Every year on or about the first weekend of November, members from the New Zealand Bowhunters Society converge on the Waikato which is the heart of koi carp country. The ‘Classic’, is the brainchild of Allan Metcalfe, a past President of the Society and current Patron. It was first run in 1990 has become one of the premier events on the New Zealand Bowhunters Society calendar. All entrants must be members of the Society.
The venue is the Ohinewai Hall. This is 10 km north of Huntly, right beside the motorway.
Shooting can start at daylight on Saturday and Sunday and competitors can hunt carp anywhere in the Waikato River and lake systems. The ‘Classic’ is a bowfishing only tournament. At the end of each day’s shooting competitors must return and weigh in their carp. Huge numbers of carp can be weighed in at this tournament every year (the record is 8.6 tonnes).
The Department of Conservation and the Waikato River Authority are our major backers and continue to sponsor our event every year.
Contestants can enter as individuals or as teams, (2 members per team). Medals and prizes are presented at the completion of the ‘Classic’. The following divisions will be competed for:
- Waikato River Authority Trophy (1st 2nd 3rd medals) for heaviest koi carp.
- Department of Conservation Teams Trophy (1st 2nd 3rd medals) for heaviest weight of fish shot by a team of two (unassisted) for the weekend (tiebreak = total number of fish).
- Junior Cup (1st medal) for heaviest koi carp shot by a junior (under 17 years at closing date).
- Heaviest koi carp Saturday
- Heaviest koi carp Sunday
- Heaviest white carp
- Most koi carp
- Most koi carp by a junior
- Most koi carp by a woman
- Smallest koi carp
- Heaviest other fish (excluding perch, rudd, tench and eels)
The weigh-in is from 5pm – 7pm on Saturday & 2pm – 4pm on Sunday.
Prize giving is normally held at around 5pm on Sunday.