Emma Farnham, an athlete from Belfast, Northern Ireland, spent the day on Lake Lansing in the bass fishing competition. The two most prestigious bass fishing trophies jointly went to the first time fisher.

“I came in first place, joint with April Bart,” Farnham said. “We got the most number of fish and we got the biggest bass. “I’ve never been fishing before. So beginner’s luck, I guess.”

After a long day of reeling in bass, Farnham said she planned to retire to the mall.

“Today was a rest day,” Farnham said. “So we came out to fish and I’ll probably go shopping, maybe at Meridian Mall.

UK Dwarf Sports Association President and Veteran WDG athlete Arthur Dean, of Manchester, England, said although he is well versed in many sports, bass fishing was something he had not been acquainted with.

“I participated in the pistol shooting yesterday in the masters division and got the gold,” Dean said. “But I’ve never been fishing in a lake.”

Despite the fact that it was his first time, Dean was able to catch a few fish that proved to be award worthy.

“It took me like 30 minutes to catch my first fish,” Dean said. I got third in the bass and I got the Big Blue Gill trophy as well.

Team USA athlete Carson Hayes, of Newton, Kan., said he has played in the National Dwarf Games but this year was his first as a WDG athlete. The tennis exhibition was something he enjoyed.

“I just thought it would be fun,” Hayes said. “I play at my house and just hit it up against my garage and stuff and I thought to actually be able to compete against someone just for fun — and be able to do that is exciting.”

U.S. Tennis Association volunteer Sue Selke said when asked to help out with the WDG tennis exhibition she jumped at the opportunity to coach and promote the sport in a new way.

“You want to learn to play the sport and not just take lessons on the fundamentals,” Selke said.

To alter the traditional and mundane way of teaching tennis, Selke said she uses tennis equipment more suitable for the athletes’ stature and have implemented four stages, that gradually teaches novice athletes to play tennis.

“They learn to use the full court of tennis which is 78 feet long and they still can keep the ball in their strike zone and learn all their strokes,” Selke said. “We found that the progression is really good and that they start to learn and pick up the game. It’s a lot of fun and it’s something that’s worked really well. “