Philipsburg, St. Maarten

With preparations in full swing, the St. Maarten Sport Fishing Foundation (SSFF) is proud to announce that the 10th annual SXM Wahoo tournament, set to take place on October 26th 2019, has been recognized by the Offshore World Championship (OWC) tournament in Costa Rica as a qualifying event!

The OWC is the biggest offshore fishing tournament in the world, with teams from all over the globe gathering for one week in a neutral location to compete to become the world’s best fisherman or fishing team. Bragging rights aside, the prizes and payouts are phenomenal. Entry to this world renowned event is on invitation only. Meaning a qualifying event must be won in order to be considered.

With that being said, the winning fishing team of the 10th annual SXM Wahoo tournament on October 26th will receive an invitation to represent St. Maarten at the World Offshore Championship in April 2020 in Quepos, Costa Rica.

Back in April 2017 fishing team “Striker”, led by Jan van der Plas and his team, represented St. Maarten (Dutch side) at the OWC after they won the 2016 Saint Martin Billfish Tournament, which is also a qualifying event.

Team Striker, as first timers participating in the OWC, put St. Maarten on the map by collectively finishing at a respectable 29th place, out of 61 teams. Team Striker (representing St.Maarten) also boasted 34th and 38th best angler of the 256 qualifying fishermen in the world.

Now being a qualifying event for such a recognized world event, we hope to attract even more regional fishermen to the island of St. Maarten to participate in our local SXM Wahoo tournament.

Put the word out there, get your fishing teams together if you want a shot at obtaining an invitation to the OWC tournament.

Registration forms are already available on www.sxmsportfishing.com for the 10th annual SXM Wahoo tournament.

Official registration is 5-7pm on Friday October 25th at Outdoor World Yamaha located at Blue Pearl Marina in Cole Bay.

Reel it in SXM !