Club Tournament Rules


Article 1: Boating Safety
A. Should be practiced at all times, respect for your fellow fishermen and other boaters is expected.
B. Anyone cited or ticketed during the tournament will be disqualified.

Section 1: Coast Guard Requirements
All boats shall meet minimum Coast Guard requirements in the state in which the chapter is fishing.

Section 2: Kill Switch Device
Boats with engines of forty horsepower or greater shall have a kill switch device. The switch may be checked by the tournament committee before the start at each official tournament site.

Section 3: Floatation Device
While tournament fishing, all fishermen in the boat shall have a Coast Guard approved life jacket (personal floatation device) on while the gasoline engine is running and in gear. All chapter members are required to furnish their own life jacket.

Section 4: Alcoholic Beverages
ALCOHOLIC Beverages consumed during tournament hours will result in disqualification.

Section 5: Horsepower Rating
The maximum horsepower permitted for use in a chapter tournament will not exceed the maximum horsepower rating on the label installed by the manufacturer of the boat.

Section 6: Compliance Mandatory
Failure to comply with sections 1 through 5 above shall be grounds for disqualification.

Section 7: Site Conditions / Extraordinary circumstances
Should dangerous conditions exist, that present advance notice to members (i.e. hurricane, inclement / dangerous weather, low water conditions) at the tournament site, the board of directors will have the option to postpone the tournament or change to an alternate lake provided by the tournament schedule. Rescheduling of a tournament will be done with concurrence of the majority of the club membership present at a special meeting immediately following the tournament cancellation and weather threat ended. Any changes will be in the best interest to the club.

Article 2: Tournament Rules

Section 1: Tournament Sites and Dates
The tournament schedule will be determined by the tournament committee by the November meeting. The Tournament Committee shall prepare a written copy of the proposed tournament schedule to be handed out at the November meeting. The Tournament schedule shall be discussed and approved by majority vote of eligible chapter members during the December meeting. The approved tournament schedule will not be changed, except under the provisions of Tournament Rules article 1, section 7.

Section 2: Tournaments
Rules
  1. Only one rod per angler at a time will be used.
  2. No Fly Rods.
  3. No rods over eight (8) feet.
  4. No trolling.
  5. All bass must be caught in a live and sporting manner.
  6. Nets are permitted for boating fish.
All chapter tournaments will be a draw type.
  1. Starting time
         Safe daylight.
  2. Starting Order
         First boat drawn, first to launch, second, etc.
    1. Angler of the year from the previous year has the option to place anywhere in the starting order for all the tournaments for following year.
  3. The chapter shall schedule and fish ELEVEN (11) tournaments per year during the months of January through November with qualifying members fishing a Classic at the end of the season.
  4. Chapter members fishing as non-boaters shall pay the boat owner a minimum of $20.00 per day toward expenses for the tow vehicle gasoline, boat gasoline and oil, and ramp fees, unless otherwise mutually agreed upon by the boater and non-boater.
  5. There will be 2 "yearly" big bass pots effective 2010. $30.00 to be paid by the January meeting for January thru June events. The second pot shall be $25.00 and will cover the events July thru November. This must be paid by the July meeting! Current members should try to pay their 1st half when they renew their application. Monies for both pots will be paid at the Banquet Dinner.
  6. Any chapter member who is unable to attend a meeting but wishes to fish that months event may be added to the draw as long as he has paid for the event prior to or on the meeting day. He can mail his check in early to the Treasurer or have another chapter member pay for him at the meeting. It is the member's responsibility to ensure the check reaches the Treasurer in time. There will be no exceptions to this rule.
    However, members who are actually present at the meeting and have paid for the event shall have precedent in the draw over other prepaid members who are not in attendance but still wish to fish.
    Additionally, any non-boater who attends a meeting and or prepays the current event and is not drawn for that event will have precedent at the next event.They will automatically be assigned to the first boater drawn and so forth if there was more than 1 non-boater not drawn at the prior meeting.A name pull can be done to determine which non-boater will go with the first boat should there be more than 1. * THESE NON-BOATERS MUST ATTEND THE FOLLOWING MEETING OR HAVE PREPAID THE EVENT TO RECEIVE THIS PRIVILEGE.
  7. Amendment to Rules regarding guests fishing in tournaments
    1. Guest can only fish 1 event each year.
    2. If guest would join the club, the fee paid for fishing the event will go towards their membership.
    3. If guest is friend of the Boater, then the guest will fish with that boater.
    4. If guest is friend of a Non-Boater the guest would fish with the 1st Boater who does not have a Member Non-Boater in the draw.
    5. A GUEST CAN ONLY FISH IF THERE IS AN OPEN BOAT AVAILABLE.
    6. Guest cannot win any prizes or money.
    7. Guest fee of $20.00 will go towards the General Fund.
    8. No guest can fish in the Classic Tournament.
    9. Only the TD can make any exception to these rules if he feels it benefits the club.

  8. Partners
    1. Partners shall be determined at the meeting immediately preceding the tournament.
    2. Partners shall be determined using the draw method.
    3. All boaters who do not gain a partner through the draw will have their choice whether to fish alone or with another boater. Boaters without partners wishing to fish the tournament together shall inform the tournament director before the day of the tournament. The start position will be determined by the position of the chapter member whose boat is being used.
    4. Once the draw for a given tournament is done, partners will not be changed, except in an emergency, and only if approved by the tournament director. If the tournament is postponed, a re-draw will be performed to verify the participation of members.
    5. If a tournament is held for two consecutive days, partners will be the same for both days. The start order will be reversed on the second day of the tournament.
    6. An angler may not leave his/her boat in order to land or catch a fish. If he or she does so they will be disqualified.
    7. Non-boaters whose boater partner does not fish the tournament will be paired with the next lower boater in the launch order who does not have a partner.
    8. Boaters, whose boat breaks down after the draw, will be paired with the closest available boater with a blank.
    9. Final pairings for tournaments will be the sole responsibility of the tournament director.
    10. The same boater and non-boater shall not fish 2 consecutive tournaments together.
      a redraw of the non-boater will be done immediately. If it is the last combination in the draw then the preceding boater and non-boater will switch places. If it is the first combination drawn, then that non-boater will automatically go to the second boater to ensure his spot in the event
    11. No boater shall fish (3) consecutive tournaments by himself. If this boater does not draw a non-boater he shall take the spot of the last boater who was drawn with a non-boater and that boater shall fish by himself.
    12. Number 1 and 2 ranked positions shall not fish together during the last two regular season events.
    13. Any member who weighs in a bass 7 pounds or more shall receive an embroidered “ BIG PIG CLUB” patch. ( To apply in any sanctioned SPBM event whether it be a regular event or an Open event)
  9. Boat distances
    1. No boat shall fish within (50) fifty yards of another competitor if he is anchored with trolling motor up.
    2. When fishing with the anchor up the distance will be (30) thirty yards.

Section 3: Fish Limits
  1. The minimum length of largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass shall be fourteen (14) inches, unless there are exemption cards for the tournament. If the tournament is held on a body of water that has a slot limit, the slot limit will be enforced, unless there are exemption cards for the tournament. Fish length will be determined by measurement on the official "Golden Rule" held by the tournament committee and as observed by the weigh-in official. At no time will any tournament participant keep more than five (5) fish.
  2. Courtesy measurements of fish shall be permitted. Courtesy measurements shall be done before bringing fish to the scales and shall be performed by the tournament director or tournament committee member.
  3. No one may weigh in more than five (5) fish. Should a member attempt to weigh-in more than five fish, they shall be disqualified.

Section 4: Culling
At no time during a tournament and/or before or during weigh-in, shall a chapter member cull dead fish. Culling of dead fish shall subject the individual to immediate disqualification.

Section 5: Live Bait
No live bait may be used during a chapter tournament.

Section 6: Live wells
All boats shall be equipped with an aerated live well that shall be operational.

Section 7: Weigh-in Officials
Weigh-in officials will be the tournament committee. The tournament committee will maintain official weight scales, stand and records. The committee is responsible for the accurate entry of each member's catch and points in the official tournament records.

Section 9: Live Fish Release
All live fish will be released by the tournament committee after weigh-in.

Section 10: Awarding of Points
Points will be determined by the total pounds and ounces accumulated by each chapter member during each tournament as follows:
  1. Each club member fishing the tournament shall be awarded points according to placement after weigh-in, after deduction for penalties. The first place finisher at each tournament will be the member with the highest combined weight of legal fish for that tournament. Ties for first place will be broken by the number of fish weighed in. If a tie still exists, the tie will be broken by the heaviest fish weighed in. If the anglers are still tied for first after using the above criteria, a coin will be flipped to determine the place.
  2. End of Year standings will be determined by totaling the points earned throughout the season by each individual during his/her eleven (11) regular chapter tournaments. Ties for end of year standings will be broken by number of fish weigh-in and heaviest fish weigh-in, in that order. An Angler of the Year will be determined by member with the highest points.
  3. Points awarded for place of finish
    1st place - 50 points
    2nd place - 45 points
    3rd place - 40 points
    4th place - 35 points
    5th place - 34 points
    6th place - 33 points........ etc
  4. A member who participates in the tournament and weighs in no fish will be awarded ten (10) points for participation.
  5. A member who attends the monthly draw meeting will be awarded ten (10) points.
  6. In the event there are more non-boaters in the draw, the non-boater(s) that are not selected in the draw, and subsequently cannot participate in the tournament, will be awarded ten (10) points for the participation, in addition to the ten (10) points they might have received for attending the draw meeting.
  7. Point accumulation will start with the first meeting of the year.
  8. Tournament Director will complete a weigh-in sheet at the site and will give it to the Secretary, who will calculate and update the point’s standings, which will then be emailed to members and posted on the website.

Section 11: Problems During Tournament Hours
If, during tournament hours, a contestant has any problem, his fish plus his partner's fish can be weighed-in by another contestant, provided the other contestant has a partner or one of the contestants having the problem accompanies the contestant who brings in the fish.

Section 12: Penalties
  1. All penalties will be assessed before order of finish is determined for any chapter tournament and will be deducted from the total weight of the competitor's legal catch.
  2. Late for Weigh-in.
    Competitor's who are not at the official check-point area at the appointed time, shall be penalized at the rate of one (1) pound per minute late, to be deducted from their legal weight for the day. Any competitor more than fifteen (15) minutes late shall lose all credit for that days catch, unless extenuating circumstances exist as determined by the tournament committee.
  3. Dead Fish - A penalty of .25 ounces will be assessed for each dead fish weighed-in.
  4. Short Fish - Fish not meeting length requirements will not be weighed-in. In addition, the competitor's biggest fish will not be weighed-in. This applies for each short fish brought to the weigh-in.
  5. Creel Limits - Any angler possessing more than the five fish legal limit, shall be disqualified from the tournament and shall not be allowed to weigh-in his catch. The member shall not be eligible for any big bass prize for that tournament.
  6. Disqualification - Disqualification for any reason will make the subject person or persons ineligible for any prizes, awards, points or other such rewards, which may have been provided at the event in which the individual was disqualified, including big bass prize money.
  7. Any member who has committed to fish an event and does not show up the day of the event shall forfeit his payment. (Only the Tournament Director can make an exception due to an unusual or emergency situation if notified prior to the event )

Section 13: Protest
Participants who suspect that the tournament rules have been violated, may protest to the tournament committee at any time during the tournament or within fifteen (15) minutes after arrival at the tournament weigh-in site, followed by a written protest within thirty minutes after the scales have closed. Protests shall be investigated by the tournament committee. This investigation shall result in a recommendation, which shall be provided to the Board of Directors for final disposition. The Board of Directors decision shall be absolutely final on all matters of protest.

Article 3: Awards

Section 1: Payback scale
  1. 80% pay back:
    1st place- 40%, 2nd place- 25%, 3rd place- 15%
  2. 20% goes to the Classic Fund.

Section 2: Club Classic
  1. At the end of the tournament season the club will hold a Club Classic.
    1. A member in good standing can qualify for the Club Classic:
      1. By being in the Top Ten in points at the end of the tournament season,
        1. Members finishing in the Top Ten in points at the end of the tournament season will not have to pay any tournament fees.
        OR
      2. By missing no more that three (3) Club tournaments during the tournament season prior to the Club Classic, and by paying the normal tournament fee ($30) plus $10.00 for each Club Tournament you did not pay for. All proceeds collected under this rule will be paid out at the Club Classic.