East Hastings Sea Angling Association youth section was set up in early 2020 but rapidly fell foul of the pandemic. In spite of this, we managed to get up and running during periods that lockdown was suspended.
We managed a few months during 2020 and a few more in 2021. This saw the youth section grow in number and several fish hit the beaches.
2022 saw us hit the ground running we now have a total of 22 young people, both male and female, aged between 8 and 18 regularly attending our Wednesday evening coaching sessions.
Our Head Coach is fully qualified through the Angling Trust and is also DBS checked and we have several helpers some of whom are about to take their Angling Trust Level 1 coaching courses.
We also have a Child Protection Officer who attends each coaching session.
The youth section provides all the tackle and bait so that young people can experience sea angling without their parents having to purchase equipment. We charge £3.00 per week which helps cover the cost of bait and lost and damaged kit and new rig making tackle. The youth section has been entirely self-funding having been set up using our Head Coaches own equipment and donations from fellow anglers.
Our young people not only learn about sea fishing but also rig and rod making; marine ecology; fish care; conservation and more. They make friends they wouldn’t have had and it helps boost confidence and aids well-being.
On the fishing side, we run the youth section as a club in itself. Club record fish are registered and, as we have started from scratch, record sized fish are very achievable. We have competitions with points being awarded towards the youth club championship and the winner, along with two runners up, receive trophies at the main club presentation evening. In addition, we have an annual parent/youth pairs competition which has proved to be a fun event and get families out on the beach together.
Anyone looking to come along and join the youth section should call Brian on 07870425778 for further information.
We are back!!
Following our normal winter break, the youth section return to our beaches on Wednesday 29 March from 6.00pm to 8.00pm.
All tackle and bait provided but if you wish to come along and try beach fishing, please call our Head Coach Brian for information etc before arriving.
Brians number is 0787042577
JULY 2023 UPDATE
I cant start this update without commenting on the weather that has blighted beach and boat anglers recently. Several weeks of strong North Easterly winds had a detrimental effect on our beach fishing and also kept boat anglers firmly in the boatyard.
Hopefully, the current south westerlies will bring the fish with them although, again, the wind strength leaves a lot to be desired.
Since my last report, the youth club hosted an open day at the club where we invited the general public along to try beach fishing. All kit and bait was supplied and, alongside the coaching team, many of our young people came along to help out and have a cheeky cast or two as well.
We did register several fish on the day with several dogfish, a few flatties and a small rockling all being landed.
The youth club itself is running Wednesday evenings starting at 6.00pm and we continue growing in number but are happy to welcome newcomers aged 8 and over. All kit and bait is provided so call Head Coach Brian on 07870425778 to arrange to come along.
Aside from the fishing, I am delighted to be able to tell you that we now have 2 Angling Trust qualified Level 1 coaches alongside Level 2 Head Coach Brian and Child Protection Officer Nicola. Andy and Mark put in several hours of work allied to their existing skills to be able to pass the course and I know they will continue to be a valuable asset to the club.