One summer, Nick Rauber, now a zoology senior, and some high school buddies and their fathers decided to have a weekend fishing competition. The rules were simple: Catch the biggest fish.
Seven years later, Rauber and company have turned that simple fishing contest into the Swollfest Fishing Rodeo.
The seventh-annual Swollfest Fishing Rodeo will be held June 13, Father’s Day, at the Sand Dollar Marina in Grand Isle, La., to benefit the American Diabetic Association. Rauber said during the past two years, Swollfest raised $20,000 for the ADA.
Rauber chose to benefit the ADA because his stepfather was diagnosed with diabetes 10 years ago. The ADA has used more than $175 million in diabetes research to create more precise methods to identify cases of diabetes. The organization also has developed laser therapy to prevent blindness caused by diabetes. The ADA states diabetes is the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States.
Rauber said he and his friends coined the title “Swollfest” because the goal of the first rodeo was to catch the biggest fish, with ‘swoll’ as a form of ‘swollen,’ or ‘big’.
Swollfest had a humble beginning of just a few competitors, but during the years, it has swollen into a “prominent rodeo, boasting over 60 sponsors and 300 participants,” said the Web site, www.swollfest. com.
This year’s fishing divisions are blue water, inshore, offshore, women, children, spearfishing and Swollfest’s “overall biggest” fish.
The rules, entry form and sponsorship information for the seventh-annual Swollfest Fishing Rodeo can be found at www.swollfest.com.
The entry fee is $30 before June 1st and $35 thereafter. Also contact Nick Rauber at 225-806-0165 for more information.