Fun family Lionfish Bash in Bimini to benefit spinal injury patients

Bimini Sands Resort & Marina will host the Lionfish Bash, a popular charity fishing event in the Bahamas, for the third year in a row on July 12-14, 2013. This annual family spearfishing event was created in 2011 to raise awareness about lionfish, an invader species in the Bahamas/Florida ocean ecosystem, as well as to benefit the The Woody Foundation.

A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, The Woody Foundation was organized in 2011 after Miami resident Woody Beckham sustained a spinal cord injury at age 22 in a college rugby match that rendered him paralyzed from the chest down. The foundation raises funds and awareness for the spinal cord injury community. Its first two Annual Lionfish Bash events at Bimini Sands raised more than $40,000, which was donated to the Jackson Rehabilitation Hospital at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami to aid spinal injury patients with their recovery process.

“There are a couple of new things planned for this year’s event,” said Lionfish Bash Organizer David Mills (shown below). “For one thing, Bimini Sands’ new 40-foot dive boat, the Dive God, will be available for people who want to participate in the Lionfish Bash, but don’t have their own boats. They can come to Bimini via plane or high-speed ferry for the weekend and still be able to compete.” In addition, he said, the awards banquet will be held outside at Bimini Sands’ fun waterfront Square Grouper Tiki Bar.

“We were delighted by the turnout for last year’s Lionfish Bash and the great time everyone had here all weekend – not to mention the fact that they caught 345 lionfish that were disrupting sea life on Bimini’s coral reefs,” said Bimini Sands President and CEO Frank Cooney. “We’re looking forward to welcoming an even larger group this year, and to having Woody here to join the fun and inspire us all for the third year in a row.”

A registration form for the 3rd Annual Lionfish Bash can be found online at www.woodyfoundation.org/Lion_Fish_Bash. The entry fee of $200 for a boat with four anglers also covers a tournament bag and a ticket to the annual awards banquet for each angler. Guests and non-boaters may register for $50 per person. Ocean- and marina-view condo accommodations and deep-water slip reservations at Bimini Sands Resort & Marina for July 12-14 may be booked by calling the resort at 242-347-3500 or the U.S. reservations line at 1-800-737-1007. For more information, please visit www.biminisands.com.