It is usually a sport associated with fathers and their sons.

But a pair of Holt sisters, who admit to being tomboys, will be representing England at sea angling this July.

Wendy Metcalfe, 57, and Kay Brown, 47, will be part of the ladies' team in the Home Championships in north Wales and compete against women from Ireland and Wales.

Mrs Metcalfe, who has been in the England ladies' sea angling team since 2003, will be managing the team of six and her sister will be making her debut as a reserve angler.

'The most important thing is we want to win gold,' Mrs Metcalfe said.

It will be the first year a ladies' team has been able to take part in the competition.

In the past only youth and men's teams could take part in the competition, which will take place between July 8 and July 12 this year.

Mrs Metcalfe has been campaigning for the past four years to introduce a ladies' team to the event.

Miss Brown, a managing advertising production controller for Archant Dialogue, said: 'We are both very competitive, even when we play board games. We have always been outdoor people.'

The pair were introduced to fishing by their father, Kenneth Brown from Salthouse, who died aged 88 just before Mrs Metcalfe learned she was selected for the England ladies' sea angling team.

Mr Brown was a plumber and engineer and ran a business in Holt for many years before he moved with his wife and two daughters to Frinton-on-Sea in Essex for 30 years after he retired.

Miss Brown said: 'We are very proud as sisters to fish for our country and our dad would have been proud.'

Her love of the sport started after she went on fishing trips with her father from the age of four.

'Every time he went out fishing I cried my eyes out and he relented,' she added.

The theatre technician got into matches and competitions after she met her husband John Metcalfe, who owned a fishing tackle shop in Essex.

He also designed the Meta-Lite rod, which is popular with anglers. Mr Metcalfe died in 2000.

Speaking about her father, Miss Brown said: 'If we went on holiday and we saw a beach he would always get his fishing rod out. We always went on holiday to the coast.'

The sisters mostly practise sea angling off Weybourne or Salthouse beaches.

Mrs Metcalfe said: 'It is a predominantly male-based sport but there are an awful lot of women who fish and they are quite good, but they don't realise they could apply to fish for their country.

'A lot of women who fish do it because their husbands also fish and it can get very expensive.'

It is hoped that by allowing a ladies' team in the Home Championships it will become cheaper to participate in, compared to competing abroad.

Mrs Metcalfe has taken part in eight World Championships and received a team gold medal in 2004.

Her most recent international competition as part of the England ladies' team was in South Africa in 2010.

She said: 'Matches are really good fun. You get good camaraderie and there is no nastiness. We would like to see more ladies get involved.'

The only other team member from East Anglia who will take part in the July competition is captain Adele Smith from Ipswich.

During the competition the teams will be split into five zones and fish for five hours at a time.

The fish that are caught are measured and thrown back into the sea alive. Points are given to the teams with the largest fish caught.

To sponsor the team ring Mrs Metcalfe on 01263 710051 or 07779 005208.