Blue Water Sportfishing
Association 2007 Boat
Tournament Rules and Regulations
Note: Areas in Blue
and italicized are changes
in the
Rules and Regulations for the 2007 Season
The
following rules and regulations shall govern our tournaments. The
"Tournament Committee" shall be the sole interpreters of
these rules. Any changes in these rules must be approved by the
board of directors and shall be printed in the newsletter.
I.
ELIGIBILITY
A.
The
skipper of all entered boats must be a member in good standing of
the Blue Water Sportfishing Association at least one day prior
to the beginning of the tournament entered. The skipper must be able
to show a current membership card upon request of the tournament
committee.
B.
All
entered boats must have at least two (2) persons on board and be
equipped with a VHF radio. Channel
68 will be our tournament channel. However, channel 69 will be used
to register with the Tournament Committee.
C.
A
parent or guardian must accompany persons under the age of seventeen
(17).
II.
REGISTRATION
A.
An
entry fee of $ 10.00 will be paid for each person on board all boats
entered in the tournament. Note:
All children under the age of seventeen (17) are free.
B.
Boats
may register for a tournament by contacting the Tournament Committee
by VHF radio, channel 69, by 5:30am and report to the staging area
for the designated harbor for the tournament. All boats will
leave the staging area at 5:30am to begin the tournament. All boats
may leave the staging area when the flashing light aboard the
tournament coordinators boat is turned off.
After the boats have left the staging area channel 68 will be
used for our tournament channel, therefore all communication
and registration after 5:30 a.m. will take place on channel 68.
** Staging and registration for the Walleye tournament to
take place at 6:00 p.m. The
staging area will be identified by a flashing light atop of the
tournament coordinators’ boat.
C.
All
boats must have registered to be eligible to weigh in and qualify
for points.
D.
When
registering for a tournament, report your name or the name of your
boat and the number of persons
seventeen years and older on board.
E.
Once
you have entered a tournament, you may not withdraw for any reason.
Entry fees will be collected at the weigh-in. If for some reason you
do not attend the weigh-in, your entry fee will be due at the next
general membership meeting. Failure to pay your entry fees at this
time will exempt you from fishing in the next scheduled tournament.
F.
The
captain of each boat registering for the tournament must be the
captain of the boat as registered
at the start of the year on the club's membership paperwork.
The only exceptions will be in
case of emergencies such as boat/car/trailer breakdowns, etc.
In case of such emergency, the captain is to notify the tournament
committee prior to the start of the tournament.
The tournament committee reserves the right to rule the
situation to be a legitimate emergency.
III.
STAGING AREAS
A.
Locations
i.
Tournaments from Port Huron (Between buoys #1 and #2 in Lake
Huron)
ii.
Tournaments from Port Sanilac (Outside of the harbor on the
North side)
iii.
Tournaments from Harbor Beach (Outside of the harbor on the
North side)
iv.
Tournaments from Port Austin (Outside of the harbor on the
North side)
v.
Tournaments from Ludington will NOT have a staging area.
(Begin setting lines at 5:30 a.m., Pull lines by 11:00 a.m.)
B.
For tournaments
with staging areas, if you choose to start later than 5:30 AM, your
boat can be no further into the lake than the tournament designated
staging area prior to 5:30am and you must notify the tournament
committie
on channel 68 before setting lines.
IV.
TOURNAMENT TIME
A.
All
tournaments will start at 5:30 AM and will end at 11:00
AM (except the Walleye And Perch
Tournament), unless a sudden change in boating conditions warrants
the Tournament Committee to alter the times. If a change is
necessary due to weather conditions, it will be announced on
VHF radio, channel 68. If a change is due to fishing conditions it
will be printed in the newsletter and be announced at the general
membership meeting prior to the tournament.
B.
The
weigh-in will be at the end of each day's fishing. You will have 1-½
hours to get to the weigh-in. You
must get your fish weighed or be in line to be weighed within that
time limit each day. Our picnic will start approximately one (1)
hour after the end of the day's fishing. Please get to the weigh-in
as soon as possible.
C.
Schedules
for the boat tournaments will be available at the general membership
meeting in March.
D.
If
a crew fishing a club tournament does not plan to attend the
weigh-in, they must let a Tournament Committee member know via VHF
radio, channel 68, or forfeit eligibility for the next scheduled
tournament, or the first day of a two day tournament.
E.
The
twilight tournament will be staged to leave at 5:00PM and there will
be no stop time. All boats must be in line by 10:30PM at the
weigh in.
V.
TOURNAMENT CANCELLATION
A.
The
Tournament Committee may cancel a tournament at any time, when, in
their opinion, boating conditions warrant the cancellation.
B.
For
a tournament to be official, at least three (3) consecutive hours of
fishing must take place, and at least five (5) boats must be
entered.
C.
If
a tournament is delayed due to bad weather, the Tournament Committee
will stop and restart the tournament when they feel conditions
merit it. All decisions will be announced on VHF radio, channel 68.
If it appears the tournament will not restart later that day, and at
least three (3) consecutive hours of fishing have taken place, the
weigh-in will be within 1-½ hours of the announcement. If three (3)
consecutive hours of fishing have not taken place, the Tournament
Committee will announce a proposed restart up to 10:00 AM of that
tournament day.
D.
During
a two (2) day tournament, if one day is canceled due to bad weather,
the day fished will be the official results.
VI.
FISHING RULES
A.
All
fish must be caught on rods and reels, and must comply with the
Michigan Department of National Resources rules and regulations.
Canadian laws apply if fishing in Canadian waters.
B.
No
more than a 3 man legal limit of rods may be used on each boat.
C.
All
trout and salmon (except pinks) are to be a minimum of 18" long
to be eligible to be weighed in. All boats must fish from port
of call. All boats should return to port of call, unless weather
conditions or a boating emergency has taken place. You must let the
tournament director know of this, or at least someone fishing the
tournament.
D.
Blue
Water Sportfishing Association tournaments are designed to be fun
for all participants. Remember
that these are "HONOR SYSTEM" tournaments and
sportsmanship is vital to their success.
VII.
SCORING
A.
Only
five (5) fish may be weighed-in. The skipper of each boat must
decide which five (5) fish to weigh.
Placing will be based
on the combined weight of these fish. If there is a tie, the
heaviest single fish will break the tie for
that placing. If a tie still exists, the placing
will be decided by the toss of a coin.
B.
For 2 day tournaments fishing will be conducted as follow:
i.
Captains and crew may fish either day or both. If fishing
both days, you must register each day and pay for each day. Placing
of a two day event will be the heaviest weight of 5 five fish from
one day. 2nd place will be the boat with the 2nd heaviest
catch from either day and son on and so forth.
C.
Preliminary
results will be announced at the end of each weigh-in. Official
results will be announced at the next general membership meeting.
This will allow the Tournament Committee to double check the results
and verify entries.
VIII.
PLACING
A.
No
cash prizes will be awarded.
B.
The
top 10 boats will receive Captain of the Year points. Also, 2 bonus points for the biggest trout or salmon caught
in tournament.
C.
1st place boat is not exempt from big fish bonus points.
D.
Trophies
will be presented to the winning captain and crew of an event at the
January general membership meeting.
IX.
CAPTAIN OF THE YEAR
A.
The
captain who has earned the most points at the end of the year will
win the "Captain of the Year" award, First Place. The
captain earning the next highest points will win "Captain of
the Year" award, Second Place. The captain earning the third
highest points will win the "Captain of the Year" award,
Third Place.
B.
Scoring:
i.
10 points for 1st place finish10
ii.
9 points for 2nd
iii.
8 points for 3rd
iv.
7 points for 4th
v.
6 points for 5th
vi.
5 points for 6th
vii.
4 points for 7th
viii.
3 points for 8th
ix.
2 points for 9th
x.
1 point for 10th
xi.
2 bonus points for the biggest eligible fish
caught in
tournament
X.
PROTESTS
A.
In
the event you wish to file a protest, it must be in writing to the
Tournament Committee, no later than the general membership meeting
following the infraction. The Tournament Committee will meet and
make a decision on the matter as soon as possible.
The Tournament Committee is the sole interpreters of these
rules.
B.
The
tournament Committee's decision is final.
XI.
LEGAL RESPONSIBILITY
The Tournament Committee and the Blue Water
Sportfishing Association will accept NO RESPONSIBILITY for the
safety of any participants. All entrants enter and participate at
their own risk. The picnics at the weigh-in will supply food and
non-alcoholic beverages on the first day of the tournament.
Good luck to all that enter.
See you at the weigh-in !
The Tournament
Committee is Mike Warshefski (Chairman), Bob Lane, Bob Roskey, Mike
Rymar, Karen Roskey, Debby Livingston, and Paul Baker.
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