs Bluewater Classic in Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, July 12-15; the Tri-State Canyon Shootout in Block Island, Rhode Island, July 24-27; the Texas International Fishing Tournament in South Padre Island, Texas, August 4-6; the White Marlin Open in Ocean City, Maryland, August 7-11 and conclude with the San Juan International Billfish Tournament in San Juan, Puerto Rico, August 23-25.
To learn more about the Sport Fishing Championship Season, visit sportfishingchampionship.com.