Nipawin a finalist in Ultimate Fishing Town contest

Nipawin has made it to the final round of voting as the only town from Saskatchewan in a national competition to determine who is the ultimate fishing town in Canada.

The final round of online voting started on May 10 to determine the winning town that will receive the grand prize of $25,000 to be used towards fishing-related causes. A feature about fishing in the town will also air on WFN: World Fishing Network, which is North America's only 24/7 fishing channel.

The second and third place towns will receive a donation of $5,000 and $2,500 respectively towards fishing related causes.

Nipawin was also a finalist during last year's inaugural competition. Doug Hidlebaugh, who was closely involved with the town's bid last year and also nominated Nipawin for this year's competition, said it was good to see the town making the top 20 again.

"We did well last time. We were in fourth place in the country overall last time. Now there's a lot of competition, so we're going to need a lot more votes."

He would like to see people from across the province support the town's bid. With the official opening of the angling season in central Saskatchewan on May 15, he is hopeful it will also help to get anglers voting for Nipawin.

"The fishing season is opening up this weekend and people are interested in doing this," he said.

More than 170,000 votes were cast for over 240 towns across Canada during the initial round of public voting from April 12 to May 3. The final round of online voting started on May 10 and will continue until May 31. The winning town will be announced on June 6 at a ceremony emceed by WFN personality Mariko Izumi.

"We were overwhelmed with the thousands of photos, videos and stories sent in support of more than 240 towns," WFN Senior Director of Marketing Shauna Gosevitz said in a press release. "Once again, communities with barely 1,000 residents earned a spot alongside highly populated cities, underscoring the unique spirit and camaraderie of anglers from destinations both large and small. It's now up to Canadians to determine the Ultimate Fishing Town by casting these votes."

In addition to Nipawin, the other top 20 finalists are: Athabasca, AB; Barrie, ON; Burnt Church, NB; Campbell River, BC; Chapleau, ON; Deline, NT; Haliburton, ON; Hastings, ON; Honey Harbour, ON; Juniper, NB; Lutsel K'e, NT; Miramichi, NB; Nain, NL; Port Colborne, ON; Port Hardy, BC; Port Renfrew, BC; Temagami, ON; Terrace, BC; and Yellowknife, NT.

A maximum of four votes per day per e-mail address can be logged on the WFN Ultimate Fishing Town Canada website. Voting can take place once every six hours during pre-determined time blocks.

To vote for Nipawin and to look at its entry with photos and testimonials, please visit www.wfnfishingtown.ca