EWC billed as a success

Big crowds seem to be as consistent as rainfall during the Emo Walleye Classic weekend—and this year’s edition proved no different.
Steady rainfall put a bit of a damper on Thursday evening’s boat parade and Friday’s fishing, but the skies parted and provided beautifully sunny weather for the big finale Saturday.
Lincoln Dunn, stage and marketing director for the EWC, was a busy guy all weekend making sure technical aspects of the event went smoothly. And once the dust settled, he reflected on another job well-done.
“Things went great, it was a really successful tournament,” he remarked. “There were no major issues on the waterfront or rules violations.”
Dunn was quick to give credit to his fellow committee directors, who make the annual event run like a well-oiled machine.
“We’re fortunate that we have a dedicated group of committee members who have been around since the beginning,” he noted. “Everybody knows their role and goes into auto-pilot, and it makes things that much easier.”
Dunn was credited the hard work and dedication of the many volunteers who give up their weekend each year to support the local event.
“We [the committee] work hard all year long, but when the rubber hits the road, our volunteers are the ones who make a lot of the stuff happen,” he lauded.
“There’s no way we could put on a tournament of this magnitude without the army of volunteers that we have.”
Dunn’s only disappointment was the fact raffle ticket sales were lower than previous years. But he still was happy with the community for supporting the event like few other tournaments can lay claim to.
“It was crazy in there [the arena] when those top 10 boats were rolling through,” he enthused. “When you get those big fish up there and everybody [is] screaming, it’s a lot of fun and a unique experience.”
Dunn’s production team once again had a live Internet feed and big-screen monitors in the Emo/La Vallee arena, bringing fans on hand and at home closer to the action.
“We were fortunate to have Shaw Cable come in and take care of the video system for us,” Dunn said. “It made for a much more diverse selection of cameras and a much better video show this year.”
They had a camera in the centre of the crowd, one to the left of the stage, a mobile camera operator on stage who followed anglers as they approached for the weigh-ins, and another camera pointing down at the fish as they were being weighed.
The stalwart anglers who usually impress at the EWC once again were in the running, and Dunn was amazed at the fact the same teams manage to put themselves above the rest of the field year in and year out.
“They’ve made a lot of money off our tournament, let’s put it that way,” Dunn said with a laugh, referring to tournament champs Doug McBride and Steve Ballan.
“It just blows me away that every year the same guys go out there and can show up at the top every year,” he added. “I think I’ve rolled Frank and Corey Curtis through the stage every year.
“There’s a lot more skill involved than I have or am aware of, that’s for sure.”