The 23rd FIPS-Mouche Cortland Youth [U19 & U24] World Fly Fishing Championships took place in Ballybofey, Ireland, from the 16th to the 22nd July 2026.

PARTICIPATING TEAMS

YOUTH U19

Czech Republic – England – Finland – France – Ireland – Slovakia – Slovenia – South Africa – USA

YOUTH U24

Czech Republic – France – Ireland – Poland – Slovakia – South Africa – Spain

The Angling Trust Youth U19 team was: Nicholas Blisset, Inigo Burkinshaw, Marcus Cordingley, Haruki Sasaki, Harry Sharrett, Simon Sharrett (captain), Alex Turnbull, Martyn Cordingley and Marsha Blisset (manager).

RESULTS

Session 1
England’s U19 squad got off to a good start in the first session with Nicholas Blissett winning on Lough Anure, a boat sector, with 6 fish, while Alex Turnbull scored 2 fish to come 2nd on the River Quiggery, and Marcus Cordingley got a 3rd place on Lough Deele, a bank sector, with 6 fish. The rest of the team also caught, with Harry Sharratt 5th on Lough Craghy, a boat sector, and Inigo Burkinshaw also 5th on the River Dennet, where four of the field failed to catch. England were lying 2nd with 16 placing points, two behind the Czech Republic in 1st place with 14pts, with Slovakia 3rd on 23pts, and Ireland 4th with 25pts.
In the U24 event, Ireland were sitting in the top spot with 13 placing points, with Spain 2nd on 15pts, and Slovakia 3rd with 20pts.

Session 2
The England U19 team found the second session more of a challenge, although Harry Sharratt came 4th on the River Dennet (see above) with 2 fish, and Nicholas Blissett avoided a blank on the River Quiggery to come 7th=. On the lake sectors Alex Turnbull came 6th off the bank on Lough Deele, while off the boats Marcus Cordingley came 7th= on Lough Craghy, with Inigo Burkinshaw failing to catch on Lough Anure. England dropped to 6th with 49 placing points, while Ireland moved into 1st place on 42pts, with the Czech Republic 2nd and Slovakia 3rd, both on 44pts. Individually, Louis Porter of Ireland was sitting in the top spot with two 1st places, with Dominik Havko (Slovakia) 2nd and Anton Starmans (Finland) 3rd, both with 4 placing points.
Ireland were also still leading in the U24 event, on 32 placing points, with Spain remaining 2nd with 34pts and Slovakia 3rd with 37pts. Adam Adcock (Ireland) was top individual, on 2 placing pts, with Lucas Gomez Fierro (Spain) 2nd with 3pts, and Miroslav Bumbera (Slovakia) 3rd with 4pts.

Session 3
The third session was another tough one for the England U19 team, although Inigo Burkinshaw managed to save a blank on the River Quiggery to come 4th, as did Harry Sharratt on Lough Anure to finish 6th=, while Nicholas Blissett caught a couple of fish on Lough Deele to come 7th. It was a different story on Lough Craghy and the River Dennet, where Alex Turbull and Marcus Cordingley both failed to catch. England dropped to 8th with 84 placing points, while it still remained tight at the top, with Ireland 1st on 61pts, the Czech Republic 2nd with 64pts, Slovakia 3rd, also with 64pts, and the USA 4th with 65pts. It was also close in the individual rankings, with Anton Starmans (Finland) 1st on 7 placing points, Rastislav Sikulaj (Finland) 2nd with 8pts, and Louis Porter (Ireland) 3rd, one of three competitors with 9pts.
In the U24 event, after four of their team won their session, the Czech Republic moved into 1st with 53 placing points, with Ireland dropping to 2nd on 55pts, four ahead of Spain in 3rd place with 59pts. Individually, Jonáš Vceliš (Czech Republic) was 1st with 5 placing points, with Iker De Roque Cardena (Spain) 2nd on 7pts, and Adam Adcock (Ireland) 3rd, also on 7pts.

Session 4
Session 4 saw Alex Turnbull catch three fish on the River Dennet to come 4th in his group, while Harry Sharratt was 6th on the River Quiggery with a brace, and Marcus Cordingley 7th on Lough Anure. Nicholas Blissett was fishless on Lough Craghy, while Inigo Burkinshaw was one of four not to catch off the bank on Lough Deele. England moved up one place to 7th with 119pts, while Ireland held on to 1st place with 77pts, with Slovakia going up to 2nd on 80pts, and the USA moving into 3rd with 84pts. Anton Starmans (Finland) remained top individual with 9 placing points, with Adriaan De Haan (South Africa) 2nd on 11pts, and Rastislav Sikulaj (Finland) dropping to 3rd with 12pts, ahead of Louis Porter (Ireland) in 4th place with 13pts.
The U24 event saw Ireland reclaim the top spot with 69 placing points, two ahead of the Czech Republic in 2nd with 71pts, with Slovakia 3rd with 78pts. Individually, Jonáš Vceliš (Czech Republic) remained in 1st place with 7pts, while Adam Adcock (Ireland), after winning his session, moved into 2nd with 8pts, with Jack Reidy (Ireland), who also won his session, in 3rd place with 10pts.

Session 5
In the final session Nicholas Blissett scored 2 fish to come 5th on the River Dennet, with Marcus Cordingley avoiding a blank on the River Quiggery for 6th= place, as did Harry Sharratt off the bank on Lough Deele to also come 6th. Inigo Burkinshaw and Alex Turnbull found it tougher, though, with blanks off the boat on Lough Craghy and Lough Anure respectively. England ended the competition in 8th place with 154pts, while Ireland consolidated their top place to become the 2026 Youth U16 World Champions with 92pts, some way clear of the USA in 2nd with 104pts, and Slovakia 3rd with 106pts. Anton Starmans (Finland) added a 2nd in his session to retain the individual top spot on 11 placing points, with Jacob Griffin (Ireland) 2nd on 14pts, and Blake Hall (USA) 3rd on 15pts.
Ireland were also well clear in the U24 event, ending with 78pts for 1st place, with the Czech Republic 2nd on 92pts, and Slovakia 3rd on 101pts. Another 1st in his session saw Jonáš Vceliš (Czech Republic) take the Individual gold, with 8pts, one ahead of Adam Adcock (Ireland) 2nd on 9pts, with Jack Reidy (Ireland) 3rd on 11pts.

You will find more information on the England Youth River Bank Fly Fishing team, including details on how to support the team and the selection process, here>>