MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP - It may not be an Olympic sport but ice fishing still brought quite a few families out into the winter cold on Saturday, February 15th.

Meridian Township’s 3rd Annual Ice Fishing Derby hosted by the Meridian Township Parks and Recreation department took place at Central Park South pond. From 9:00am to noon kids were supplied with fishing rods, bait and a freshly drilled spot to fish.

"The event is awesome today we have a lot of people here and it's great, it's cold we're continuously cleaning the holes out, but look it's family,” said Mark Stephens, Park Commissioner and organizer of the event.

Once a fish was caught, it was recorded by a park volunteer and then tossed back into the pond before freezing. The fish were small but ranged from Blue Gill to Bass and Pike fish.

The purpose of the event is to give young kids an appreciation for the activity and continue the event for years to come.