OHIO WALLEYE FEDERATION 2012 OFFICIAL RULES
1. RULES CHANGES
A. These rules will remain unchanged during 2012. The Tournament Committee will interpret these rules according to the spirit and intent of the rule and their decision in any dispute is final.
2. PARTICIPATION & ENTRY
A. Each team must fully complete, sign and submit an official OWF circuit entry form along with payment by the published cut-off dates.
B. Contestants must enter as two-person teams (no "Partner TBD" or unknown partner names on the entry forms). Any person 17 years of age or younger must be teamed with a parent or guardian or have written permission from a parent or legal guardian.
C. The use of approved alternates will be permitted. The use of an alternate must be submitted to the tournament committee for approval no later than
D. OWF does not discriminate based on race, creed, color or gender. OWF is not required to accept all applications and retains sole discretion on acceptance or rejection of any application.
3. PAYMENT OPTIONS
A. Each circuit will accept circuit entries up to a 50 boat locked field at the $500 Circuit Entry Fee until the circuit entry cut-off date.
o Circuit Entry Cut-off will be April 15th for the ILC and June 2nd for the CBC
o Only Circuit Entries are eligible for point’s payouts.
B. After the cut-off, Single Event entries will be available until 5 days prior to the scheduled event date at the following fees:
o Membership: $25 per angler (Paid once per circuit)
o Qualifiers: $150
o Championship: $200 ( Must fish one Circuit Qualifier to be eligible to fish championship)
o Teams who sign up for single event entries are not eligible for points payouts even if the team fishes all 3 events
C. The $25 membership fee is required for each participant in the ILC & CBC. Memberships expire on 12/31/2012. Memberships are non-transferable. Alternates are required to pay the $25 membership fee by the entry cut-off date for the respective event per circuit.
Note: Membership fees are used for club expenses i.e. insurance, postage, fliers, plaques… OWF committee members work as volunteers and receive no financial nor tournament benefits from the membership fees or sponsorship donations. If membership fees total above required club expenses than the monies will be added to the points payouts.
D. Payment in full must accompany each entry. Money order and check are acceptable payments and should be made out to OWF. Payments should be mailed to OWF, 11344
4. PAYOUT
A. Tournament Circuit Entry Fees ($500) will be distributed as follows:
· Membership $25 per angler ($50/team)
· Tournament entry fee ($450) is distributed per event as follows:
o Qualifier#1 $135
o Qualifier#2 $135
o Championship $180
100% OF THE TOURNAMENT ENTRY FEE WILL BE PAID BACK!!!
B. 90% of the Tournament entry fee will be paid back to the top 20% of each tournament
C. The remaining 10% of the Tournament entry fee will be withheld for point’s payout for the respective circuit
· Cash points payout to the top three teams or 10% of the field (whichever is greater) per circuit.
D. Ohio Walleye Cup Champions will be determined by the highest combined points total between the ILC and CBC. The Ohio Walleye Cup Champions will receive $1000 cash (sponsored by Vic’s Sports Center) as well as the first spot to the Cabela’s National Team Championship.
5. POINTS
A. Each event’s point earnings total will be based on 100pts: Points will be awarded as follows: 1st place, 100 points; 2nd place, 99 points; 3rd place, 98 points; descending down 1point per place to the last team with a weight.
B. All teams with no weight will receive 10 points less than the team with the lowest weight.
C. Registered teams who do not show up for an event nor notify OWF committee members that they will not show prior to the event will receive 0 points.
D. Registered teams who notify an OWF committee member that they will not be able to make an event prior to the tournament will receive the same points as a team who did not catch a fish (10 points less than the team with the lowest weight)
E. The two day ILC and CBC Championships will have points awarded for each day of competition.
F. Point’s winners for each circuit will be determined by the accumulation of points from each qualifier and each day of the championship.
G. Points are distributed to the registered team Captain. The captain has the right to transfer his points to his partner to be used towards the Ohio Walleye Cup if the captain is not fishing the CBC.
H. Only circuit entries will earn points. OWC teams must have registered as circuit entries for both the ILC and CBC to be eligible.
I. The OWF Champion will be determined by the highest point’s total of the combined ILC and CBC points earned. If a tie occurs, the team with the highest averaged finishing place from the ILC and CBC championships will determine the tiebreaker. If the result continues in a tie, any cash awards of the two or more finishers will be added together and divided equally to each team.
J. In order to be eligible for the Ohio Walleye Cup points the following criteria must be met for the following cases:
1. ILC entry team maintaining the same core team for the CBC. The team can have no more than one sub per day of competition to qualify for the OWC.
2. ILC points carrying member has a different partner for the CBC. The contestant carrying the points from the ILC must have fished each day of competition for the ILC and CBC to qualify for the OWC.
3. ILC team member combines with an ILC member from a different team. The team will utilize the lowest point’s total of the two teams from the ILC towards the OWC and the team can have no more than one sub per day of competition to qualify for the OWC.
4. ILC circuit member combining with a member who fished single events in the ILC to fish the CBC. ILC circuit member’s points will be used towards the OWC and the ILC circuit member must have fished each day of competition for the ILC and CBC to qualify for the OWC.
5. The OWF committee reserves the right to make decisions of OWC qualifications to maintain the integrity of the OWC for any situations which are not specifically addressed in Points Section I.
6. SCORING
a. Scoring shall be determined by the pound weight of each team's catch during the tournament. Each team's total weight will determine the final tournament standings. If a tie occurs, any cash awards of the two or more finishers will be added together and divided equally to each team.
b. Walleye, sauger and saugeye will be weighed where permissible by state law. The weigh-in limit will be five fish per boat unless the state or lake limit is less than five, in which case the state or lake limit will prevail. Contestants presenting more than the weigh-in limit at the official scales will have their team’s catch disqualified for that day of competition.
c. .20 lb deduction will be made for each fish determined to be non-releasable in an ILC tournament. N/A to CBC.
d. The minimum length limit will be 14 inches unless the state or lake limit is more than 14 inches, in which case the state or lake limit will prevail.
e. The official ruler will be "The Golden Rule." Fish will be measured by a tournament official with fish's mouth closed and tail squeezed (based on Tournament regulations, but not violating state or local laws).
f. If a "short" fish is presented for weigh-in, the biggest eligible fish weighed that day will be disqualified for each non-acceptable length fish presented. If a state or local violation occurs by bringing a "short" fish to the scale, the team will be disqualified from that day’s event.
g. Each Circuit’s point payout will be awarded to the circuit entry team with the highest total points total taken from their respective circuit. If a tie occurs, the team with the highest finishing place from that respective circuit’s championship will determine the tiebreaker. If the result continues in a tie, any cash awards will be added together and divided equally to each team.
7. REFUNDS & CREDIT
A. Disqualification from a tournament for any reason will result in forfeiture of entry fee. No refunds or credits are extended to teams that choose not to fish due to inclement weather or unforeseen circumstances. In the event that a tournament must be cancelled and cannot be rescheduled or relocated, the associated pro-rated entry fee for that tournament/event will be refunded.
8. PRE-TOURNAMENT PRACTICE
A. All OWF participants must be off of tournament waters by
9. TOURNAMENT INTEGRITY, POLICY & SAFETY
A. Contestants will conduct themselves in a true sportsmanlike, courteous, safe and ethical manner at all times. Any unfavorable conduct, speech or action by a contestant could be grounds for disqualification or rejection of entry application. Every competitor is expected to participate in the marshaling of the field in order to maintain the highest integrity to the competition. Any incidents observed during tournament hours should be reported to tournament officials for further investigation.
B. Any tournament official or OWF contestant may protest another team. If an incident has progressed to the point of needing protest, an official written protest must be made with a tournament official within 30 minutes of completion of daily weigh-in. Following interviews with concerned parties, a ruling will be made. Penalties up to and including disqualification may be applied. A polygraph or CVS Voice Stress Analyzer may be utilized. If the protest is valid the disqualified party must pay all investigative costs.
C. All OWF tournaments will be conducted as catch and release events unless specified otherwise by state law. If state law prohibits release, the tournament will be designated a “harvest” tournament. The CBC’s Lake Erie Tournaments are designated as “harvest” tournaments. Unless prohibited by state law, contestants are encouraged to release all fish following the weigh-in. However, at their discretion, contestants may elect to harvest fish as allowed by state law.
D. OWF reserves sole discretion to assign boat numbers in any manner.
E. All fishing must be conducted from a boat. All boats must be propeller-driven and a minimum of 13 feet in length. Canoes are not permitted. All tournament boats must have all the Coast Guard required safety equipment, including a type IV throw cushion, fire extinguisher, a distress horn/flag/whistle, and display tournament credentials.
F. All teams are subject to official inspection during the tournament and agree to an inspection at any time. No other boats may come in contact with contestants boats with the exception of a TV camera/media boat. No fishing information or schedule information may be given to contestants during tournament fishing hours by anyone in any fashion. Cell phones are allowed for emergencies only including safety, family and work matters. Cell phone use between competitors is strictly prohibited. If a competitor is required to use a cell phone during tournament hours they must report the use to a tournament committee member after check in time and prior to weighing in their fish for that day. If a competitor is confirmed to have been on the cell phone and does not report it to a tournament committee member, prior to weighing their fish, the team will be disqualified for that day of competition. No Internet access is allowed, nor is text messaging, paging, or walk-talkie to another person (competitor or non-competitor) during tournament hours to gain fishing information. OWF may request cell phone records in the course of investigation and all contestants agree to provide such records if requested of them.
G. In the event of equipment failure or emergency, there will be only two permitted methods of returning to the check-in: (1) by both partners remaining in their boat and being towed by water, or (2) by one, or both, of the partners entering the boat of another tournament contestant. Under these two conditions the contestants’ catch may be counted without a penalty (except for late penalties, dead-fish penalties or other penalties pertaining to other tournament rules). Contestants who elect to return to the check-in by any other means than cited above will forfeit their day’s catch to that point in time of the tournament day.
H. Contestants agree to wear a Coast Guard approved personal floatation device when on plane.
I. Each boat must have a U.S. Coast Guard rating plate attached to the boat by the manufacturer. The horsepower rating of the outboard engine must not exceed the rating specified on this plate. Changing or altering standard factory parts of your motor to increase horsepower over factory rated horsepower is forbidden and will result in disqualification.
J. All applicable Federal, State and local boating and fishing laws and regulations must be followed. Any citation for violation of these laws or regulations will result in disqualification.
K. In the event of a thunderstorm, lightning and/or severe weather; contestants may pull into the nearest shoreline until it is safe to continue fishing. Contestants may not leave their boats during tournament hours except at a commercial gas dock, the official weigh-in site or if severe weather forces them ashore.
L. No alcoholic beverages or illegal drugs may be possessed or consumed during tournament hours.
M. All OWF qualifying tournaments will have published days of competition, unless delayed or shortened due to weather or unforeseen circumstances. Tournament boundaries or restricted fishing zones will be announced prior to the event and may be further restricted if needed. Contestants must abide by all local navigation laws and avoid restricted areas at all times.
N. CBC events will be limited to Ohio waters only.
O. All participants must check-in each morning before take-off and check-in each afternoon with the official timekeepers. All fishing must cease upon check-in. There will be only one checkpoint for boat check in the morning and one check-in point in the afternoon. Failure to go through boat check in the morning or failure to check in at the check-in point will result in disqualification.
P. Contestants who return 1 to 15 minutes later than the assigned check in time will forfeit one-half of their fish weight for that day. Contestants who return 16 or more minutes later than the assigned check in time will forfeit their total fish weight for that day.
Q. On tournament days, contestants are prohibited from fishing except during designated fishing hours. Contestants should stay off tournament waters before and after tournament hours except to navigate to and from the check-in site and launch facilities. If repairs and/or test-run are needed an OWF staff members or designated representative should ride along.
R. OWF participants must possess all necessary fishing licenses and commit to following regulations. All state rules regarding fishing will be observed unless more stringent regulations are specified. Only fish caught on hook and line in a normal and usual manner will be accepted. Live bait and artificial lures are permissible.
S. Excluding
10. CONTESTANT’S WAIVER & ACKNOWLEDGMENT
A. Participation Agreement: I understand that this is a professional sporting event governed by the rules that have been established by tournament officials. I acknowledge that I have received a copy of these rules and that these rules relate to the safety of all participants as well as the fair sporting conduct of this event. The Tournament Committee shall act as the referee in all disputes and their decision based on their interpretation of the rules will be final and without legal appeal. I have read, understand and agree to the OWF refund policy.
B. Release of Liability: I acknowledge that I am participating voluntarily in the Ohio Walleye Federation. I agree to assume all risk of injury, death, damages, theft and loss to personal property, which may result from my participation in the OWF tournaments. I recognize that loss of property, injury or death could arise from the fishing and boating activities contemplated by the tournament and the risks normally encountered in open-water fishing from a boat may be enhanced by exposure to the elements and other risks inherent in outdoor competition. I retain the right to not compete if I feel the risks are too great on any given day, however, I realize in so doing that I forfeit any claim to my entry fee. I warrant that I am in good physical and mental health and am physically capable of withstanding the rigors and requirements of a professional fishing competition.
C. Photo & Video Release: I understand and agree that any and all photographs, videos or films taken during the course of my participation in the tournament which includes me, my name and/or my boat may be used by the tournament organizers, sponsors or media without my prior consent and without royalties.