The Blue Marlin World Cup Championship (World Cup) is celebrating it’s 30th anniversary. Already teams have registered from the Cape Verde Islands in the far eastern Atlantic to Kona, Hawaii. Kauai, well north of Hawaii’s Big Island, will be represented this year for the first time. Anglers from as far away as Russia will again be fishing the World Cup on July 4.

The World Cup tournament is a one day (July 4), winner take all competition seeking the single biggest blue marlin over 500 pounds. Teams fish wherever they wish for 8 hours in their time zones from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM. Entry fee is $3000 which includes everyone on the boat. The winner last year, BLANK CHECK, fishing  in Bermuda, took home over $310,000.

The Big Blue Challenge is a separate, optional $5000 division for teams looking for an even bigger payout. In 2013, none of the 42 teams entered in this division caught a qualifying blue marlin so the entry fee, less tournament expenses, was returned per tournament rules.

Most teams register for the World Cup online using their credit cards. The web site is www.bluemarlinworldcup.com. Checks and wire transfers are also acceptable through June 19, 2014. Complete rules and entry form are found on the web site as well as a list of all past winners and their locations.

The World Cup is also on Facebook and Twitter where all teams are listed as they register. The World Cup web site has links to both Twitter and Facebook on their home page. This way anyone interested can follow in what part of the world the teams are competing and the name of their boats.

Original World Cup tee shirts are available from the official lure maker of the World Cup, Black Bart Lures. (www.blackbartlures.com)

The World Cup is a qualifying event for the 2015 Offshore World Championship. The BLANK CHECK team who won the World Cup in 2013 ended in 7th place in this year’s Offshore Championship in Costa Rica where a record 2735 billfish were released.

The World Cup supports both the IGFA and The Billfish Foundation with a portion of their proceeds.