Yamaha Marine Group Supports CCA® Florida STAR Tournament through Multi-Year Sponsorship Agreement

KENNESAW, Ga.--()--Yamaha Marine Group announced today its official sponsorship of the Coastal Conservation Association’s (CCA®) Florida State-wide Tournament and Angler’s Rodeo (STAR), Florida’s largest saltwater fishing tournament. Yamaha is the presenting sponsor of the CCA® Florida STAR.

“We are very pleased to have Yamaha join STAR as our exclusive motor sponsor,” said Brian Gorski, CCA® Florida Executive Director. “For some time now, Yamaha has been leading the way with advocacy initiatives that will help to address the challenges facing coastal fisheries. Thanks to Yamaha’s support, we can leverage the tournament to help all STAR participants develop a heightened appreciation for these challenges in Florida’s coastal waters.”

Florida STAR is a Catch & Photo tournament designed to educate the general public about the importance of conservation of Florida’s marine resources. The format encourages sportsmen and sportswomen of all ages to protect and conserve Florida’s fishery resources for future viability and availability for all recreational anglers. It is one of the most angler inclusive tournaments in the state of Florida and provides all anglers an opportunity to participate. By promoting participation in STAR, CCA® Florida will aid in the collection of significant scientific data while providing anglers of all skill levels with the opportunity to participate in a family-friendly angling competition.

“Yamaha’s sponsorship of Florida STAR further underscores our commitment to the conservation of U.S. coastal waterways and also expands our saltwater tournament support efforts,” said Dale Barnes, Yamaha Marine Group Marketing Division Manager. “This tournament is unique as it really opens the field to all saltwater anglers while simultaneously working to collect scientific data that can help to rewrite the legislation currently governing our coastal waters.”

The CCA® Florida STAR tournament kicks off Saturday, May 23, 2015, Memorial Day weekend, and ends at 5 p.m., September 7, 2015 (Labor Day), offering participants a total of 108 fishing days. With nearly $500,000 in prizes, STAR anticipates recruiting over 4,500 participants, who will each have an opportunity to win, making it Florida’s largest saltwater fishing tournament.

Eighty specially tagged redfish are the main attraction in the inaugural CCA® Florida STAR tournament. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and CCA® Florida officials will release 80 STAR tagged redfish along the west coast of Florida several days prior to the start of the tournament. These specially tagged redfish will be released throughout hundreds of miles of Florida’s gulf coast and bays, from Pensacola to the Everglades National Park. For participants, catching one of these redfish could result in winning a boat/motor/trailer package or a new truck.

For more information about the Florida STAR tournament series or to register, please visit www.ccaflstar.com

About STAR

STAR is a not-for-profit entity. All revenues from angler entry fees and sponsorships are used for prizes, tournament promotion, advertising, and data collection. The first year of STAR will be limited to the West coast of Florida, although anglers throughout Florida are eligible to participate, as long as they are members of CCA® in good standing. STAR intends to expand to all state waters in future years, including the east coast and the Florida Keys. In doing so, the tournament will eventually include other species in its format. The major focus of STAR is to educate recreational anglers and the general public about the importance of conservation of Florida’s marine resources. Florida STAR’s new format encourages anglers of all ages to protect and conserve Florida’s fishery resources by practicing responsible catch, handling and harvest of tournament species as well as data collection allowing for future viability and availability for all recreational anglers. By promoting participation in STAR, CCA® Florida will aid in the collection of significant scientific data. The information gathered from STAR participants will help CCA® and other fisheries management groups make science-based decisions related to the protection and conservation of Florida’s marine resources.

Yamaha Marine products are marketed throughout the United States and around the world. Yamaha Marine Group, based in Kennesaw, Ga., supports its 2,000 U.S. dealers and boat builders with marketing, training and parts for Yamaha’s full line of products and strives to be the industry leader in reliability, technology and customer service. Yamaha Marine is the only outboard brand to have earned NMMA®’s C.S.I. Customer Satisfaction Index award every year since its inception. Visit www.yamahaoutboards.com.

This document contains many of Yamaha's valuable trademarks. It may also contain trademarks belonging to other companies. Any references to other companies or their products are for identification purposes only, and are not intended to be an endorsement.

Contacts

Yamaha Marine Group
Martin Peters
Manager, Communications
Office: 770-420-5829
Mobile: 678-763-2583
martin_peters@yamaha-motor.com
or
Yamaha Marine Group
Heidi Weber
Communications Coordinator
Office: 770-420-5848
Mobile: 770-547-4748
heidi_weber@yamaha-motor.com

Contacts

Yamaha Marine Group
Martin Peters
Manager, Communications
Office: 770-420-5829
Mobile: 678-763-2583
martin_peters@yamaha-motor.com
or
Yamaha Marine Group
Heidi Weber
Communications Coordinator
Office: 770-420-5848
Mobile: 770-547-4748
heidi_weber@yamaha-motor.com