ORLANDO, Fla. - It's a sports world after all at Walt Disney World when ESPN The Weekend takes center stage Feb. 25-27, and BASS and ESPN Outdoors will be a part of it.
From live BassCenter tapings on Saturday morning at 7:00 and 10:30 a.m. ET to the CastingKids interactive display that will be open all three days to a bass fishing demonstration on the lake at the MGM theme park, visitors will have every opportunity to get a feel for what bass fishing and the great outdoors have to offer.
"Later this spring, BASS will relocate to nearby Celebration, Fla.," said Christine Godleski, Vice President and General Manager of ESPN Outdoors. "We thought this would be a great opportunity to introduce new fans to the excitement of bass fishing and ESPN Outdoors."
BassCenter debuted on New Year's Day as the first derivative of the SportsCenter name. The show covers all aspects of bass fishing, including the BASS and FLW Tour tournament trails.
The program is anchored by John Kernan, formerly of ESPN's RPM2Night. Kernan is joined by studio analyst Byron Velvick and field reporter Trey Reid. Velvick recently starred on ABC's popular reality show, "The Bachelor." Reid is a highly respected outdoors journalist and former columnist for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
BASS' CastingKids program began in 1991. Since that time, more than 1.5 million children have participated in the program, and more than $2.9 million in scholarships and prizes have been awarded.
At ESPN The Weekend, CastingKids will have an interactive display where children can pick up a fishing rod with a lure (without a hook) and cast to a target. The target is marked so that the more accurate the cast, the more points are accumulated. The child is awarded points for casting (pitching, flipping and casting) accuracy.
Every child who participates will leave with a "goodie" bag that includes a Jr. Bassmaster magazine, temporary BASS and ESPN Outdoors tattoos, a BASS sticker and a CastingKids certificate of completion.
The CastingKids interactive display will be set up within the MGM theme park and will be open from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET all three days.
In addition to the BassCenter taping and CastingKids display, there will be a bass fishing demonstration on the lake in front of the MGM theme park. The demonstration will feature Bassmaster Tour pro and BassCenter analyst Byron Velvick and BASS Youth Manager Stacy Twiggs.
Bass fishing seminars will be scheduled throughout the day, and a seminar schedule will be posted at the event site.