Premier Bass
2008
TEAM TOURNAMENT
TRAIL
RULES &
REGULATIONS
TEAM
TOURNAMENT RULES
Premier Bass team tournaments
are designed to give Premier Bass members a chance to compete on local lakes.
These events are open to all members of the organization with a valid fishing
license. Fishing is done in pairs and the competition is based on team effort.
The season circuit is made of
five one day tournament events and a two day championship.
These rules will remain
unchanged through the event unless State or local laws are in conflict.
Interpretation and enforcement of these rules shall be left exclusively to the
Tournament Officials. In the event of a rule violation, the Tournament
Officials may impose such sanctions as deemed required, including without limitation,
disqualification, forfeiture of prizes, entry fee and prohibition from
participation in subsequent tournaments to any contestant who violates the
rules or disrupts the harmony of any tournament. The decision of the Tournament
Officials shall be final in all matters.
It is at the Tournament
Officials discretion to make a change where safety of the contestants is a
concern. The Tournament
Officials may reject any tournament application
or membership for any reason and in that event will refund entry fees.
All Federal, State and local laws must be obeyed and it is the contestant’s
responsibility to know these laws. An explanation and the rules of these
tournaments are outlined in detail in the following pages and should be read
carefully to avoid any misunderstandings concerning the operation of
Premier Bass.
1. SPORTSMANSHIP
1.1 Any contestant who displays poor sportsmanship
violates any rules or boating regulations during a tournament may be
disqualified.
1.2 Any contestant who gains
information from any angler who was on tournament waters during off-limits will
be disqualified.
1.3 Use of alcoholic beverages
or drugs other than prescription drugs during tournament hours is forbidden.
1.4 When entering and leaving an area with other contestants fishing. Boaters
give a 100 feet distance before starting their big engine
2. COMPLAINTS AND PROTESTS
2.1 Complaints or protests regarding rules
violation must be in writing with 15 minutes of the final weigh-in.
2.2 Decisions by Tournament
Officials will be final in all matters.
3. SAFETY
3.1 Safe boating conduct and
all safety precautions must be observed at all times. Unsafe boat operations
will cause disqualification.
3.2 Liability insurance is required for all
contestants for property damage and personal injury which might occur.
3.3 U.S .Coast Guard
regulations and equipment must be complied with. Life jackets or vests must be
worn and fully attached whenever the combustible engine is operative. Bow and
running lights must be installed and operating during darkness and blast –off.
3.4 All local states, and
federal restrictions or requirements or size and/or horse power ratings must be
complied with.
3.5 In an emergency, mechanical breakdown, or
when safety dictates, one or both anglers may take their catch and get into
another team’s boat to return to the official weigh-in site. Fishing from the
rescue boat is prohibited.
3.6 It is mandatory that all
contestant boats be equipped with a kill switch and must be hooked up any time
the combustible engine is running.
3.7 No wakes in blast-off
area.
3.8 Blast off number will be called twice. If not in
position by the second call, contestant must go to the end of the line.
4. CONTESTANT’S BOAT & EQUIPEMNT
4.1 No engine may exceed the
BIA horsepower rating of the contestant’s boat. Extra gas tanks must meet U.S.Coast Guard specifications and be safely secured.
4.2 Damage of any nature to a
contestant’s boat, equipment or fishing tackle is the sole responsibility of
the contestant.
4.3 Upon request by Tournament
Officials, contestant must show proof of liability insurance for both personal
injury and property damage which may occur on contestant’s behalf.
5. TACKLE & LIVEWELLS
5.1 Only artificial lures,
pork type strips and bait scents may be used. Underwater cameras are
prohibited.
5.2 Only rod and reel outfits
may be used. Spinning, spin casting or casting rods up to 8’ total length may
be use.
5.3 Contestant may have any
number of rods but may only fish with one at a time.
5.4 Trolling with the main
engine prohibited.
5.5 Landing nets are
permitted.
6. FISHING HOURS AND REGULATIONS
6.1 Fishing hours will be
announced at the pre-tournament meetings.
6.2 Contestants must check-in
and check-out at the official blast-off area. Any contestant who does not
check-in or notify a Tournament Official of leaving the tournament site maybe
disqualified and receive no points for the tournament. Contestants must be in
blast-off area and off-plane by the designated weigh-in time or contestant will
be considered late.
6.3
All boats may be checked by Tournament Officials prior to blast-off.
6.4 For all tournaments, each team can
weight up to seven (7) fish, none of which may be less than twelve (12)
inches in length. If one
member fishes alone, his/her limit will be five (5) fish.
6.5 Fish will be measured on a flat board-mouth closed,
fanning or sweeping the tail.
7. PENALTIES & DISQUALFICATION
7.1 Any contestant whose boat
touches another boat will be disqualified.
7.2 Any contestant beaching
the boat or going on land during the tournament (except for emergencies or when
using restroom facilities) will be disqualified.
7.3 Any contestant suspected of cheating in any way
will be disqualified.
7.4 A one (1) pound per minute
penalty will be assessed against contestants who are not off-plane and within
the blast-off area by the designated weigh-in time.
7.5 Any contestant arriving at the blast-off ten
(10) minutes late will be disqualified.
7.6 In the event of
contestant’s catch exceeds the limit, a disqualification will occur.
7.7 In
the event of contestant’s weighs a short fish, that team will be disqualified.
7.8 A three (3) ounce or
20/100 (.20) penalty will be assed for each fish weighed in dead.
7.9 Any contestant issued a
citation during tournament hours will be disqualified.
7.10 .Dead fish do not qualify for big fish
awards.
7.11 Any team weighing in a
fish that appears to have been dead prior to tournament hours will be
disqualified
7.12 Culling
at the blast-off area is prohibited and will result in
disqualification
8. PARTICIPANTS, ELIGIBILITY, AND POINT SYSTEM
8.1 Team tournaments are open
to all members of Premier Bass, as long as the boat operator is at least 18
years of age or older. Both members must hold a valid fishing license and a current membership
in Premier Bass.
8.2 Each team consists of a
pair of anglers. The team must fish five (5) regular season tournament to be
eligible for Team of the Year.
8.3 At each of the five (5)
regular season tournaments entered, the team earns points based on the team’s
finishing position, in the event: 1st = 200, 2nd = 199,
etc.
8.3a Finishing position is
based on the combined weight of seven (7) legal bass or special announced
limits based on local regulations.
8.3b In the event of a tie,
all tied teams will receive the same umber of points for that position.
8.3c Participating teams that
do not weigh-in fish will receive points based upon the next point following
the last team weighing fish, minus ten (10) points, minus the # of boats.
8.3d If a disqualification
occurs, that that team will receive zero (0) points for that tournament but
will be credited for fishing the tournament.
8.4 Team Points are
cumulative. The total accumulated points for the five (5) regular season
tournaments will establish “Team of the Year”.
In the event of a tie, ties will be broken by their big fish of the year.
8.5 After the five (5) regular season
tournaments, only those teams having fished four out of five tournaments
may be eligible for any bonus monies or prizes designated for the Championship.
8.6 No accumulated team points
may be carried forward, except as declared an “alternate member”.
8.7 No team points may be
transferred from one team to another; points are only used to establish the
“Team of the Year” award.
8.8 Each member of the team
may fish alone and represent the team provided the other member of the team
does not enter the tournament. The number of fish when a single entered member can weigh-in is 5
fish.
8.9 In the event a team
qualifies for the Championship, and one of the team members is unable to
participate, the designated alternate may fish in the event.
8.10 To be eligible to qualify for the
Championship, each team must have fished 4 out of 5 regular season tournaments.
9. ALTERNATE
MEMBERS
9.1 Each team my have one (1) alternate.
9.2 An Alternate team member
will be allowed to fish a scheduled tournament to qualify for the “Team of the
Year’ award. Alternates are prohibited from fishing with any other team during
the season.
9.3 Alternate members must hold a current (paid) membership in Premier
Bass and be registered as an alternate by the end of the first tournament.
10. PERMITTED FISHING WATERS AND OFF LIMITS
10.1 All local restrictions,
including low-water and off limit areas will be observed. Additional off-limits
rules will be announced at the pre-tournament meeting.
10.2 All fishing must be done
form the contestant’s boat.
10.3 All contestants must
leave and return to the blast off area by boat.
10.4 Boats may not be trailered from one fishing location to another during
tournament hours.
10.5 Tournament lakes will be off-limits Monday through the day
preceding each tournament. If Monday is national observed holiday,
then Tuesday will apply.
10.6 Boats may not touch when fishing next to
other contestants.
10.7 Fishing is restricted to
the bodies of water designated for the tournament, except the area from
11. OFFICIAL BOAT
11.1 Officials may be on the
lake during the tournament and my approach or observe any contestant.
Tournament Officials may board and inspect any contestant’s boat at any time
during the tournament.
12. PRE-TOURNAMENT MEETING
12.1 A pre-tournament meeting
will be held the evening preceding each tournament at
12.2 Tournament Officials will
be available the morning of the tournament to take late entries and answer any
questions. Cutoff entries is 1 hour before the
start of each tournament. No formal meeting will be held. Late fees of $10.00 will be
applied.
12.3 Drawing for starting
positions will be held at the pre-tournament meeting. No trading/selling of blast off positions allowed.
All entries or notification to participate will be included in the draw. If
a team calls/faxes entry
in, they are responsible for entry fee and any option they
call/fax in.
13. REGISTRATION
13.1 Contestants may pre
register for one or all tournaments by mailing a completed application and full
entry fees to the Tournament Director. Option fees will be accepted up to the
blast-off.
13.2 Contestants my fill out
membership application and pay entry fees at the tournament site. However, it
is requested that the Tournament Director be notified by phone that they will
pay at the site. This will allow for pre-tournament forms to be completed. Late
fee will apply $10.00.
14. ENTRY FEES
14.1 Entry fees will be
$160.00 per team.
14.2 Teams may enter the option
pots (entirely optional) as they desire.
14.2a $10 Big Fish Pot
14.2b $25 Total Weight
Pot
14.2c $50 Total Weight
Pot
14.2d $100 Total Weight
Pot
14.3.There
will be a $35 operational fee per boat assessed. Option pots will be available
as stated in paragraph 14.2 above.
15. PAYOUTS
15.1 No payout will be made to any team or individual team member unless
their SSN is on file with the Tournament Director.
15.2 One (1) place for every
seven (7) entries of options in all tournaments, including the Championship,
except Big Fish Option.
15.3 Big Fish will pay one (1)
place. Only live fish will qualify. It is up to the angler weighing in
the fish to select their big fish. Only one fish may be selected.
15.4 Total options will be
paid out 100% only to those contestants who entered each option.
15.5 Of the $160 entry fee,
$35 is retained for operational expenses, $50 to the Championship fund leaving
$75 tournament money.
15.6 Monies won will be paid
at the conclusion of the tournament or mailed to the contestant if not present
at the awards presentation.
15.7 If a tie occurs, pay out
and trophies will be decided by big fish.
15.8 Refund of entry fees or
option pots will be made at the discretion of the Tournament Director prior to
the tournament. Entry fees/option monies will be refunded after the start of a
tournament.
15.9 In the event of a
tournament is cancelled at the tournament site due to safety, all monies will
be credited toward the next scheduled tournament or refunded upon request.
Refunds will be sent by mail. Those teams registered to fish the cancelled
tournament will receive credit and points as though a regular tournament was
held. Points will be awarded as 200, less the number of boats, less 10.
15.10 When computing pay out
amounts, the following schedule will be used.
#PAY Percentage
per pay
1 100
2 60
40
3 50 30 20
4 40 30 17
13
5 32 25 20 13 10
6 30 22 16
13 10 9
7 27 20 15
13 10 9 6
8 25 20 15
12 10 8 5 5
9 23 18 15
12 10 8
5 5 4
10 22 17 14
11 10 8
5 5 4 4
11 21 17 14
11 9 7
5 5 4 4 3
12 21 17 13
10 9 7
5 5 4 4 3 2
13 20 16
13 10 9
7 5 5 4 4 3 2 2
14 20 16
13 9
8 7 5 5 4 4 3
2 2 2
15 20 16
13 9 8
7 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 2 2
16 20 16
12 9 8
7 5 4 4 3 2 2 2 2 2 2
16. AWARDS PRESENTATION
16.1 Plaques will be aware dot
the teams finishing in the top five positions.
16.2 Awards and pay outs will
be presented approximately 30 minutes following the weigh-in.
16.3 Contestants must be
present to win any prizes/merchandise designated for the contestants.
16.4 Total tournament earnings
exceeding $600 will be reported to the IRS on Form 1099.
17. INSURANCE & LIABILITY
17.1 It is the sole
responsibility of the boat owner to carry and have proof of a minimum of
$100,000 public liability insurance covering boater and passengers. All
contestants are required to sign a waiver absolving the tournament sponsors,
co-sponsors, and their employees from any responsibility for any damage or
personal injury sustained as a result of their participation in the tournament
or related activities.
Larry Raganit, Director
Voice/ Fax (208) 454-6336