WEYMOUTH will be the setting for this year’s FIPS-M World Boat Championships, as the opening parade took place yesterday at the Jubilee Clock.

The town will host teams competing from the likes of South Africa, Portugal, Spain, Italy, France, Germany and the Netherlands in the senior event, with 15 nations competing in total for both individual and team events.

There will also be an under-21 competition taking place at the same time.

The England team, who won the title in 2006 and finished second in 2005, will consist of Ray Barron, Colin Searles, Cliff Newbold, Gary Galbraith, Rolf Marschalek and reserve Mark Smith.

And manager Neil Bryant believes the event will be superb for the town, having successfully staged the EFSA European Boat and Line Class Championships two weeks ago.

He said: “The teams have started arriving this week and they have already been out training on the boats to get used to the zones they are fishing in for the championships.

Commenting on the host nation’s chances, he added: “Without being disrespectful to the other teams, I think we can compete on their level.

Today will be an official practice day before the competition begins on Tuesday.