Recreational fishing tournaments provide a platform for collaborative research with fishing communities. They generate fisheries, ecological, oceanographic, and socio-economic data while providing access to otherwise difficult-to-access pelagic species. Eastern Australia hosts one of the world's largest and best-organised recreational game fisheries, with tournaments held throughout the year. Now in its 25th official year, the Tournament Monitoring Program (TMP) works with the NSW Game Fishing Association and affiliated clubs to collect biological samples and fisheries data. The program has generated a tissue bank of >1,000 fish (including marlin, sharks, and tuna) and a network of thousands of anglers engaged in research. We present three case studies highlighting the breadth of research supported by the TMP. (1) A Pacific-wide study of blue marlin (Makaira nigricans) combined samples from the TMP tissue bank with collections from across the Pacific to investigate stock structure, revealing a single Pacific stock. (2) Tournament-derived tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier) vertebrae samples from large individuals that are otherwise difficult to obtain, contributing to the first age and growth assessment in eastern Australia. (3) To support a genetic study of remoras (Echeneidae), tournament anglers collected remoras attached to fish that were tagged and released. TMP samples formed the western Pacific component of a broader dataset, which revealed significant genetic structuring between ocean basins. These case studies highlight only a fraction of the TMP's research potential. Its tissue collections and sampling network support research in physiology, parasite ecology, contaminants, microbiomes, stable isotopes, genomics, and more. We welcome collaborations that utilise these unique resources.