Women’s Engagement Breakfast Unites Anglers at ICAST

A sold-out crowd of anglers greeted the day with copious cups of coffee and a hearty helping of knowledge, research, and inspiration at the Women’s Engagement Breakfast presented by KastKing at ICAST in Orlando, FL.

The two-hour event on July 13 highlighted the Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation’s (RBFF) research on benefits women gain from fishing, as well as continued barriers and challenges to participation, presented the stunning new research-based RBFF marketing campaign “Find Your Best Self on the Water” and MarineMax shared a real-life example of industry members engaging women, their complimentary educational and hands-on “Women on Water” boating seminars, with the over one hundred attendees at the Breakfast.

Research from RBFF and global marketing firm IPSOS indicated that women who fish are happier and healthier than those who do not. Another recent report from Southwick Associates shows that women represent a significant financial opportunity in America’s multibillion-dollar recreational sportfishing industry.

Cindy Nguyen said the time has come to create more spaces like RBFF’s Women’s Engagement Breakfast to continue fostering the growing numbers of women boaters and anglers. The Galveston, Texas-based angler believes it is essential to inspire younger women to fish—a message echoed by RBFF’s newest marketing campaign, highlighting fishing and boating as platforms to inspire future female astronauts, athletes, and professionals guided by fishing at an early age.

“After showing the video of RBFF's new consumer-facing marketing campaign, there were tears in the room, and you could feel how happy the women attendees were by seeing them represented in a national advertisement campaign,” said Rachel Piacenza, Senior Director of Marketing for RBFF.

East Coast angler Angelica Talan called the breakfast informative and inspiring. “We are all bonded by a passion for fishing,” said Talan. “I loved seeing others have the same passion as me. Representation matters, and it was incredible to see women from across the country supporting their fellow women in the industry.”

“When RBFF approached us to sponsor the event, we were sure it would be a fantastic opportunity to support and share in our efforts to attract and retain more women in the sport,” said Al Noraker, President of KastKing.

Watch and share the Women’s Engagement breakfast wrap-up video on YouTube. Visit the RBFF website to learn more about the Women’s Research findings.

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ABOUT RBFF

RBFF is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to increase recreational angling and boating participation, thereby protecting, and restoring the nation's aquatic natural resources. To help recruit, retain, and reactivate participants, RBFF developed the award-winning Take Me Fishing campaign to build awareness of boating, fishing, and conservation and educate people about the benefits of participation.

The campaign websites feature how-to-videos and an interactive state-by-state map that allows visitors to find local boating and fishing spots, helping boaters and anglers of all ages and experience levels learn, plan, and equip for a successful day on the water.

RBFF also offers its industry stakeholders many tools, including a Fishing License & Boat Registration Plugin to connect their customers with the information they need in just one click and an embeddable Places to Fish & Boat Map to help their customers discover places to fish and boat near them.

For further information: Bruna Carincotte, bcarincotte@rbff.org