2011
STATE TEAM QUALIFYING TOURNAMENT
RULES AND REGULATIONS
1. RULES CHANGES:
1.Great effort, study and research
have gone into the formulation of these rules.
2.Interpretation and enforcement of
these rules shall be left exclusively to the Tournament Director.
3.In the event of a rule violation,
the Tournament Director may impose such sanctions, as he deems appropriate,
including, without limitation, disqualification, forfeiture of prizes and
prohibition from participation in subsequent tournaments.
4.A representative from each club
will be called upon for a decision for Tournament disqualification only.
5.The decision of the Tournament
Director and Tournament Officials shall be final in all matters.
2. PARTICIPANTS AND ELIGIBILITY:
1.Participation in this tournament
is by invitation only. This tournament
is open only to members of the BASS Anglers Sportsman Society who are 16 years
of age or older and who are active members of Colorado BASS
Federation-affiliated chapters. Proof of age to the satisfaction of tournament
officials is the responsibility of potential competitor.
2. DURING THE OFFICIAL PRACTICE AND COMPETITION DAYS OF ANY
BASS ANGLERS SPORTSMAN SOCIETY TOURNAMENT, NO CONTESTANT MAY OPERATE A BOAT
UNLESS THAT CONTESTANT HAS A MINIMUM OF $300,000 BOATING LIABILITY INSURANCE.
THIS DOCUMENTED PROOF MUST SHOW AN EFFECTIVE DATE AND EXPIRATION DATE AND MUST
BE MAINTAINED IN THE COMPETITORS BOAT. THE PROOF OF INSURANCE AND A CURRENT
COPY OF THE BOAT REGISTRATION WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE AT THE REQUEST OF ANY
TOURNAMENT OFFICIAL AT ANY TIME DURING THE OFFICIAL PRE-TOURNAMENT PRACTICE OR
THE TOURNAMENT.
3. Any candidate for competition who, in the judgment of the
Tournament Director, is handicapped in such a manner as to unfairly hinder his
partner or endanger the safety and well being of his partner or himself shall
not be eligible.
4. All Entries must be completed online via the link on the
Tournament Director’s page prior to Apr 4, 2011. Participants may still enter
the tournament online prior to the pre-tournament meeting but must notify the
Tournament Director so they can be added to the roster and draw pool.
5. NO PERSONEL CHECKS!
All entry fees must be paid for online. It is possible to enter if
someone does not have a credit card or internet access prior to Apr 4 2011. A
club check will be required for that individual’s entry and must be received by
the Tournament Director prior to Apr 4, 2011. The entry fee will be the same as
everyone else. Mail to: 3510
6. There will be no refunds of entry fees except for
hardship cases, which will be determined by the Tournament Director on a case
by case basis.
7. Contestants must have in their possession a valid fishing
license that cover the waters on which the tournament is held.
3. PRE-TOURNAMENT PRACTICE:
1. The Tournament water shall be off limits to all
competitors commencing at 11:59 pm, Mar 27 2011until safe light on Apr 11,
2011.
2. There will be a two day official practice period
immediately proceeding the first day of the Tournament beginning at safelight
Apr 11, 2011 – Apr 12, 2011.
3. During the official practice, and during the tournament,
a competitor may not have the assistance or advice of anyone for the purposes
of locating or catching bass.
4. No competitor may buy or barter a fishing location from
any other contestant for use during any competition day.
5. A contestant may not enter the tournament waters during
the days of Apr 4, 2011 – Apr 15, 2011 with anyone other than another contestant
of this tournament to include a professional guide, state or federal wildlife
employee or any other person deemed an “expert” on these tournament waters by
the Tournament Director.
6. From Apr 4, 2011 – Apr 15, 2011, a competitor may not
“SKIN DIVE” or “SCUBA DIVE” on the tournament waters.
7. From Apr 11, 2011 – Apr 15, 2011, a competitor may not
use a CB radio, a VHF marine-band radio, a cellular phone, or any other type of
communication device for the purpose of locating or catching fish. Contestants are permitted to transmit by
radio or telephone only in the event of an emergency. If so equipped, contestants may listen to the
marine-band weather information.
8. Each competitor agrees to report to the Tournament
Director or any Tournament Official any violation or infraction of these
Tournament Rules. The failure to report violations or suggestions to violate
these Rules or false verification of weigh-in forms will be cause for
disqualification.
9. EACH COMPETITOR AGREES TO SUBMIT, by accepting the rules
during registration online, TO A POLYGRAPH TEST SHOULD HE BE ACCUSED OF ANY
RULE VIOLATION. The administration and
interpretation of the polygraph test shall be solely at the discretion of the
Tournament Director. Without limiting the foregoing, the Tournament Director
shall have sole discretion to select the place at which such polygraph test
shall be administered, and the scope of the questions that may be asked during
such tests. The Participant shall be available, at his expense, at the location
selected by the Tournament Director and shall cooperate in all respects with
such examination.
4. REGISTRATION:
1. Each competitor must register in person or his/her
representative register with official Colorado BASS Federation staff at the
time and place prescribed on the schedule of events.
2. Failure to register in person or have his/her
representative present during the prescribed hours shall result in a penalty of
1 pound off your total catch. NO EXCEPTIONS.
3. IT SHALL BE EACH COMPETITOR’S RESPONSIBILITY TO CHECK THE
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS FOR REGISTRATION TIME AND LOCATION OR OBTAIN THIS
INFORMATION FROM THE TOURNAMENT DIRECTOR.
5. SAFETY:
1. Safe boat conduct must be observed at all times by
tournament competitors
2. During the official practice and the tournament, each
competitor is required to wear a Coast Guard-approved chest-type life
preserver. This preserver must be worn anytime the combustion engine is
operating. This preserver must be strapped, snapped or zippered securely and
maintained in that condition until the competitor reaches his fishing location
and the combustion engine is shut off. Violation of this rule shall be reason
for disqualification.
3. Tournament officials have the right to delay or cancel
the start of an official tournament in the case of inclement weather.
4. The Tournament Director reserves the right to impose boat
speed limits on this tournament. Whether
or not to impose a speed limit, the area covered by the speed limit and/or the
actual speed limit imposed shall be left exclusively to the discretion of the
Tournament Director.
6. SPORTSMANSHIP:
1. Competitors in Colorado BASS Federation Tournaments are
expected to follow high standards of sportsmanship, courtesy, safety and conservation.
Any infraction of these fundamental sporting principles may be deemed cause for
disqualification.
2. Maximum courtesy must be practiced at all times,
especially with regard to boating and angling in the vicinity of
non-competitors who may be on tournament waters. Any act of a competitor which
reflects unfavorably upon efforts to promote fisheries conservation, clean
waters, and courtesy shall be reason for disqualification.
3. Prevailing statutes and regulations of the various states
within which they fish bind all competitors.
4. Use of alcohol or drugs (other than those purchased over
the counter or prescribed by a licensed physician) by any competitor during the
official practice or during the tournament will not be tolerated and shall be
cause for automatic disqualification from this and all future Colorado Bass
Federation Tournaments.
5. No alcoholic beverages or other stimulants or
depressants, prescription or otherwise, shall be allowed in the boats during
the official practice or competition days or when in the weigh-in area.
Chemical-substance addiction or abuse, conviction of a felony or other crimes
involving moral turpitude, or other conduct reflecting unfavorably upon efforts
to promote safety, sportsmanship, fair competition and compliance with
tournament rules shall be grounds for rejecting any application for
participation and for disqualification.
6. Written Protest must be submitted to a Tournament
Official within 30 minutes of the completion of the weigh in on that day.
7. Protest from the Official Practice period will be
submitted in writing to a Tournament Official within 30 minutes of the
conclusion of the weigh in on the first Tournament Day.
8. If at any time any of the Tournament Officials are made
aware of any rules violation during the tournament, the incident will be
investigated to determine to validity of the incident.
9. If it is determined that a rules violation has occurred
appropriate penalties will be enforced.
10. A committee of Club Representatives will be established
in matters that may result in disqualification only.
11. During the investigation by Club Representatives, only
the description of the incident will be presented to the Club
Representatives. Names will only be
provided after a decision has been made.
12. The following dispositions will be used for submitted
protest,
13. UNFOUNDED: No misconduct.
14. NON-SUSTAINED: There is not sufficient evidence to prove
or disprove the protest.
15. SUSTAINED WITH NO PENALTY: The allegation did occur, but
there was just cause for the violation.
16. SUSTAINED: The allegation did occur and a penalty will
be imposed.
17. Any disqualification or suspension from, or other
disciplinary action regarding any tournament or fishing organization, shall be
grounds for rejecting any application for participation in future Colorado Bass
Federation Tournaments.
7. TACKLE AND EQUIPMENT:
1. Only artificial lures may be used.
2. No “live bait” or “prepared bait” will be permitted, with
the exception of pork strips, rinds, etc.
3. Only ONE casting, spin-casting or spinning rod (8-foot
maximum length from butt of handle to rod tip) and reel may be used at any one
time. All other types prohibited. Other rigs as specified above may be in boat
ready for use. However, only ONE is permitted in use at any given time.
4. All bass must be caught live and in a conventional
sporting manner.
5. Anyone guilty of snatching or snagging visible fish will
have their day’s catch disqualified.
6. When visually fishing for bedding bass, all bass must be
hooked inside the mouth and must be verified by your partner before being
unhooked to be counted as a legal fish.
7. No gaffs may be used to boat bass or be permitted in boat
at any time.
8. The use of grippers in landing bass is prohibited.
9. The use of nets is allowed.
8. HORSEPOWER REGULATIONS:
1. MAXIMUM HORSEPOWER FOR ALL OUTBOARD MOTORBOATS USED IN
OFFICIAL TOURNAMENT PRACTICE AND IN TOURNAMENT COMPETITION WILL BE 250 HP, not
to exceed the horsepower limitations set by the U.S. Coast Guard in their
ruling of November 1, 1972.
2. When required, each boat MUST have a U.S. Coast Guard
horsepower rating plate attached to the boat by the manufacturer. The
horsepower of the outboard engine must NOT exceed the rating specified on this
rating plate or the horsepower maximum set by Colorado BASS Federation.
3. Any boat manufactured prior to Nov. 1, 1972 must adhere
to the ratings set by the U.S. Coast Guard for similar boats.
4. Each competitor agrees to submit, by his signature on the
official entry form, the boat and outboard motor used in the tournament to an
inspection by factory-trained personnel, if there is any reason to suspect the
horsepower is in excess of the rating.
5. Normal maintenance to increase the performance of your
engine is allowed.
6. Changing or altering standard factory parts of your motor
to increase the horsepower over the factory horsepower rating is forbidden, and
will result in disqualification.
9. BOAT AND MOTOR:
1. For the safety of all
contestants, ALL BOATS MUST BE EQUIPPED WITH SOME TYPE OF OPERABLE IGNITION
KILL SWITCH.
2. During official practice and the Tournament, the
ignition-kill device must be attached to the driver’s body any time the combustion
engine is operating; the only exception will be while loading the boat onto a
trailer.
3. Anytime the combustion engine is operating and in gear,
there must be a driver in the driver’s seat in full control of the boat, except
in the case of loading the boat onto the trailer. Fishing boats may be used that are 15 feet or
more in length. Any raised platform or
decks cannot be higher than the gunnels of the boat.
4. A small electric trolling motor may be used for slow
maneuvering; however, trolling as a method of fishing is prohibited.
5. All BLADDER tanks and any other type of AUXILLARY gas
tanks that are not installed by the boat manufacturer are prohibited.
Additional gas tanks that are factory-installed are restricted to the U.S.
Coast Guard maximum of 18 gallons of gasoline.
6. Gas tanks must be properly secured or strapped in a
boat.
7. During the official practice and during the tournament,
no portable gas tanks or containers capable of holding gasoline can be placed
anywhere on the tournament waters or shoreline for use by any tournament
competitor.
8. No “barges” or similar cumbersome craft will be permitted
during the official practice and competition days of the tournament by any
competitor.
9. NO BOAT EQUIPPED WITH “STICK STEERING” SHALL BE PERMITTED
TO BE USED DURING THE OFFICIAL PRACTICE OR DURING THE TOURNAMENT BY ANY
COMPETITOR.
10. The Tournament Director shall determine the definition
of “stick steering”.
10. BASIC BOAT EQUIPMENT:
1. Every boat must have all required Coast Guard safety
equipment. In addition, it must have a functional bilge pump. All state boating regulations also
apply.
2. EVERY BOAT MUST HAVE LIVEWELL SPACE, PROPERLY AERATED, TO
ADEQUATELY MAINTAIN ALIVE, A LIMIT CATCH OF BASS BY BOTH FISHERMEN USING THE
BOAT.
3. Tournament officials shall have the sole responsibility
for determining whether aeration and capacity is “proper and adequate.
11. BOAT IDENTIFICATION:
1. Each boat MUST be given, prior to each day’s start, an
inspection check by a tournament official, also a numbered CLIPBOARD, which
MUST remain with your boat until turned in.
2. This clipboard must be displayed at any time upon the
request of any tournament official, also at check-in and turned in to the
tournament officials at the completion of the tournament.
12. BOAT OPERATION AND EXPENSE:
1. A full discussion
MUST be held between the two partners prior to a morning departure as to the
schedule of boat operations. This schedule must permit each partner equal time
to fish from the front of the boat and to operate the trolling motor, so as to
afford each partner the opportunity to fish his selected waters an equal number
of hours. Distance traveled to fishing locations must be considered in order
not to deprive either partner fishing time while traveling to and from fishing
waters.
2. If a contestant waives the above rights, he shall retain
the right to select the fishing waters for one-half the tournament day.
3. Any contestant who, in the judgment of the officials,
operates the boat in such a manner as to unfairly handicap his partner shall be
disqualified.
4. In view of the large expense involved in operating and
maintaining a tournament bass boat, an operational fee of $20.00 per day is to
be paid by the non boater to the boater they signed up with to fish the
tournament. The boater’s non-boater will pay them $60.00 to cover gas all three
days of the tournament. This will make
it easier for everyone involved so you don’t have to collect from your draw
partner each day: however: if the expenses for the day fishing exceed the
$20.00 be fair and split the expenses for gas and oil with your draw partner.
13. PERMITTED FISHING LOCATIONS:
1. Tournament waters shall be established by the Tournament
Director for each tournament. Each competitor must obtain this information from
the Tournament Director or his representative.
2. Fishing on the tournament waters is permitted anywhere
except: within 50 yards of another competitor’s boat which was first anchored
or secured in a fixed position with the trolling motor out of the water. All
such boats are required to advise any other competitor when such boat believes
the competitor is close to being within this 50-yard circle claimed by
him.
3. No such boat shall permit selected competitors to fish
within the 50-yard circle claimed by him, to the exclusion of any other
competitor.
4. Any water within these boundaries posted Off-Limits or No
Fishing by state or federal agencies will be OFF-LIMITS.
5. The live-bass release area established by the Tournament
Director will be OFF-LIMITS and will be announced at the Tournament
Briefing.
6. Only that water open to ALL public fishing will be
considered tournament waters. Any waters closed to public fishing will be
closed to this tournament’s contestants.
7. All angling must be done from the boat.
8. Competitors wishing to change fish habitat by placing any
object in the tournament waters may do so if such action does not violate state
or federal regulations.
14. CONTESTANTS MUST REMAIN IN BOAT:
1. Contestants must not depart the boat to land fish or to
make the boat more accessible to fishing waters. Boats must remain in tournament waters during
tournament days. Contestants must leave and return to official checkpoint by
boat. Both competitors must remain in their boat at all times except in case of
dire emergency. In such an emergency, competitors may be removed from their
boat to: A BOAT OPERATED BY OTHER COMPETITORS OR AN OFFICIAL RESCUE BOAT
DELIGATED BY THE COLORADO BASS FEDERATION.
2. Competitors must remain together at all times, or in
sight of each other and each other’s catch under the conditions cited above, in
order for their catch of that day to be scored in the tournament. If a
competitor must violate any of the above conditions (to contact a tournament
official by phone or other means or to report an emergency or breakdown), both
competitors must cease fishing at this point, and their catch must be verified
by a tournament official in order to be counted in the tournament. If after the
emergency situation is resolved by tournament officials and enough time is left
for the competitors to resume fishing, a RESTART will be allowed and the
competitors will continue and their catch will be counted. This applies only
too dire emergency situations.
3. In the event that it is necessary for Partners to
separate, each contestant will document the number of fish and sign the weigh
in slip.
4. The competitor returning to the check in will be
responsible for checking in his/her boat and turning in the weigh slips.
5. No competitor shall be permitted to weigh in any other
competitors fish.
6. Trailering
of boats during tournament hours is prohibited, except by the direction of
tournament officials.
15. OFFICIAL CHECKPOINT:
1. There shall be only one official point for checkout in
the morning and check-in in the afternoon and this point shall be designated at
the tournament briefing.
2. At the time of check-out, all competitors and their boats
shall be in full conformance with all rules set forth by the Tournament
Director; at check-in, all boats shall identify themselves by means of the
numbered clipboards and proceed immediately to the designated weigh-in
area.
3. Partners must stay together and clipboards must be
maintained in the competitor’s boat and turned in at the end of the tournament,
except in cases of emergency. (see rule 14)
16. SCORING:
1. Tournament standings, auxiliary awards and final winners
shall be determined by the pound and ounce weight of each competitor’s catch
during the competition days of the tournament.
2. Only Largemouth, Smallmouth, Spotted, Redeye or Shoal
bass will be weighed. The limit shall be 5 of the above species and varieties
per day, unless the prevailing state limit is less than 5, or a special limit
is established for a particular tournament by the tournament officials, in
which case the state limit, or special limit, shall be the tournament
limit.
3. At no time shall a competitor have reduced to possession
more than the tournament limit.
Tournament officials will conduct checks for violation of this
provision, and in the event a competitor has reduced more than the
above-described limits to possession, shall cull the largest bass first, down
to the limit described. In the event
that the competitor is found to be in possession of more than the limit specified
he/she will be penalized by the weight of his/her largest fish in that days
catch.
4. Culling of bass will be
completed immediately if the competitor has in his possession the described
limit.
5. No culling of bass will be permitted after a competitor
checks in at the Official Check-in point.
6. No culling of dead fish.
7. The official length for bass shall be determined by the
Tournament Director and announced at the tournament briefing. In most cases it
will be the longest state limit covering the tournament waters. Only bass as described
above which measure the official length or more on the longest straight line,
shall be weighed-in.
8. Bass presented for weigh-in which fail to measure the
official length shall accrue penalties at the rate of 1 pound for each such
bass. This penalty shall be deducted from the total score of the competitor.
Any bass that appears to have been mangled, mashed, mauled or otherwise altered
will be weighed and credited only at the discretion of tournament
officials.
9. After a competitor checks-in at the official checkpoint
he MUST present all LEGAL fish in his possession to a tournament official to be
counted, measured and weighed.
10 No curtsey
board will be available.
11. Each competitors catch must be certified by the
signature of his partner of that day.
Once a competitor’s catch is measured, counted and verified by a
tournament official, that contestant may not return to his boat until his catch
has been weighed, recorded and released.
12. Competitors may not return to their boats with bass in their
possession.
13. Bass must not be stringered at
any time during the tournament. Stringered is any system that connects two or more bass
together. This restriction includes
live-well stringer systems used for culling which are also prohibited.
14. Specially designed bags, which increase survival rate,
will be furnished by the Tournament Director, and these bags must be used for
the weigh-in.
17. DON’T KILL YOUR CATCH:
1. Each competitor is expected to keep his bass alive by use
of a properly aerated livewell. The few bass, which
do not survive, will be used for scientific study and for charity.
18. PENALTY POINTS:
1. For each legal dead bass presented to weigh-in officials,
the competitor shall be penalized 8 ounces of weight, to be deducted from his
daily score. The Tournament Director and his designated appointees shall have
sole authority for accessing penalty points.
19. LATE PENALTY:
1. Competitors who are not in the official checkpoint area
as described in Rule 15 at the appointed time shall be penalized at the rate of
1 pound per minute, to be deducted from the total weight of his catch that day,
including any weight to be counted toward a “lunker
award.”
2. Any competitor more than 15 minutes late shall lose all
credit for that day’s catch.
3. There shall be no excuse for tardiness and in no case
shall a competitor be allowed to make up “lost time.”
4. After proper recognition at the check-in point,
competitors will be allowed ample time to proceed to the weigh-in site;
however, all fishing must cease upon check-in.
5. After the tournament begins, fishing the tournament
waters is prohibited except during the tournament hours.
6. Exact starting and check-in times will be announced at
the tournament briefing.
20. TIES:
1. In case of a tie for first-place, the following
tie-breakers will be used in order:
2.The individual with the largest number of legal
fish weighed-in during the competition;
3. The individual with the largest number of legal LIVE fish
weighed-in during the competition;
4. The
individual with the heaviest single-day catch during
competition;
5. The individual with the second-heaviest single-day catch
during competition.
6. In the unlikely event that INDIVIDUALS remain tied after
these four tiebreakers are employed, then a flip of a coin will be used to
determine the winner(s) and the money, if any, will be equally split. Ties for lesser positions shall be resolved
by means selected by the Tournament Director.
21. PAIRING OF CONTESTANTS:
1. Only boaters who have a non-boater registered to fish the
tournament will be guaranteed the use of their boat. Likewise, non-boaters signing up with a
boater will be guaranteed a boater for the tournament.
2. Boaters who sign up without a partner will be in a draw
prior to the tournament drawing to determine who gets the use of their boat for
that day. If the two boaters who end up drawing each other cannot decide whose
boat to use, boat use will be determined by the Tournament Director.
3. Two contestants will be assigned to each boat. Wherever
possible, no two competitors will fish together more than one day.
4. Announcement of your first-day fishing partner shall be
made at the tournament briefing, which MUST BE ATTENDED by each competitor or
by his/her representative. It shall be the responsibility of each partner to
appear at a mutually agreed upon location with sufficient time remaining to check
out at the official checkpoint and start on time. It is suggested that a
minimum of 30 minutes is required for preparation to depart to the checkout
point.
5. Tournament officials shall have no responsibility for
finding missing partners.
6. The Tournament Director, at his sole discretion, may
reassign partners prior to the morning take-off. When two contestants check out
at the beginning of the day, they must stay together or within sight of each
other and each other’s catch throughout the day until the weigh-in is
completed; except in case of dire emergency. (See Rule 14.)
7. A contestant must not allow any bass caught by him to be
counted on the score of another contestant. In such a case, both contestants
shall be disqualified from this tournament and from all future tournaments
conducted by the Colorado BASS Federation.
8. A weigh-in slip must be turned in by both competitors
whether they caught fish or not.
22. BOAT CHECKS:
1. None of the above rules shall prohibit a properly
designated tournament official from approaching or boarding any competitor’s
boat at any time during the official practice period or the official
competition days
23. PATCHES AND/OR SIGNAGE:
1. The
24. PAYMENT OF ENTRY FEES:
1. No personal checks will be accepted. Entries must be made online via the link on
the Tournament Directors page.
2. If a participant does not have internet access or does
not have a credit card. A club check will be accepted as long as it is received
by the tournament director prior to Feb 15, 2010 and entry fees will be the
same as online payment.
25. PAYOUT:
1. The State Team Qualifier Tournament payout will be,
2. 80%
to the 13 state team members for state team clothing and travel
expenses
3. 20% to the Federation General Fund (Tournament Director
and Tournament expenses, remaining money to the general fund).
4. The state team money will be held by the Federation and
dispersed evenly (less money spent on uniforms) to the members who travel to
the Western Divisional Tournament. The
alternate must travel to the Divisional Tournament in order to be paid.
5. If a state team member, 1st to 13th place finish from the
state team-qualifying tournament does not participate, he will forfeit his
share of the state team money, the replacement will receive a share of the
state team money.
6. Side pots may be used to pay additional places.
7. The State Team Qualifying Tournament payout will be
reviewed annually at the 4th quarter Board of Directors meeting.
Revised 01/11/11
Michael Hubbard