Why is the Gebetsroither or Austrian Technique known as Belgian Style in the States? Read the statement of Guido Vinck from Belgium, EFFA Flycasting Board member and former fly casting world champion, on how it came that the Gebetsroither Style is called Belgian Cast in the USA:

“Albert Goddart was born in the town Bouillon (south of Belgium – Ardennes) just before world war one. After world war two he became a well know caster and fished a lot of times together with Hans Gebetsroiter and Charles Ritz (so he could learn the Gebetsroither style). At that time Goddart was one of the best flycasters in the world and was more or less sponsored by Hardy. I never met him because he died in the early sixties but met a lot of people who knew him. In the early fifties the first international (official) casting championships (CIPS) started and the world championships in Brussels in 1958 was his moment of glory where he won a silver medal. During this period, he met a lot of Americans and visited also the USA. There he demonstrated the Gebetsroither style, that’s why the Americans call it the Belgian Style.”