International Women's Fishing Association
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International Women's Fishing Association
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The International Women's Fishing Association was organized as a result of a long discussion among the lady anglers, during the International Sailfish Tournament in Palm Beach, Fl, 1955. Many of the wives had been coming to the tournaments from far away places like California and Texas for years, with their only reward, a chance to fish in "Ladies Day", and this only if their husbands were assured three good days of fishing for themselves. The more they discussed, the more they were determined they were to do something about it...and after the season was over, three of the women did. They were Mrs. "Denny" Crowninshield, Mrs. John "Kay"
Rybovich, and Mrs. Thomas T. "Ginny" Sherwood. With much prodding from Kay, they
recruited another ardent fishing woman, Mrs. By June of 1955, 100 women had joined and in December the first IWFA annual Sailfish Tournament was held. Over the next few years an increase in membership indicated interest and a need for an International Women's Fishing Association. Today membership exceeds 200 lady anglers from around the world. The next important occasion was in the form of an
invitation for the IWFA to compete in the Hemingway Marlin Tournament in Havana
Cuba. The invitation was issued to Denny, and since she was given
only a few hours to get her team together, the three founders Denny, Kay and
Ginny dropped everything and flew to Cuba! To the
In 1966 the members of the IWFA established a scholarship trust to aid qualified students seeking advanced degrees in the field of Marine Science. Over 150 scholarships have been awarded. IWFA is the proud recipient of both the IGFA'a and The Billfish Foundation's Conservation Awards. Ongoing IWFA programs continue to encourage women's fishing while funding scholarships and promoting conservation.
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Jacquline Gerli and in the middle
of March the IWFA was on its way. The original foursome telephoned their
friends, and two weeks later, with 16 members present, they proudly held their
first meeting.
best of anyone's knowledge,
this was the first women's team ever to compete with men. They made headlines
when they brought home the Championship trophy! Since that time (1957) IWFA
members have tested the fishing ground from Florida to Australia and Alaska to
Chile.