ARTICLE VI - TOURNAMENT RULES AND REGULATIONS

SECTION 1 - TOURNAMENT RULES

1) All "unspoken" rules of sportsmanship are in effect during a club sanctioned event. This includes, but is not limited to: respect of other boaters and persons using the water and respect of landowners in and around the fishing waters.

2) All NYS boating "rules of the water" apply during the tournament hours. This pertains to sounding devices, life preservers, anchors, boat regulations, posted speed limits, no wake zones, and any other rules previously noted before the launch of the tournament by the club president or tournament director.

3) All boaters must have proof of a minimum of $100,000 liability insurance. $300,000 liability is required for State Federation Tournaments.

4) Coast guard approved life jackets will be worn at all times while combustion motor is running.

5) All angling during tournament hours shall be done from within the boat. No bank fishing will be allowed.

6) Only two tournament entrants will be allowed per boat

7) Contestants will be allowed to leave the boat for justifiable reasons during the tournament hours if mutually agreed upon between the contestants in the boat, i.e., breakdowns, nature calls, lure retrieval, etc.

8) Each team has to have a designated boater that is decided upon and reported to the club president prior to the start of the season. This person will retain the yearly points and weight for the season should a team breakup occur.

9) Designated boaters are allowed to fish with no more than two (2) partners a year. These two partners will consist of a designated partner and a designated substitute. Each boater needs to have both a designated partner and substitute before the first tournament.

10) A person under 18 years of age may fish in a tournament providing that they have a parent or legal guardian with them. The parent or legal guardian accepts all responsibility for the person under 18. The person or persons under 18 may not pay or accept any tournament fees, this is to be done by the parent or legal guardian.

11) All tournaments shall be eight (8) hours in duration with the starting and fishing times being determined by the tournament director.

12) All live wells will be checked by tournament director(s) before each tournament.

13) All watches are to be synchronized with the tournament director’s watch at the beginning of the tournament.

14) At least one contestant per team must attend the pre-tournament briefing before launching. This will be held 15 min. before launch. During this time, special rules for the tournament will be issued as well as numbers drawn for the start.

15) A 1 lb. penalty will be imposed for anyone "starting early" ("waking" the starter) during the ordered take off. This is to ensure the safety of the tournament starter.

16) Contestants may fish anywhere on tournament waters available to the public and accessible by boat, except areas designated as "off limits" or "no fishing" by local or federal officials (this includes locks when both doors are shut).

17) All fish submitted for official weigh-in (largemouth or smallmouth bass only) shall be a minimum of twelve (12) inches long. The twelve inch length shall be determined by any way possible that does not injure the fish, i.e., open or closed mouth, flat or squeezed tail, etc.

18) A questionable legal fish may be brought to the tournament director during the weigh-in to be measured by the tournament director. If this is not done, and the fish is found to be illegal when submitted for weighing, the entrant will lose the weight of his largest fish.

19) A one pound (1 lb.) penalty will be assessed for each dead fish. The final decision of a fish being dead or alive is up to the tournament director. Dead fish will be weighed for total weight minus the one pound.

20) Any entrant returning late to weigh-in shall be penalized 1 lb. of weight for each minute late up to 15 min., at which time the contestant will be disqualified. The boater shall be within 100 feet of the dock at the close of the tournament in order to not be considered late. All fishing must have stopped by this time.

21) All contestants must arrive 30 min. before launch, or suffer a 5 pt. penalty. Once all the tournament boats are lined up for take-off, no other tournament entrants will be allowed.

22) A 100 ft. rule is in effect during tournament fishing hours. A verbal warning or waive off can be issued by a contestant who feels someone is fishing within 100 ft. If the warning is not heeded, a disqualification can occur if the matter is brought before the Board of Directors before the weigh in. The matter would then be discussed and voted on by the Board.

23) In the event of adverse weather conditions such as rain, thunder, lightning, etc. it shall be at the discretion of the individual entrants to continue fishing. The weigh-in shall proceed at the scheduled time.

24) In the event of bad weather before the start of the tournament (i.e. wind), the Board of Directors will vote on whether the tournament should move to the designated blow-off site.

25) Qualification/Eligibility for the Classic: Each team must fish and/or pay for at least 6 tournaments, and be a current member to qualify for the Classic. Boaters must fish the classic with their designated partners only. If a team or person decides NOT to fish a tournament, but wants credit for that tournament, an entry fee of $60 must be paid a week in advance. If a team fishes all 8 regular season tournaments, their entry fee into the classic will be waved. If a team fishes 7 tournaments, the entry fee into the classic will be $60 a boat. If a team fishes 6 tournaments, the entry fee into the classic will be $120 a boat. If a team fishes less than 6 tournaments, they will not be eligible to fish the classic.

SECTION 2 - FEES AND AWARDS

1) All tournament entry fees and lunker fees are payable on a per boat basis. Partial entry fees and lunker fees are no longer accepted. The tournament entry fee is $60 a boat for members and $70 a boat for non-members if you pre-register at least one week in advance. If you pay at the tournament site, the fee is $70 for members and non members. If a member fishes with a non member, the entry fee will be $65 a boat if paid for a week in advance. Included in the entry fee is $10 for the lunker pool. This is a 100% payback pool. The lunker fee is not optional.

2) Individual tournament awards (prize money) shall be paid in the following manner:

A) The tournaments will pay out to 3 places as long as there are at least 5 boats. The percent payback for each tournament will be 70% with 30% of the entry fees for the tournament going to the club treasury. This 30% will go to supplementing the classic at the end of the season and helping to monetarily sustain the club and its functions.

SECTION 3-POINTS SYSTEM

1) Tournament Scoring

A) 50 points will be awarded to the winner of each qualifying tournament, 49 to second, 48 to third, etc. All anglers who receive weight credit will receive points. The top team from the points standings at the end of the year will earn the Anglers-of-the-Year title.

B) Each team will earn 5 points for showing up and fishing each tournament.

2) Ties

A) There will be no ties for any of the clubs sanctioned events or awards. All ties will be broken as by:

1) Tournament ties: broken by the weight of the biggest fish.

2) Points Ties: broken by the average weight per tournament throughout the year.

3) Lunker ties: broken by total weight (person with highest weight wins lunker).