US Women’s Fly Fishing Team Announced

The United States Women’s Fly Fishing Team (USWFFT) has announced the initial six members of the National Team from which a World Team will be selected to represent the United States in the first ever World Ladies Fly Fishing Championship, scheduled for July 2022.

Women’s Fly Fishing is now sanctioned by the Confederation Internationale de Peche Sportive (CIPS), the world regulating body for competitive fishing in all disciplines, which represents approximately 50 million competitive anglers from 78 different countries worldwide.

The international fly fishing federation of CIPS, the Fédération Internationale de Peche Sportive Mouche (FIPS-Mouche), has been organizing annual world championships since 1981 for adults and since 1998 for youths. Next year’s competition will be the first year the organization will be holding a World Ladies Fly Fishing Championship.

The current members of the National Team of the USWFFT are Ashley Wilmont of State College, Pennsylvania; Carolyn Emery of Ball Ground, Georgia; Lesley Smith of San Diego, California; Lindsay Szofran of Red Lodge, Montana; Tess Weigand of Coburn, Pennsylvania; and Team Captain Madoka Myers of Boulder, Colorado.

“I’m very excited about the opportunity to serve as the first captain of the USWFFT and to represent women anglers in the U.S.,” said National Team Captain Madoka Myers, who has been fly fishing competitively since 2013. “My biggest goals are to help develop the team, bring awareness to river conservation issues, and work toward the enlistment of the talent of all,” she added.

Originally, FIPS-Mouche had scheduled the first World Ladies Fly Fishing Championship to coincide with the 26th annual European Fly Fishing Championship in July 2021 in Koppang, Norway. FIPS-Mouche cancelled all 2021 competitions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the organization is currently determining the dates and location for the July 2022 competition.

The mission of the USWFFT is to develop the highest quality competitive fly fishing team to represent the United States in the FIPS-Mouche worldwide competition each year. The USWFFT is a proud member of the United States Angling Confederation (USAC), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and is dedicated to excellence in the sport of competitive fly fishing, practicing and encouraging stream conservation, understanding and promoting the value of our waterways, encouraging women to participate in the sport, and encouraging international friendships.