To our Fishing Friends,

As expected, the 9th Annual New Smyrna Beach Billfish Invitational Tournament held in October, 2007, was a resounding success. Captain Tim Garrett and his crew on the Waterproof took first place in the two day tournament, releasing 17 sailfish and collecting prize winnings of over $48,000 in the process. Second place honors went to the Triple Header with Captain Jon Lloyd. Third and fourth place positions went to the Critter Gitter with Captain Scott Laney and the Outlaw, Captain Neil Subin, respectively. By the end of the tournament, the twenty five boats entered had released 142 sailfish and over $100,000 awarded in prize money.

October 9 through October 12, 2008 - mark it on your calendar: The 10th Annual New Smyrna Beach Billfish Invitational tournament will be bigger and better than ever!

This year, 2008 will mark the tenth year of the tournament and we have some exciting announcements to mark this important milestone. First, the New Smyrna Beach Billfish Invitational has always been a qualifying tournament for the IGFA Offshore Championship tournament in Cabo San Lucas and that will, of course, continue. Beginning this year, however, the tournament will also be part of the Treasure Coast Division of the World Billfish Series AND a part of the Cabo Cup Tournament Series. This year, the WBS Grand Championship will be held at Las Sueños, Costa Rica, while the Cabo Cup top prize will be a trip to Marlin Magazine's Marlin University in Cabo San Lucas.

The tremendous success of the tournament has necessitated that we have a change of venue for tournament activities. This year's tournament activities, including the Thursday night Captain's cocktail party, Friday and Saturday weigh-ins and the Sunday awards banquet will be held at the beautiful and spacious Brannon Community Center located at 105 Riverside Drive, New Smyrna Beach - just immediately north of the A1A Intracoastal Waterway bridge, two blocks away from our previous location. As a result, we will be able to better accommodate the expected increased in anglers and guests during the tournament.

It is also important to remember why we have the New Smyrna Beach Billfish Invitational tournament. While our goals for the tournament have always included fabulous parties, the promotion of a great fall fishery, marine conservation and awareness, one of our primary goals continues to be providing scholarships to local deserving high school students. So while we pay a lot of attention to tournament participants, we would also ask you to visit our Sponsors page. These are the people and companies which are the backbone of the New Smyrna Beach Billfish Invitational - their generosity and support make this tournament happen for the kids who receive the scholarships each year. So please check them out, use their links and support our sponsors who so faithfully support our scholarship fund year after year.

The NSBBI Tournament Committee

Ron Carwile
John Lloyd
Mike Wilson
Jon Zeller