Turks & Caicos hosts Billfishing Extreme Release League (BXRL) for second time
ESPN’s BXRL set for May 25-27 in Turks & Caicos
Providenciales, Turks & Caicos (April 23, 2007) – The Turks & Caicos Tourist Board is pleased to announce the return of ESPN’s Billfishing Extreme Release League (BXRL) challenge to Turks & Caicos May 25-27.
Now in its seventh season, the BXRL series, hosted by Captain Norm Isaacs, is the longest-running originally made-for-television billfishing series. While this will be the second time Turks & Caicos is part of the tour, local tourism officials are already expressing their excitement with the series’ return.
“We are pleased to have the BXRL series return to the Turks & Caicos” said Ralph Higgs, Director of Tourism (marketing). “We are confident this event will not only showcase the superb fishing experience that can be found in the Turks & Caicos, but it will also persuade everyone from the casual fishing enthusiasts to the serious sports fisherman to come to our islands and enjoy our award-winning beaches and resorts, world-class snorkelling and scuba diving, as well as our friendly people.”
As its name suggest, the Billfishing Xtreme Release League series is a challenging tour, where anglers must prove their ability to attempt to catch, tag and release various species of billfish under a concise set of rules. In addition to points awarded to determine winners of each event, points are also accumulated over the course of the season and totalled to decide the overall series champion.
This year the BXRL potential total prize money to be won is $2.9 million, up from $1.4 million last season. Last year Team Galati prevailed for the championship series prize of $500,000, which is now $1 million.
The 2007 BXRL tournament got underway on March 30 in Marathon Florida and heads to Bimini, Bahamas April 28-30. Following the Turks and Caicos event the tour travels to St Martin, Lesser Antilles, June 22-24; Tortola, British Virgin Islands, July 20-22; and then on to Hispaniola in the Dominican Republic, August 17-19.
ESPN (Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American cable television network dedicated to broadcasting sports-related programming 24 hours a day. The event appeared on ESPN 2 in early 2007, and the Tourist Board anticipates excellent coverage for the Turks & Caicos Islands through its partnership with such a well-established media giant.
For additional information on the Billfishing Xtreme Release League competition or about the Turks & Caicos, contact the Turks & Caicos Tourist Board at (649) 946-4970.
For your FREE on-line Turks & Caicos travel guide, visit www.caribbean.com.
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