Yamaha Motor Corporation Signs with BASS

CELEBRATION, Fla. – Yamaha Motor Corporation and BASS, the worldwide authority on bass fishing, announced Tuesday that Kennesaw, Ga.-based Yamaha has joined BASS as an Official Engine sponsor of the organization and its prestigious tournament structure.

As part of the agreement, Yamaha becomes a premier sponsor of the Bassmaster Classic, Bassmaster Elite Series, Bassmaster Opens and the Women’s Bassmaster Tour presented by Academy Sports & Outdoors.

Yamaha will also sponsor the six BASS Federation Nation Divisionals and Federation Nation Championship, with additional commitment to BASS’ youth initiatives: the Bassmaster CastingKids Championship and the Junior Bassmaster World Championship.

“By becoming a sponsor of BASS, Yamaha promotes its brand and supports boating and fishing, which are activities we truly believe in,” said Ben Speciale, vice president, operations and planning for Yamaha Marine Group. “Reliability and innovation are at the core of the Yamaha brand and the demands of competition have taught us how to make our outboards even better.”

Yamaha will have a presence at Bassmaster Elite Series events and the Bassmaster Classic. Additionally, Yamaha will be the title sponsor of the BASS Federation Nation Club World Championship events.

The agreement also includes a large presence across BASS’ considerable multi media platforms including ESPN2 Outdoors programming, www.Bassmaster.com and www.ESPNOutdoors.com.

“We applaud Yamaha’s loyalty to its anglers and devotion to growing the sport,” said Tom Ricks, vice president and general manager of BASS.

About BASS

For 40 years, BASS has served as the authority on bass fishing. With its considerable multi-media platforms and expansive tournament trail, BASS is guided by its mission to serve all fishing fans. Through its industry leading publications Bassmaster magazine, BASS Times and Fishing Tackle Retailer, considerable web properties in www.Bassmaster.com and www.ESPNOutdoors.com and television programming on ESPN2, the organization is committed to providing relevant content from tips and techniques to in-depth tournament coverage to its passionate audiences.

The organization oversees the prestigious Bassmaster tournament trail which includes the Bassmaster Elite Series, Bassmaster Opens, Women's Bassmaster Tour and the Bassmaster Classic, the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing. Through its grassroots network, the BASS Federation Nation, BASS sanctions more than 20,000 events annually.

BASS also offers a wide array of services to its more than 525,000 members while spearheading progressive, positive change on issues related to conservation and water access. The organization is headquartered in Celebration, Fla.

About Yamaha Marine Products

Yamaha Marine products are marketed throughout the United States and around the world. Yamaha Marine Group, based in Kennesaw, Ga., supports its 2,200 U.S. dealers and OEM partners with marketing, training and parts for Yamaha’s full line of products and strives to be the industry leader in reliability, technology and customer service. Yamaha Marine is the only outboard company to have earned NMMA®’s C.S.I. Customer Satisfaction Index award every year since its inception. Visit www.yamahaoutboards.com.