Greetings - This page has been created to keep everyone abreast of the ABMT's news and developments. We are an all-volunteer organization that is best known for our forty-one year operation of a marlin tournament named the USVI Open - Atlantic Blue Marlin Tournament (ABMT), nicknamed the "Boy Scout" Tournament. We've grown from the operation of one tournament a year - into a larger, more productive organization that now requires a year-round effort. Our long-term mission is to promote the abundance of blue marlin found in these waters (boosting tourism and the local economy) and to do our part helping to better the sport of Big Game Fishing.
To reach our goals, we've developed this website (50,000+ unique readers annually) and a FaceBook page that reaches out to over 5250+ friends. Eight years ago we created the now popular fishing magazine named On The Edge which further enables us to tout our accomplishments and those of others. Here we are putting our broadcast power to good use. If you are a musician wanting to play during Marin Fest - a visiting captain in need of local knowledge - an angler wanting to fish our tournaments - or an advertiser hoping to reach our clients... whatever the interest, we are here to help!
UNDER OUR BELT!
2014 'ON THE EDGE' - The 2014 magazine has hit the streets! It was a hit at the Miami Boat Show and the big news is here in St. Thomas is OTE is now being picked up from a prime space at our airport! The magazine is growing in populariy and we thank our advertisers for their continued support! That's writer and angler Lace Allenius on the cover, her photo was taken by Richard "Doc" Gibson aboard SF Uno Mas. See 2014 Vol. #8 OTE: Here
THE BIG GAME ROOM The 2014 BGR and the Annual Miami Intl. Boat Show has come and gone. The crowds were huge and we saw many who said they'll be coming down to fish this summer. Ideas to take the BGR to new heights are welcomed - Contact Joanne Zito of the NNMA at 954-258-1330 if you'd like to join the committee.
LOOKING AHEAD!.
Marlin Fest 2014 - The ABMT volunteers almost flipped
out this past summer - saying to Capt. Jimmy "Are you nuts, creating this Marlin Fest thing at the same time as the Boy Scout Tournament?" They finally came around to admitting how much fun it was - turning the already famous USVI Open/Atlantic Blue Marlin Tournament into a spectator's sport!
Big Game Fishermen around the world are now being invited to witness the "Super Bowl of Blue Marlin
Fishing" - without even having to wet a line! And... don't think you'll be sitting on
dock boxes waiting for the boats to return - because we'll be keeping you busy with a golf
tournament - music concert - BBQ beach party, chance to fish in a 2 day center console billfish tournament - plus a day trip to British Virgin Islands including a stop to swim to the "Soggy Dollar" bar (watch out for dem pain-killers) on White
Bay, Jost Van Dyke!
Marlin Fest has arrived and it's a week of fun built around the
Super Bowl of Sportfishing - an experience we promise you'll go home raving to your friends
about!
One might ask... who'd attend a fishing tournament and not be competing in it? We feel that many in the
industry would! Here's an example of some who might - the tackle, boat and chair builders, the electronics people and the engine manufacturers (possibly combining their board or stockholder meetings with fishing excitement) - most would love to be here to root for their products and to meet their clients! What about those new boat owners - wouldn’t they enjoy coming down on a recon-mission with their Captain? And how about the friends of the contestants - think they'd like to be here for the party? We gave birth to Marlin Fest last summer and it has provided a reason (excuse) for everyone be here to enjoy the tournament - it just might just grow into an annual gathering of the "who's Who" of the sport! Link to Marlin Fest:
Here
The ABMT's proudest of all accomplishments - is the development of our Marine Vocational Program (MVP). The MVP serves as a "hook" to encourage parents to enroll their children (boys and girls) into Scouting. Once a child becomes a member of a BSA troop - they are eligible to participate in water related activities offered free of charge by the MVP. Merit badges for swimming, scuba diving and sailing are earned - opening up new wonders for the child - without financially burdening the parent - and that's a nice incentive to sign the child up!
Instilling the Scouting experience and preparing our young adults for a career path in the marine industry makes perfect sense. These Virgin Islands are sorrounded by water and we function primarily as tourism based economy. Should a youngster elect another field of employment - at minimum he/she will have been taught to appreciate and protect their surroundings.
It's
important to let our readers know that the MVP is funded separately of our tournament profits because
those earnings are traditionally turned over to the Boy Scouts for the Council's operation. To date the MVP has been funded by grants, private and corporate donations... and by other creative means (for example our new development of Marlin Fest). As the MVP grows we'll need all the support we can muster! Checks are written to: Boy Scouts of America. Mailed to: ABMT, 6616 Estate Nadir, St. Thomas, VI 00802. Be sure to write "MVP" somewhere on the check! Link to MVP here also see mvp flow chart: Here
THE BIG GAME ROOM The 2014 BGR and the Annual Miami Intl. Boat Show has come and gone. The crowds were huge and we saw many who said they'll be coming down to fish this summer. Ideas to take the BGR to new heights are welcomed - Contact Joanne Zito of the NNMA at 954-258-1330 if you'd like to join the committee.
Marlin Fest 2014 - The ABMT volunteers almost flipped
out this past summer - saying to Capt. Jimmy "Are you nuts, creating this Marlin Fest thing at the same time as the Boy Scout Tournament?" They finally came around to admitting how much fun it was - turning the already famous USVI Open/Atlantic Blue Marlin Tournament into a spectator's sport!
chance to fish in a 2 day center console billfish tournament - plus a day trip to British Virgin Islands including a stop to swim to the "Soggy Dollar" bar (watch out for dem pain-killers) on White
Bay, Jost Van Dyke!
One might ask... who'd attend a fishing tournament and not be competing in it? We feel that many in the
industry would! Here's an example of some who might - the tackle, boat and chair builders, the electronics people and the engine manufacturers (possibly combining their board or stockholder meetings with fishing excitement) - most would love to be here to root for their products and to meet their clients! What about those new boat owners - wouldn’t they enjoy coming down on a recon-mission with their Captain? And how about the friends of the contestants - think they'd like to be here for the party? We gave birth to Marlin Fest last summer and it has provided a reason (excuse) for everyone be here to enjoy the tournament - it just might just grow into an annual gathering of the "who's Who" of the sport! Link to Marlin Fest: 
The ABMT's proudest of all accomplishments - is the development of our Marine Vocational Program (MVP). The MVP serves as a "hook" to encourage parents to enroll their children (boys and girls) into Scouting. Once a child becomes a member of a BSA troop - they are eligible to 
participate in water related activities offered free of charge by the MVP. Merit badges for swimming, scuba diving and sailing are earned - opening up new wonders for the child - without financially burdening the parent - and that's a nice incentive to sign the child up! 
It's
important to let our readers know that the MVP is funded separately of our tournament profits because
those earnings are traditionally turned over to the Boy Scouts for the Council's operation. To date the MVP has been funded by grants, private and corporate donations... and by other creative means (for example our new development of Marlin Fest). As the MVP grows we'll need all the support we can muster! Checks are written to: Boy Scouts of America. Mailed to: ABMT, 6616 Estate Nadir, St. Thomas, VI 00802. Be sure to write "MVP" somewhere on the check! Link to MVP