Battle Born Batteries Sponsors the International Friendship Tournament

At Battle Born Batteries, we want to help as many people as possible get out there, and stay out there. That is why we partnered with the International Federation of Black Bass Anglers (IFBBA), an organization that is dedicated to promoting diversity in the professional bass fishing scene. 

International Federation of Black Bass Anglers

Battle Born Batteries is excited to partner with the International Federation of Black Bass Anglers (IFBBA), so their members can use our powerful batteries to help these athletes up their game out on the water.

Battle Born is proud to be a Gold Sponsor of the IFBBA’s upcoming International Friendship Tournament. The competition will take place May 10-14, 2022, on Lake Aguamilpa in Tepic, Mexico.

“All these bass anglers know they need to transfer to lithium batteries to stay competitive,” Arthur Bronson, IFBBA founder, said. “Our fishermen are hunting for good batteries, but we [the IFBBA] don’t want to work with just any battery company. We want to work with a company with true interest in the bass fishing industry and the outdoor industry. That’s Battle Born Batteries.”

Bronson said that is what the IFBBA is all about– promoting a more competitive and diverse roster of pro anglers in international competitions through support and education. The organization has more than 120,000 members in 15 countries competing in bass tournaments inside and outside the IFBBA. But the international pro fishing scene hasn’t always been this diverse.

Angling for Change

Bronson has been involved in the pro fishing scene since the 1970s, competing in tournaments and hosting fishing shows through the decades. He remembers being at the 1988 ICAST trade show and being the only black man out of the 900 attendees.

Bronson realized to get more people of color into professional angling, they need to see people they can identify within the sport. He said black and brown people have always been prolific fishermen but have mostly fished for food rather than sport. The IFBBA supports a diverse range of competitors who might not have felt comfortable in pro fishing, giving them the knowledge and confidence to participate at the highest levels.

To help its anglers effectively compete in tournaments, the federation helps anglers learn unfamiliar waters so they can qualify for regional and national events. It provides video resources, topo-counter maps, and coaches members on how seasonal conditions affect the lakes and rivers they will be fishing on.

Bronson said the federation also works with large fishing and outdoor gear companies to include more people of color in catalogs, commercials, and inside the giant $120 billion industry itself as salespeople and representatives.

The organization actively recruits from all under-represented groups regardless of gender or ethnicity. To that end, the IFBBA created a youth mentorship program to coach young women and men about the outdoors and ecology. The IFBBA works with organizations across the country to encourage kids to get out in nature and participate in events like Take a Kid Fishing Week in June and Kids’ Hunting and Fishing Day in September. They also hold youth fishing derbies during their regular tournaments, where they sometimes give away school supplies as participation prizes to all the children.

Battle Born Batteries is proud to stand with the IFBBA to promote a more inclusive and competitive pro bass fishing field.

Connect with the International Federation of Black Bass Anglers

If you would like to connect with the International Federation of Black Bass Anglers, you can see their website at IFBBA.com or join one of the federation’s Facebook pages. You can catch the International Friendship Tournament when IFBBA live streams the event on Facebook and YouTube in May 2022!