2011 Champions - Team Budweiser!

It was a barn burner of a competition with a lot of twists and turns. Stay tuned for more updates, pics, video and more from the tournament and festival. In the meantime, congratulations and all the best to Capt. David Hutcherson, Capt. Chris Slattery and Capt. Paul Lambert of Team Budweiser. You guys fished hard and did what it took to win this one.

Guy Harvey Punta Gorda Signing Appearance Times

Hello Everyone,

As many of you have known for some time now, Guy Harvey will be in attendance at this year's Ultimate Shark Challenge Tournament & Festival, but we are now pleased to announce he will also be doing a Special Signing Appearance from 1 - 3 pm on Sunday, May 15th.

This will take place at the tournament and festival site located at Laishley Crab House at Laishley Park in Downtown Punta Gorda. GOOGLE MAP & DIRECTIONS

Ultimate Shark Challenge Co-Creators and Event Producers, The Paxton Brothers, get some Guy Harvey ink on their prints at the 2011 Miami Boat Show

This is a rare opportunity to meet Guy in person and enjoy an opportunity to have him sign your favorite Guy Harvey prints and other items, take photos and share your own fishing and marine adventure stories. A big selection of the latest and greatest Guy Harvey and Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation Gear will be available right there, on-site, in the new custom mobile retail store. Among the many unique items available will be the official, one-of-a-kind Guy Harvey Ultimate Shark Challenge T-Shirt.

Shirt Back

Shirt Front

So bring the entire family down to enjoy this special opportunity, while enjoying the exciting spectator broadcast of tournament action on a stadium-sized LED screen, along with all the other featured attractions at the FREE Tournament Festival Weekend that runs from 10 - 10 on Saturday May 14th and 10 - 6 on Sunday May 15th. We'll see you there!

Official Host Hotel - Sheraton Four Points

We'd like to thank Sheraton Four Points for their support in 2011. Stay tune for 2012 lodging information.

For all anglers, participants, sponsors, fans and festival attendees, we've arranged a special rate with the Sheraton Four Points in Punta Gorda, just across the street from the tournament and festival site at Laishley Crab House at Laishley Park. Rates start at just $79 for double-occupancy. All the information you need can be found below. This special rate is good while rooms are still available so call now to make your reservations!

In the News - USC Observer Training

Congratulations to all our 2011 Certified Observers. It was great to see some familiar faces from the 1st class of 2010, along with all the new ones including Matt Stevens. He's also a writer for Waterline magazine and took some time to share his training experience in this week's edition. Thanks, Matt and all our Observers. A special thanks to Red Zone Apparel for supprting this pioneering program from the very start. We'll see you all in Punta Gorda at Laishley Crab House and Marina in just about three weeks. All the best till then: Sean Paxton, Brooks Paxton II, Capt. Robert Moore.

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We're Bringing Jaws to Punta Gorda!

Our tournament and festival will be free to the public and we'll have a schedule of events for the weekend of May 14 - 15th online very soon. In the meantime, mark your calendars now because among the many activities and attractions we have planned, tournament fans and festival attendees will have a chance to get up close and personal with the World's Largest Collection of Jaws Movie Props and Memorabilia. We'll be on hand, along with our guest of honor, Wendy Benchley, and the collection owner, Chris Kiszka, all weekend long to talk about sharks and how Jaws played a role in our personal and professional lives with these animals.

We'd like to take this time to also extend our appreciation to Josh Olive and the Sun Newspapers. He's the editor of Waterline Magazine, which is distributed regionally in our area of southwest Florida, as part of the Sun Newspapers. We've been enjoying a collaborative media partnership with them, as part of our promotional efforts with the Guy Harvey Ultimate Shark Challenge Tournament & Festival. Josh has taken a sincere interest in what this event is really all about, and its value to not only the sharks, our anglers, sponsors and partners, but to the general public, as well.

You can read more about Jaws and the collection in the article below. A special word of thanks to Roger Kastel, the award-winning artist responsible for the original Jaws theme art you'll see gracing the cover of this week's Waterline and highlighting the article below.

We look forward to seeing everyone in Punta Gorda at the Laishley Crab House, May 14th and 15th!

All the best till then: Sean Paxton, Brooks Paxton II and Capt. Robert Moore.

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