TOURNAMENT
RULES AND REGULATIONS
(updated 01/28/2008)
ARTICLE 8. ADMINISTRATIVE RULES
AND REGULATIONS
8.1
TOURNAMENT RULES
1.
BASS TOURNAMENT DEFINED. Bass tournament shall be defined as a competitive
event in which the practices collectively known as fishing are skillfully
applied by participants to catch bass and present them for scoring by weight,
length or other criteria to determine a winner or winners who receive certain
awards and/or other recognition.
2.
PURPOSE OF TOURNAMENT RULES. Tournament rules are adopted for the express
purposes of providing equal opportunity for all participants to successfully
apply their fishing skills and abilities, of improving the safety of both
participant and non-participant users of the tournament area resources, and of
providing for proper handling of the fish.
3.
AMENDMENTS AND INTERPRETATIONS. Only the Tournament Committee of the B.A.S.S.
Federation Nation of VA Inc shall amend the Tournament rules. They are subject
to interpretation only by the Tournament Committee, under the coordination and
supervision of the Chairman. Decisions of the committee approved by the
chairman shall be final. All tournament rules will be recommended to the Board
for their approval or disapproval.
4.
BASS DEFINED Bass shall be defined as any of the species known as large-mouth
bass (Micropterus Salmoides), smallmouth bass (Micropterus Dolomieu), spotted
bass (Micropterus Punctulatus), suwannee bass (Micropterus Notius), redeye bass
(Micropterus Coosae), and guadalupe bass (Micropterus Treculi), all of which
are of the genus, Micropterus, in the family, Centrarchidae, the fresh water
sunfish.
5.
ENTRY FEES Applications from otherwise qualified members; chapters of regions
to enter and compete in tournaments shall be acceptable only when accompanied
by the fee established in chapter 7.3. of the
Constitution and By-Laws of the B.A.S.S. Federation Nation of VA, Inc. Fees
shall not be refundable to individual, team or regional applicants once the
fees have been accepted by the Federation.
6.
ELIGIBILITY Members, and chapters in good standing whose official application
and entry fee are received by the tournament committee prior to March 15th for
the Mr. Bass and Chapter Team Tournaments and October 15th for the Fall Classic
shall be eligible to compete, conditional upon acceptance by the Tournament
Committee. In order to be eligible to participate in the Mr. Bass Tournament
and the Chapter Team Tournament the member must have been a member of that club
at the time of submission of that club's official roster (no later than January
31st). Any member whose name is not present on the official roster submitted to
the Federation Board will not be allowed to participate on that club's team. In
the event, that an eligible member can not be found to complete the team, the
entire team will be disqualified. Members who have operated as professional
guides, for prospective tournament competitor or who have accepted money or
material value for guiding on the tournament waters within 30 days prior to the
first competition day shall not be eligible to participate.
7.
REGISTRATION. Each team must designate a team manager who shall have sole
responsibility for registering his team in person at the tournament site.
Registration will be held from 8:00 A.M. to 12:00 noon on the day prior to the
first tournament day. In an emergency situation where the team manager can not
arrive before 12:00 noon he can register his team by telephone prior to the
12:00 noon deadline. Any team, which has not officially registered by 12:00
noon Friday, will not be allowed to participate in the tournament.
8.
ETHICS~ SPORTSMANSHIP AND PERSONAL CONDUCT All participants shall observe high
standards of ethics, sportsmanship and personal conduct. They shall obey all of
the laws, and the authorities having jurisdiction in the tournament area. They
shall keep themselves informed and aware of the rules, laws and conditions
applicable to the tournament. They shall yield to all other recreational users
of the Tournament resource, sufficient distance or other courtesy to avoid
interference with their activities. For example, duck blinds, which are
occupied, on lawful duck hunting days, shall be given sufficient clearance to
avoid interference with ducks approaching the blind in flight and to avoid danger
from shot. Where a blind is situated in a narrow passage, boats shall move past
them with minimum disturbance without stopping to fish. Drunkenness during the
practice, competition and scoring activities is prohibited. No alcoholic
beverages shall be permitted in competition boats during competition hours.
Participants shall yield to inspection by tournament officials at any time
during the tournament.
9.
PRACTICE DAYS AND PROFESSIONAL GUIDES Tournament waters are open at all times
to all competitors. However, for thirty days prior to any Federation sponsored
tournament no competitor may hire or barter the use of a professional guide to
fish on the tournament waters. The use of underwater cameras is prohibited for
thirty days prior to any Federation sponsored tournament..
Failure to comply with the rules will result in disqualification from the
tournament. Professional guides are allowed to practice their profession and
still compete in the tournament. However, for thirty days prior to any
Federation sponsored tournament they cannot accept as clients any prospective
competitor for the tournament. Failure to comply with this rule will result in
the disqualification of the guide and all involved competitors from the
tournament.
10.
TOURNAMENT WATERS Tournament waters shall be defined as all public waters which
are accessible by boat from the tournament headquarters with the exception of
the waters within one hundred yards of the headquarters location or such off
limits areas as may be designated and announced at registration time by the
Tournament Committee. All fishing by participants shall be done from a boat on
tournament waters and all participants and competition boats shall remain on
tournament waters throughout the competition hours. Violators shall be disqualified
for that day's competition.
11.
COMPETITION HOURS Competition hours shall be determined by the Tournament
Committee and announced at registration. The hours may be changed by the
committee as necessary because of changing conditions and with reasonable
notice to participants during the tournament. Late arrival at the check-in
point at the end of competition hours shall not be excused. No make-up time
shall be granted for any reason to any participant who has been unable to
compete during any part of the tournament.
12.
WEATHER CONDITIONS Tournaments shall proceed as scheduled regardless of weather
conditions, except that competition may be suspended or terminated by the
Tournament Committee whenever it finds weather conditions to be hazardous. Competitors
shall not fish during periods of suspension or after termination of
competition. They may decline to compete without penalty only after the
Tournament Committee has accepted their notice, given prior to withdrawing,
that they believe weather conditions to be hazardous.
13.
SAFETY AND INSPECTION Safety shall be the concern of first priority to all
participants. There will no longer be a boat inspection on Thursdays and
Fridays prior to state tournaments. Each
team will be responsible for checking their team prior to 12:00 on Friday. You are to call Pam Bryant, Secretary or
other designated person and check your team.
Failure to do so will result in disqualification. There can be an inspection of boats at any
time during a tournament. All boats must
meet all guidelines specified in Regulation #14 and #15. Competition equipment found to be unsafe or
unseaworthy by the Tournament Committee shall not be used in the tournament.
14.
SAFETY EQUIPMENT Participants, throughout the official competition hours, shall
whenever their primary propulsion engine is running, wear a vest type personal
floatation device, or life jacket, which is approved by the United States Coast
Guard. Each tournament boat shall be equipped with a functional device, known
as a kill switch, which will terminate the operation of the primary propulsion
engine when the operator leaves the controls. The kill switch shall be attached
to the operator whenever the engine is in operation. Bach tournament boat shall
be equipped with a functional power operated pumping device, which will remove
water from the boat effectively, and in a manner acceptable to the Tournament
Committee. Violators will be disqualified for that day9s competition.
15.
BOAT REQUIREMENTS. Competition boats shall be sixteen feet or more in length
and powered by at least a twenty-five-horse power engine. The boat must also
have an electric bow mounted trolling motor and sufficient livewell capacity to
maintain a limit of bass by both contestants in good condition during the
tournament hours. No cumbersome craft, stick steering or motors of a horsepower
that exceeds the manufacturers rating plate will be permitted. All boats must
comply with all the applicable federal and state regulation. All boats that do
not meet these requirements can not be used in any of the state level draw
tournaments conducted by the BASS Federation Nation of VA. Boats built on or
after November 1, 1972 shall display horsepower rating plates installed by the
manufacturer. Boats built before November 1, 1972 shall display horsepower
rating plates if plates were installed by the manufacturer. All tournament
boats shall be powered within their rating plate specifications, or in the
absence of rating plates they shall comply with the United States Coast Guard
horsepower rating formula. Changing or altering standard factory parts of your
motor to increase the horsepower over the factory horsepower rating is
forbidden. Any violation of these rules will result in immediate
disqualification from that day's competition. "All boats used in state and
region events of the B.A.S.S. Federation Nation of VA must have no less than
$100,000.00 liability insurance on these boats. In order to use a boat, proof
must be provided for all events. If you do not own the boat to be used in the
event, a letter of permission to use the boat in that event must be provided by
the owner (s) prior to use.
16.
OFFICIAL INSPECTION OF BOAT AND SAFETY EQUIPMENT Prior to being allowed to
compete in a tournament each boat must be checked and approved by the
Tournament Committee. Each boat must meet all guidelines specified in
Regulation #14 and Regulation #15. Ample time prior to the tournament will be
designated and announced for boat inspections. It is the responsibility of each
competitor to make sure that his boat has been registered and officially
approved prior to beginning the tournament. Any competitor who competes without
an official boat inspection will be disqualified.
17.
FISHING TACKLE Competition tackle shall be limited to casting, spinning and
spin-casting rods and reels, and artificial lures. Live baits, natural baits or
underwater cameras are prohibited and shall not be present in boats during
competition except that skin, feathers and hair of non-aquatic animals may be
used as lure components subject to approval by the Tournament Committee. As many sets of tackle, which include rod, reel, line and lure, may
be kept in competition boats as participants' desire. Only one such set
may be in actual use at any one time.
18.
FISHING METHODS Trolling as a method of fishing shall be prohibited.
Participants shall hook, play and land any fish they catch in competition,
using no devices other than a landing net, tackle as provided in section 8.1 -
17, and that participant partners or observers may assist in landing and
bringing them into the boat. All fishing must be done from the boat.
Contestants must not depart from the boat to land the fish. Boats may not be
trailered during tournament hours.
19.
PERMITTED FISHING LOCATIONS Fishing on tournament waters is permitted anywhere
except within 100 yards of the tournament headquarters or as otherwise
specified by the Tournament Committee or within
50 yards of another competitor's boat which was first anchored. Any such
anchored boat shall have its trolling motor retracted from the water. No such
anchored boat shall permit selected competitors to fish within the 50-yard
circle claimed by him, to the exclusion of any other competitor. Violation will
result in disqualification for that day's competition. It is the responsibility
of the anchored boat to make other competitors aware that he is anchored.
20.
FISHING PARTNERS REQUIRED Participants shall fish with partners assigned and
approved by the tournament committee. No two members from the same region/club
will be paired together at the initial pairings. The selection of partners by
the Tournament Committee will be in accordance with Chapter 7.3 of the
Constitution and By Laws of the B.A.S. S. Federation Nation of VA, Inc. In the
event an entrant has to exclude himself/herself from
the competition they shall report immediately to a member of the Tournament
Committee and notify them of the situation. Upon the loss or absence of their
duly assigned partner the entrant's partner shall terminate all activity and
report directly to a member of the Tournament Committee. The Tournament
Committee shall be responsible for pairing the entrant with another tournament
entrant or observer if available. Only as a last resort shall this entrant be paired with someone from his/her own region. In the event
two boaters are paired together and a decision cannot be made between them as
to who will be the boat owner it will be decided by the flip of a coin by a
Tournament Committee member. In the event that an entrant cannot be paired with
someone, then another member of the departing entrant's region/club shall be
dropped from the competition. It shall be the responsibility of the departing
entrant's team captain to determine who will leave the event. Flight out will not
begin until such time as all pairings are finalized. Violators of this rule are
subject to the penalties provided for in Regulation #30.
20-A Any boat captain
with two youth must adhere to the youth rules and regulations and will not be
able to fish the tournament.
21.
BOAT OPERATION AND EXPENSES Each member of a
partnership is fully equally and entitled to all the rights and privileges of
fishing from the boat entered in the competition regardless of which partner
actually owns the boat. Providing a boat for competition is a voluntary option,
not a license to totally control the operation. Each competitor shall be
permitted to fish from the front seat and in full control of the tournament
boat and in fishing locations of his choice during half of each competition
day, except that the owner may choose to be the operator of the primary
propulsion system, taking the boat to areas chosen by the partner during his
half of the competition day. Failure to cooperate with a partner may result in
a protest to the Tournament Committee and could result in disqualification of
the non-cooperating partner from competition. Waiver of any part of the
required sharing shall not constitute a waiver of any of the remainder. Boat
operation in manner, which unnecessarily handicaps a partner or any other
competitor, shall be prohibited. The owner and his participating team will
assume all expenses incurred in the operation of the boat. It is expected that
the non-boat owner will share in paying the expenses of the boats supplied by
the other members of his chapter team. The exact mechanism whereby boat expenses is shared by a chapter team is their
responsibility.
22.
CONTACT WITH OTHER BOATS No fishing shall be permitted within fifty yards of
the anchored boat of another participant. Anchored boats shall not restrict
navigation through narrow channels to or from other tournament waters.
Participants shall not approach closer than necessary or otherwise make
physical contact with other boats or persons during competition hours for reasons
other than emergencies. Any competitors' boats seen in physical contact on the
lake without the existence of an emergency will be disqualified from that day's
competition.
23.
EMERGENCY CONDITIONS Emergency conditions are defined as conditions which
subject persons or property to imminent danger or conditions which are deemed
by the Tournament Committee to be of emergency nature. Only under emergency
conditions, or in cases where boats are disabled, may participants leave their
boats. In cases of dire emergency or where safety is involved, both contestants
must remain in the boat at all times. Under such conditions (dire emergency or
safety), they may ride in other boats and bring their fish to the tournament
headquarters for scoring subject to all requirements otherwise applicable.
Otherwise, they shall remain in sight of each other at all times until their
fish are turned over to tournament officials. In such cases, both
partners or the non-boating partner alone, may take their/his fish to
the weigh-in in another contestant's or official's boat. The contestant or
official providing the return ride becomes responsible for signing the weigh-in
forms for the non-boater who returned without his original partner. The
contestant who remained behind is disqualified as soon as his original partner
leaves in the other boat. Except for this emergency situation partners must
remain in sight of each other's catch for the catch to be scored. Violators are
subject to the penalties provided in Regulation #30.
24.
HANDLING OF FISH DURING COMPETITION Competition boats shall be equipped with a
functional, adequately aerated fish holding device, known as a live well,
sufficient to maintain live bass of average size. All fish caught and retained
in possession of participants shall be segregated for identification and kept
in a live well. No stringers, ropes, or other devices, which would injure fish
or subject them to unnecessary stress, shall be used. Dead fish large enough
for scoring shall be kept by participants and submitted for scoring. Fish too small for scoring shall be returned to the water.
No more fish than may be scored may be held in captivity at any time during
competition hours. Fish shall not be mutilated or otherwise intentionally
injured or mistreated. A swallowed single hook shall be cut free of other
tackle and left in place whether the fish is to be kept or released. Lures may
be extracted in the least injurious manner available.
25.
CHECK IN AND LATE PENALTY All competitors must check in with tournament officials
at the official check-in site by the previously announced finish time. Failure
to do so will result in a penalty of 10 ounces per minute or portion of a
minute deducted from the competitor's total weight of catch for that day,
including any weight to be counted toward a "lunker award". Any
competitor who is more than 15 minutes late will lose all credits for that
day's catch. There will be no acceptable excuses for tardiness.
26.
HANDLING OF FISH AT CHECK-IN AND DURING THE WEIGH-IN All fish present in a
competitors boat when he checks in at the check-in point become the property of
the Tournament Committee. Discarding or transferring any fish will result in
immediate disqualification. The practice of culling and measuring after
check-in is prohibited. All fish shall be placed in containers supplied by the
Tournament Committee for transport to the scoring area. The containers may be
placed in landing nets for added strength. Water shall be added to reduce
injury. All fish that are alive at the completion of the scoring procedure
shall be returned to the water by tournament officials except that the requests
of governmental, education and research agencies may be honored, and trophy
fish may be returned to the participants who caught them when they request them
for mounting and display. Fish not judged by tournament officials to be alive
shall be protected from spoilage, and disposed of as food, or otherwise in a
manner, which complies with the law if; they are unfit for use as food.
27.
TOURNAMENT CREEL AND SIZE LIMIT At no time shall a competitor have more than
four fish in the live well. Possession of more than four fish will result in
disqualification. The minimum acceptable length of fish will be 14 inches with
the exception of those bodies of water with a slot limit or a 14/12 law of
which the highest length limit will be used. Any fish which does not meet the
minimum acceptable length will be removed from the competitors catch and the
competitor will be assessed a one pound penalty for each short fish deducted
from the total weight of his remaining legal fish. Any fish presented for
weigh-in, which is judged to be dead will result in an eight-ounce penalty for
each such fish, deducted from the total weight of fish unless the lunker fish
is dead and the eight-ounce penalty will be deducted from the lunker weight.
28.
SCORING Each competitor's score will be the weight of
the legal bass, minus penalties caught and kept during competition hours. The
competitor with the greatest accumulated weight will be the winner. Total
weights will be arranged in descending order for other places.
29.
TIES All ties will be determined first by the number of fish caught and then by
the flip of a coin.
30.
VIOLATIONS. PROTESTS AND PENALTIES Participants shall honor the letter and the
intent of the Tournament Rules or they shall be judged to have violated them.
All judgments are reserved to the Tournament Committee. Participants who
suspect that the Tournament Rules have been violated may protest to the
Tournament Committee at any time during the tournament or within 15 minutes
after arrival at the tournament sight followed with a written protest within 30
minutes after closing the scales. Protests shall be decided by the Tournament
Committee through any means available within the Constitution and By-laws and
Tournament Rules in consideration of the statements and other evidence
presented by the concerned parties and witnesses. Polygraph examination,
administered by a qualified examiner who is duly licensed by the
31.
COMMUNICATION During competition days of the tournament, a competitor may not
use a cellular phone, a CB radio, a VHF marine band radio, 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. Violators will be disqualified for that day's competition.
32.
PREMATURE WITHDRAWAL FROM TOURNAMENT. Any competitor or team that leaves a
B.A.S.S. Federation Nation of VA Inc. sponsored draw tournament prior to
notifying a tournament official will not be eligible to participate in any
Federation sponsored draw tournaments in the remaining year of the violation
nor in the following calendar year. Those individuals may appear before the
Board of Directors in order to appeal their suspension to present their reasons
for leaving the tournament not later that the next board meeting after the
occurrence. The affected regional director will notify the respective chapter
officers of the violation.
33.
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 warm-up period or competition day.