The top 10 boat parade under the big tent at the Sorting Gap Marina late Saturday afternoon is a highlight for many attending the annual Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship, but otherworldly for local angler Mandi Olson.
Olson and her dad, Ken, were ranked fourth after Day 2 on Friday and was teary-eyed by the time she got on stage for the final weigh-in Saturday.
When emcee Paul Morrison asked her how the ride was, she candidly replied, “I almost puked.”
Olson later confirmed just how emotional the experience was.
“That was my number-one dream, my lifetime goal, to go under the big tent and I made it—with my dad of all people,” she remarked.
It wasn’t just a first for Olson. It was the first time any woman had been in the top 10 boat parade in the FFCBC’s 13-year history—a fact that didn’t elude the father-daughter team as they had researched it that morning.
When they took to the stage Saturday night to collect their $1,400 cheque (they wound up in 25th place overall after only having a 12.5-pound total on Day 3), FFCBC organizers made it official and announced to the crowd that Olson had gone where no woman had gone before.
She later admitted being the first was “very important” to her.
“I think that more women—even girls, ’cause when I started tournaments I was maybe 13—I think it’s so important for women to be anglers, too, and I’m glad there’s so much support this year, too.
“That feels good.”
The team was competing together for the fourth year, having placed 89th, 112th, and 45th in their past three tournaments.
After bringing in 17.87- and 18.93-pound bags the first two days, the Olsons looked like they had made the big time. And even after slipping on Saturday, their 25th-place finish was a big leap over last year.
And, of course, nothing can take away from their trip to the stage.
Ken Olson said being there with his daughter was “Cool. Awesome. Not too many people get to do that and are that close with their children that they can spend that kind of time on the water.”
They’re both looking forward to next year, and with a placing that puts them in the first flight, they have a shot at returning to the tent in 2008—with some time to prepare for the parade.
“We didn’t know what to do ’cause we’d never been there before,” Ken Olson admitted.
“We just tried to make our game plan for [Saturday],” his daughter added. “How we were gonna do it, that was our main concern.”
The Olsons also had to thank the other member of their team—their “supervisor” (Mandi’s mother, Jo), who did plenty to encourage them and keep them fed.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
