2003 RULES |
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Revised
July 14, 1999 Minnesota
B.A.S.S. Chapter Federation Tournament
Rules 1. INTRODUCTION: Great effort, study and research have gone into the formulation of these rules. The following tournament rules will remain unchanged, except for special tournaments conducted by the Minnesota State Bass Chapter Federation. Hereto after to be referred to as MSBCF. Interpretation and enforcement of these rules shall be left exclusively to the Tournament Director. 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, entry fee and prohibition from participation in subsequent tournaments. The decision of the Tournament Director and tournament officials shall be final in all matters. 2. PARTICIPANTS AND ELIGIBILITY: This tournament is open only to current B.A.S.S. members who are 16 years of age or older and members in good standing of Minnesota B.A.S.S. Federation and have been selected as their club’s representatives to the State Tournament of Champions. During the official practice and competition days no contestant may operate a boat unless that contestant has submitted documented proof of a minimum of $100,000 boating liability insurance to the Tournament Director. This documented proof must show an effective date and expiration date and must be received on or before the application deadline date. 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. A properly completed and signed official entry form must be received by the Tournament Director on or before the application deadline date. 3. PRE-TOURNAMENT PRACTICE: The tournament waters shall be off-limits commencing at sundown 14 days prior to the Friday before Labor Day weekend. The exact dates and times of the practice period and the off-limits period must be obtained from the Tournament Director. The competitor must know and observe these dates. 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, nor enter the tournament waters with anyone who has been on the tournament waters during the 14 day off-limits period, a professional guide, state or federal wildlife agency employee, or any other person deemed an “expert” on these tournament waters by the Tournament Director, unless he is a contestant in the tournament. During the official practice and during the tournament, a competitor may not “skin dive”, “scuba dive”, or use underwater cameras on the tournament waters. During the official competition days of the tournament, 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 and Lockmaster radio frequencies. 4.
AGREEMENT TO REPORT
VIOLATIONS: Each
competitor agrees to report to the Tournament Director 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. Each
competitor agrees to submit, by his/her signature on the official entry
form, to a polygraph test should he/she be accused of any rule
violation. The
administration and interpretation of the polygraph test shall be solely
the responsibility of the Tournament Director and his agents, and shall
be used (or not used) 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, the individual who administers such polygraph
test, and the scope of the questions which may be asked during such
test. 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. 5.
REGISTRATION:
Each competitor must register in person with Tournament Officials
at the time and place prescribed on the schedule of events.
Failure to register in person during the prescribed hours shall
result in a penalty of 1 pound off your total catch. NO EXCEPTIONS. IT
SHALL BE EACH COMPETITOR’S RESPONSIBILITY TO CHECK THE SCHEDULE OF
EVENTS FOR REGISTRATION TIME AND LOCATION OR OBTAIN TIMES FROM THE
TOURNAMENT DIRECTOR. 6.
SAFETY:
Safe boat conduct must be observed at all times by tournament
competitors. 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.
The Tournament Director has the right to delay or cancel the
start of an official tournament day because of bad weather or other
factors that would endanger the safety of the competitors.
Tournament waters may also be restricted at any time because of
bad weather. MSBCF reserves
the right to impose boat speed limits on any or all tournaments.
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. 7.
SPORTSMANSHIP:
Competitors in B.A.S.S. 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.
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
MSBCF tournaments. 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. All
competitors are bound by the prevailing statutes and regulations of the
state within which they fish. 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.
Any disqualification or suspension from, or other disciplinary
action regarding, any tournament or fishing organization, shall be
grounds for rejecting any application for participation and for
disqualification. 8.
TACKLE AND EQUIPMENT:
Only artificial lures may be used.
No “live bait” or “prepared bait” will be permitted, with
the exception of pork strips, rinds, etc.
Only ONE casting,
spincasting, 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.
All bass must be caught live and in a conventional sporting
manner. Anyone guilty of
snatching or snagging visible fish will have their day’s catch
disqualified. When visually
fishing for bedding bass, all bass must be hooked inside the mouth and
must be verified by your partner before unhooked to be counted as a
legal fish. The use of gafs or grippers in landing bass is prohibited. 9.
HORSEPOWER REGULATIONS:
MAXIMUM HORSEPOWER FOR ALL OUTBOARD MOTORBOATS USED IN OFFICIAL
TOURNAMENT PRACTICE AND TOURNAMENT COMPETITION WILL BE 250 HP.
Horsepower can not exceed the limitations set by the U.S. Coast
Guard in their ruling of November 01, 1972.
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 plate or the horsepower maximum set by B.A.S.S.
Any boat manufactured prior to November 01, 1972 must adhere to
the ratings set by the U.S. Coast Guard for similar boats.
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.
Normal maintenance to increase the performance of your engine is
allowed. 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. Falsifying information on entry forms or altering the
horsepower-rating numbers on the motor also would be cause for immediate
disqualification. 10.
BOAT AND MOTOR:
For the safety of all contestants, ALL
BOATS MUST BE EQUIPPED WITH SOME TYPE OF OPERABLE IGNITION KILL SWITCH.
This ignition-kill device must be attached to the drivers body
any time the combustion engine is operating.
Any time the combustion engine is operating and in gear there
must be a driver in the driver’s seat in full control of the boat.
Fishing boats may be used that are 14 feet or more in length.
Any raised platforms or decks cannot be higher than the gunnel of
the boat. A small electric
trolling motor may be used for slow maneuvering.
However, trolling as a method of fishing is prohibited.
All BLADDER tanks that are not installed by the boat manufacturer
are prohibited. Additional
gas tanks that are factory options and installed by a manufacturer’s
authorized dealer are legal. Boats
that do not have factory-installed gas tanks are restricted to a maximum
of 18 gallons of gasoline in tanks that meet U.S. Coast Guard
regulations. Gas tanks must
be properly secured or strapped in a boat.
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. No “barges” or similar cumbersome craft will be
permitted. NO BOAT EQUIPPED
WITH “STICK STEERING” SHALL BE PERMITTED TO BE USED DURING OFFICIAL
PRACTICE OR DURING THE TOURNAMENT BY ANY COMPETITOR.
The definition of “stick steering” shall be made by the
Tournament Director. A
competitor answering affirmatively the question, “Will you bring a
boat and motor?” will be expected to make that boat and motor
available for tournament use by himself and his daily partner, if so
requested by tournament officials.
Those answering the same question negatively will be presumed not
to have a boat and motor available and will be paired with one who does
when possible. It shall be
the responsibility of the fishing partners to mutually agree on a basis
for sharing operational expenses. If
the partners are unable to agree, the Tournament Director shall make
such determination, which shall be binding upon the partners. 11.
BASIC BOAT EQUIPMENT:
Every boat must have all required Coast Guard safety equipment.
In addition, it must have a functional bilge pump, if so
equipped, and LIVEWELL SPACE, PROPERLY AERATED, TO ADEQUATELY MAINTAIN
ALIVE A LIMIT CATCH OF BASS BY BOTH FISHERMEN USING THE BOAT.
Tournament officials shall have the sole responsibility for
determining whether aeration and capacity is “proper and adequate”. 12.
BOAT IDENTIFICATION:
Each boat MUST be given, prior to each day’s start, an
inspection check by a tournament official, also a numbered flag, which
MUST remain with your boat until turned in each day at the check-in.
This flag must be displayed upon the request of tournament
officials, and turned in to the officials at each check-in. 13.
BOAT OPERATION AND
EXPENSE: 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. If a
contestant waives the above rights, he shall retain the right to select
the fishing waters for one-half the tournament day.
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. In view of
the large expense involved in operating and maintaining a tournament
boat, it is suggested that the non-owner partner at least share part of
the cost of gas and oil for the competition day. 14.
PERMITTED FISHING
LOCATIONS: Tournament
waters shall be established by the Tournament Director for each
tournament. Each competitor
must obtain this information from the Tournament Director.
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 radius. No such
boat shall permit selected competitors to fish within the 50-yard circle
claimed by him, to the exclusion of any other competitor. Competitors
may not purchase “rights” to “spots” from another competitor.
Any water within these boundaries posted Off-Limits or No Fishing by
state or federal agencies will be OFF-LIMITS.
Also the live-bass release area established by the Tournament
Director will be OFF-LIMITS and will be announced at the Tournament
Briefing. 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. All
angling must be done from the boat.
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. 15. CONTESTANTS MUST REMAIN IN BOAT: 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 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 A RESCUE BOAT. Exception: A contestant may leave the boat for the sole purpose of retrieving a lure which has been hooked on private personal property and must remain in visual contact of his partner at all times. Partners
must remain together at all times, 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 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 TO DIRE EMERGENCY
SITUATIONS. Trailering
of boats during tournament hours is prohibited, except by the direction
of the Tournament Director. 16.
OFFICIAL CHECKPOINT:
There shall be only one official point for check-out in the
morning, and check-in in the afternoon, and this point shall be
designated at the Tournament Briefing.
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 flags and proceed immediately to the designated weigh-in
area. Partners must stay
together, and flags must be turned in at check-in. 17.
SCORING:
Tournament standings, auxiliary awards, and final winners shall
be determined by the pound and hundredth of a pound weight of each
competitor’s catch during the competition days of the tournament.
Only Largemouth and Smallmouth 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. 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. 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.
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 the Tournament
Director. 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. His
catch must be certified by the signature of his partner of that day.
Once a competitors catch is measured, counted, and verified by a
tournament official, that contestant may not return to his boat until
his catch has been weighed and recorded.
Bass must not be stringered at any time during the tournament.
Specially designed bags which increase survival rate will be
furnished by the Tournament Director, and these bags must be used for
the weigh-in. 18.
DON’T KILL YOUR CATCH:
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/or
for charity. 19.
PENALTY POINTS:
For each legal dead bass presented to weigh-in officials, the
competitor shall be penalized .25 pounds of weight, to be deducted from
his daily score. The
Tournament Director and his designated appointees shall have sole
authority for assessing penalty points. 20.
LATE PENALTY:
Competitors who are not in the official checkpoint area as
described in Rule 16 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”, for each
1 minute he is late. Any
competitor more than 15 minutes late shall lose all credit
for that day’s catch. There
shall be no excuse for tardiness, and in no case shall a competitor be
allowed to make up “lost time”.
After proper recognition at the check-in point, competitors will
be allowed ample time to proceed to the weigh-in sight; however, all
fishing must cease upon check-in. After
the tournament begins, fishing the tournament waters is prohibited
except during tournament hours. Exact
starting and check-in times will be announced at the Tournament
Briefing. 21.
TIES:
Method of breaking ties for any position will be determined by
the Tournament Director. 22.
PAIRINGS:
No contestants from the same club will be paired, nor shall two
contestants fish together more than one day.
Announcements of fishing partners shall be made at the Tournament
Briefing, which MUST BE ATTENDED
by each competitor. 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.
Tournament officials shall have NO
responsibility for finding missing partners.
The Tournament Director, at his sole discretion, may reassign
partners prior to the morning take-off.
It is suggested that a minimum of 30 minutes is required for
preparation to depart to the check-out point.
When two contestants check out at the beginning of the day, they
must stay together and 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 15). A
contestant must not allow any bass caught by him to be counted on the
score of another contestant. In
such case, both contestants shall be disqualified from this tournament
and from all future tournaments conducted by the MSBCF. 23.
ENFORCEMENT:
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. 24.
CLUB ALTERNATES:
The tournament will be run by the club alternates and the
tournament committee under the direction of the Tournament Director.
Each club shall have an alternate or working adult, age 16 or
over, present at the beginning of each tournament day.
Clubs who are exempt from providing a working alternate for the
tournament are: (1) a club alternate who qualifies for the State
Tournament, and (2) a club with two or fewer contestants. 25.
CLUB-BOATS:
Clubs entering the State Tournament shall have a minimum of one
boat for every two (2) contestants. |
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