Veterans Fishing Tournament
Veterans Fishing Tournament
The Veterans Fishing Tournaments are open water bass tournaments for veterans or service members with a permanent physical disability, visual impairment or PTSD. Tournaments are held in May on Candlewood Lake in Danbury, CT or in September on Lake Congamond in Southwick, MA. Each veteran will be paired with an experienced angler and boat captain for a day on the water. The tournament includes all fishing equipment, a weigh-in and an awards luncheon. Prizes are awarded for the top 3 weights.
This event is organized in collaboration with the Major Steven “Roy” Andrews Fishing Outreach Program and CT Bass Nation.
This program is funded in part by a grant from the United States Department of Veteran Affairs in partnership with Move United Warfighter Sports Program and is offered at NO COST for veterans.
Candlewood Lake Tournament
Date: Tuesday, May 7, 2024
Location: Candlewood Lake, Danbury, CT
Time: 7:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m
Check-in: 7:00 a.m. – 7:15 a.m.
Fish: 8:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Weigh-In: 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Awards and Lunch: 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m
Lake Congamond Tournament
Date: Tuesday, September 17, 2024
Location: Lake Congamond, Southwick, MA
Time: 7:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Check-in: 7:00 a.m. – 7:15 a.m.
Fish: 8:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Weigh-In: 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Awards and Lunch: 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Application Procedure
To participate, an application must be submitted for EACH tournament. The application process will
open in March for the May tournament and in July for the September tournament. To apply, please click
the link below for the online application form and waivers. If the application process is not open and you
would like to be added to our contact list, please contact us at 203-284-2772, sports@gaylord.org or fill
out our contact form. Veterans will be notified if they are selected to participate. If we are not able to
accommodate all veterans, we will start a waiting list for the event.
Sports Association Veteran Events Series (SAVES)
SAVES is a program of the Gaylord Sports Association that offers adaptive sports programs specifically for veterans who have experienced permanent physical disabilities, visual impairment or PTSD. The goal of the program is to support veterans in attaining a healthy lifestyle, better quality of life and new peer relationships through adaptive sports. The flagship program of SAVES are the Veteran Fishing tournaments. Additional veteran specific sport programs are offered in various adaptive sports such as golf, archery, boccia, kayak, bowling and yoga. The program has served over 140 veterans since its inception in 2009. We also welcome and encourage veteran participation in any of our adaptive sport programs.
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This program is funded in part by a grant from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. The opinions, findings and conclusions stated herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.