FARMINGTON -- Within minutes of the start of the holiday fishing derby, shouts of delight echoed around the pond.

"I got one! I got one! I got a fish!" one young woman cried excitedly, as she reeled in a rainbow trout.

Friday's event on Rollo Pond at the University of Maine at Farmington brought adults with developmental disabilities, their caretakers and family members to try their luck, according to organizer Steve Shible, director of Farmington's recreation department.

With financial assistance from Coca-Cola Bottling and an anonymous donor's delivery of Zebco rods and reels, those who usually sit on the sidelines could participate, Shible said.

Darryl Wood, who works for LEAP (Life Enrichment Advancing People), supervised several of the contestants as they cast their lines into the water.

"There are people here from all over," he said, as he looked around the pond.

Nearby, Anne Umbro, accompanied by LEAP caretaker Cindy Curtis, caught the first fish of the morning.

"It's my first time fishing," Umbro said. "I'm going to take this home for my roommate to eat for dinner."

Shible expected that the event generated enough interest and support that he would try to offer a derby next year.