LOUISIANA BOY RECORDS PERFECT SCORE AT CASTINGKIDS SEMIFINALS

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - May 17, 2003 - Robert Snyder will have plenty of folks in his corner when he heads to the Bassmaster CastingKids finals presented by Chevy Trucks and CITGO in New Orleans, La., this summer.  Snyder, of Pineville, La., was the only competitor to record a perfect score of 150 at the CastingKids semifinals in Tuscaloosa, Saturday. 

"I got into this when I was 11," said Snyder, now 13.  He confessed to practicing more with live fish than with standing targets:  "I fish a bunch in the lake behind our house."

The competition, similar to the NFL's "Punt, Pass, Kick" program, is a scholarship program that rewards children for pitching, flipping and casting a hookless lure at a target from increasing distances.  Snyder and 92 other children were representing their state BASS Federations in two age groups: 7-10 and 11-13. 

The children were competing for the chance to represent five geographic divisions at the national finals, which will be held in conjunction with the CITGO Bassmaster Classic, Aug. 1-3.  Each of the divisions will send two children (one from each age group) to the finals, where the top-scoring child in each age group will walk away with a $5,000 scholarship.

The 11-to-14-year-old qualifiers include Snyder (Central Division); Michael Howard of Dannville, Ill. (Northern); Dylan Schaefer of St. Mary's, Ga. (Southern); Elysa Anne Lackey of Johnson, Vt. (Eastern); and Billy Goodwin of Simi Valley, Calif. (Western).  The 7-to-10-year-olds include Jonny Schultz of West Bend, Wis. (Northern); Dylan Peppers of Good Hope, Ga. (Southern); Brady Nolan of Jacksonburg, W.Va. (Eastern); Kyle Gertner of Sterling, Colo. (Western); and Clay Miller of Wentzville, Mo. (Central).

Sponsors of the CastingKids program, conducted by BASS are Chevy Trucks, CITGO, Zebco, Triton Boats, Skeeter Boats, Mercury Outboards, Yamaha Outboards, Flowmaster Exhaust Systems, Berkley Power Bait, Lowrance, Kumho Tires, Motorguide, Bass Pro Shops, Eagle Claw, Armstrong Industrial Tools, Progressive Boat Insurance, Diamond Cut Jeans, BassCat, G3 Boats, and Bryant Heating and Air Conditioning.

For more information, contact BASS Communications at (334) 551-2375.