Overview
Angler of the Year (AOY) recognizes the top CKA series angler for each season. The AOY designation is earned by the angler’s cumulative score from his or her 5 best events plus the Gate City Classic (which is required). An AOY victory is a difficult victory to achieve: every cast, every paddle, and every point counts over the course of a long season. While hundreds of anglers fish the entire CKA tournament season, there is only one AOY.
Here is how it works:
A0Y points are awarded to every angler who participates in a tournament and pays a one-time fee to retain points. Points in each tournament are awarded based upon the overall cumulative length of the top 5 fish an angler has landed, photographed, submitted and accepted through the Fishing Chaos app. Overall length determines the final tournament standings, which are posted live at the end of each event.
CKA anglers have their points automated courtesy of Fishing Chaos, so anglers can easily track their scores in real time. The final AOY standings are determined by the sum total of an angler’s top 5 event scores (plus the Gate City Classic) and a victor is announced at CKA’s final annual competition, the Gate City Classic, in September of every calendar year, hosted by Get: Outdoors.
AOY points determine a range of benefits for anglers:
- The overall Angler of the Year designation and associated prizes
- A percentage of the AOY standings qualify for the Kayak Bass Fishing National Championship (KBF NC spots do roll down in the case of anglers who previously qualified, but not roll past the 25th spot; some KBF spots are awarded to top rookies on a discretionary basis).
- Eligibility for the N.C B.A.S.S. Nation State Kayak Championship.
- The top 10% (minus event winners/plus roll downs) in the AOY standings qualify for the CKA Tournament of Champions
The AOY tabulation system functions as illustrated below:
A. Points System
A points system is used to track the AOY race. CKA awards 200 points for 1st place, 197 for 2nd place, 194 for 3rd, 191 for 4th, 190 for 5th, 189 for 6th, 188 for 7th, and so forth. An angler without a fish will receive 20 points.
An angler’s 5 best finishes plus their Gate City Classic score will count toward the final AOY tally. Those 6 scores are added together at the end of the season following the Gate City Classic. In the event of a tie, the tie breaker is the total inches caught during the 6 best scored AOY events.
The leader board is confirmed after review of angler CPR submissions, and angler placement indicates the angler’s event standings. CKA uses the Fishing Chaos standings page for each event in the same way in order to tabulate scores – every angler can see the submissions.
To become a CKA member and retain your points for the 2023 AOY and ROY races, click here to access the CKA page on Fishing Chaos, then click JOIN.
CKA Angler of the Year Winners
AOY and ROY champions each have separate pages in the drop down menu of this section. A complete list of event winners can be found on the Hall of Champions page, in the “Galleries” section of the website.
© CKA 2014-2023
