A fishing contest lasting throughout the spring and summer officially gets underway this Sunday.

The Christ’s Church Fishing Challenge will run from this Sunday through September 7th; it begins with a kickoff potluck and rules meeting this Sunday at 11:30 a.m.

The event is a contest, but is also intended to encourage families to spend time outside building relationships by enjoying one or more days of fishing.

Anyone can enter the challenge at any time; there are age divisions for adults, youth and children, and an overall winner will also be selected.

Participants may catch fish in any Iowa body of water, using any legal method of fishing; within each division, a point can be earned for the largest fish of any particular species.

And since the goal is to encourage relationships, participants are encouraged to attend any of the Christ’s Church gatherings during the course of the challenge; aside from Sunday’s rules meeting, there will be a mid-summer mini tournament and a fish fry and awards meal at the end of the season.