2019 Tournament Rules and Application

Transcription

1 Colorado Walleye Association Encouraging family, friendships and fun through education and competitive angling, while conserving our walleye resource 2019 Tournament Rules and Application Points Tournaments $225 (2 day) / $120 (1 day) Per Team, $25 late fee if signed up the week of tournament $20 non membership fee for all non CWA members Pueblo is limited to first 100 teams while Cherry Creek, Jumbo and North Sterling are limited to the first 60 teams. 1 in 5 up to 10 places paid out each day. We will be offering 1 day tournament entries, please see section below for more details. Points # 1 Cherry Creek Reservoir April 27 & 28, 2019 Points # 2 Pueblo Reservoir May 18 & 19, 2019 Points # 3 Jumbo Reservoir June 8 & 9, 2019 Points # 4 North Sterling Reservoir June 22 & 23, 2019 Colorado Cup - TBD Note: Tournament Dates are subject to change without notice Daily Payout: (50 Boat 2 day field) Additional Recognition Awards 1 st place $ Big Fish 2 nd place $ st Place Youth Team Overall 3 rd place $ st Place Mixed Team Overall 4 th place $ Ranger Cup 1 st overall 5 th place $ Top Team of the Year Award 6 th place $ th place $ th place $ th place $ th place $ RULES: All CWA tournaments will be conducted as Catch and Release events unless overriding state laws apply or mandated as a Catch & Keep tournament prior to the event. The competitor is responsible for knowing and understanding all regulations pertaining to specific waters and state regulations. Competitors are also responsible for obtaining any license and/or permits as required by specific state laws to lawfully participate in a CWA tournament. On the tournaments that we fish with a combined club we will operate with the home club s rules. Make sure that if you are not sure please ask questions at the rules meeting. Rules meetings are the final say on specific changes at a tournament. ELIGIBILITY/TEAM: A team is two active members of the CWA in good standing at the time of application. The CWA reserves the right to refuse applications based on individual or team applicants. If the CWA refuses your application you will be notified verbally or in writing within 10 business days of receipt of the application and receive a full refund. MEMBERSHIP: CWA memberships run January 1 through December 31. Members are responsible for maintaining and having membership up to date and current. If membership is not current the day prior to the tournament or if you didn t pay the $20 non membership fee you will not be allowed to fish and your entry fee will be forfeited. Page 1 of 6

2 TOURNAMENT ENTRY:..NOTICE..Forms must be RECEIVED via mail, website or hand delivered 5 days (Sunday at midnight) prior to the tournament; otherwise there is a $25 late fee for any entry received past this deadline. All tournament entries close the Wednesday, midnight, before the tournament. No exceptions. This rule also applies to the single day entries. Payment must accompany each entry and all applications must be completely filled out to be accepted. (i.e., No "Partner TBD" or unknown partner names on the entry forms will be accepted). Check, money order or credit cards are acceptable payment. A $25 processing fee will be applied to all declined credit cards or checks. Repeat offenders will be assessed a $75 processing fee for the second declined credit card or check and participants must pay entry with cash or money order thereafter. Entries will be accepted based on a first-come, first-served basis until the tournament is full or until Midnight, the Wednesday before the tournament. Rosters will be updated on the CWA website ( Please check website to ensure your entry has been received. MAILING ADDRESS: CWA Tournament Entry, th Ave., #200045, Evans, CO YOUTH TEAMS: An adult club member must accompany any team member under the age of 16. Anglers who are under 19 years of age by April, 2019 may be considered as a Youth co-angler for the entire 2019 tournament season. The CWA retains the right to request and review youth age verification. Both team members must possess all required valid State or Local fishing licenses or permits. MIXED TEAMS: Defined as a male/female team. SUBSTITUTIONS are allowed but shall be submitted to the tournament director 5 days prior to the tournament. All substitutes must complete a tournament application prior to the rules meeting. If either of the two anglers or substitute is unable to complete the tournament, the remainder of the tournament will be forfeited and no refund will be due. Each team is allowed one substitute for the points tournament and the points will be applied to the teams yearly point standings. If the two members are from two current teams the points will be applied to both teams. Substitutions under exceptional circumstances <5 days and up to the beginning of the rules meeting will be evaluated by tournament director and or tournament committee on a case by case basis. The Tournament Committee reserves the right to refuse entry to any individual who has been disciplined for tournament rules violations. REFUNDS: Entry fee refunds will be made only if the Tournament Director receives a written cancellation notice 5 days prior to the tournament date. A cancellation fee of $30.00 will be assessed for each tournament cancelled. No refunds or credits are extended to teams that choose not to fish due to inclement weather or unforeseen circumstances during or prior to the tournament or fail to provide a written cancellation notice 5 days prior as noted above. Regarding unforeseen circumstances, any decision to refund, or not, will be solely determined by the Tournament Director. MANDATORY PRE TOURNAMENT RULES MEETING will be held at or near the boat ramp at 6:00 PM, Friday evening prior to each tournament. Please reference the website for location of meetings. At least one team member must be present and checked in between 5:30 PM and 6 PM or the team will be disqualified from fishing the tournament without a refund of entry fees. Missing the required rules meeting due to exceptional circumstances, or conflicts, will be acknowledged only with prior notification to the Tournament Director and will be assessed on a case by case solely by the tournament director and/or tournament committee. During the pre-tournament rules meeting, tournament packets, boat inspection overview, start times, starting sequence and special announcements will be made. The CWA reserves the right to assign boat numbers based on approved protocol and methods. SPORTSMANSHIP: All CWA anglers are expected to act in a sportsmanlike manner at all times while attending a CWA event. Ethical and safe behavior, courteous respectful communications with tournament officials, sponsors, guests and general public is expected by all participants. Any demeaning conduct through actions or speech that results in a negative effect on the CWA will result in tournament committee review and disciplinary actions may be taken ranging from, but not limited to, verbal or written reprimand, disqualification, revocation of membership, life time ban from all CWA events and activities. Every competitor is expected to participate in the marshaling of the tournament field to maintain the highest integrity to the CWA and competitors. Incidents observed and witnessed should be reported to tournament officials for further investigation. COLORADO CUP TOURNAMENT: All teams with a minimum of 3 point tournaments fished with the same partner (1 substitute is allowed) will receive an invitation to the Colorado Cup tournament. BASS PRO SHOPS / CABELA S NTC: National Team Championships (NTC) The top CWA point leaders with a minimum of 3 point tournaments fished with the same partner (with 1 substitute allowed) will receive an invitation to the championships. If you fish more than 3 point tournaments, your highest 3 scores will be counted. If a situation arises where the top CWA cannot attend, the CWA Tournament Director and committee will provide guidance on invitations. Timelines for acknowledgement and the number of invitations to the NTC the CWA will receive is determined in January or February of the following year. (Bass Pro Shops / Cabela s is solely responsible for the number of teams allowed to participate from each club yearly.) Page 2 of 6

3 TEAM OF THE YEAR is decided by the team who has the highest accumulation of points in 2019 for point tournaments #1- #4. Teams participating in all 4 points tournaments will have the ability to drop their lowest score. Team of the year will be calculated on the three highest point totals. PROTEST: The following rules for a tournament protest will be used and applied. Solely, the Protest Committee, which consists of the Tournament director, and two CWA board members, (which will be appointed randomly, or one representative from two randomly selected teams, whom are present at the time of protest, but not party to the protest) will interpret and apply the rules. The Tournament Committee, or any contestant, has the right to protest another team or contestant. All protests must be submitted to the Tournament Committee in writing and include a protest fee of $ (cash), within 30 minutes of completion of the daily weigh in. Following interviews with the concerned parties, a ruling will be made solely by the Protest Committee; all decisions are final. In the event, it is determined that a violation occurred; daily and/or tournament weight will be forfeited, as well as entry fee, cash, prizes and awards and the reason for the disqualification will be announced at the awards presentation. If the protest is valid the $ (cash) protest fee will be returned to the team protesting. If the protest is found invalid, the fee will be forfeited to the CWA treasury. The Protest Committee will interpret the rules according to the spirit and the intent of the rule and their decision in all disputes is final. BIG FISH: Anglers are responsible to declare which, if any, of their fish need to be weighed for big fish. Ties for big fish each day will be resolved by splitting the prize awards equally. SCORING: All tournaments are catch and release unless otherwise noted or informed by the Tournament Director or Committee. Each team has sole responsibility for the care and the handling of their fish, prior to turning them over to the weigh staff. Final placement will be determined by total weight for the day. In the event of a tie, the two tied teams will be combined and the winnings and/or prizes will be split equally dividing the collective prizes and points if no other means to split the tie breaker is evident by Tournament Director or Tournament Committee. PAYOUTS: All payouts will be based on a guaranteed eighty percent of the entry fee payback to the field. Tournament payouts are strictly based on participation per tournament and the payouts listed on the entry form are calculated on a 50 boat field. In the event there is a tie for total daily weight, the tie will be resolved by equally dividing the collective prize and points if no other means to split the tie is apparent by solely to the tournament director. Annual Recognition awards will be awarded for 1 st place overall, as well as overall top adult, mixed and youth teams. POINTS: The first place team will receive 100 qualifying points, decreasing down by one point per finishing team to the last team weighing fish; all other teams will receive 5 points. This excludes the Colorado Cup. Both team members must be annual CWA members for a team to receive points. These points will be used to determine the Team of the Year standings for overall placement and Colorado Cup. To qualify for Team of the Year, a team must fish at least three of the point s tournaments with one substitute allowed. The top three teams, top Adult/Youth and Top Mixed teams will receive trophies and other contingency prizes at the awards banquet. In case of a tie, the total aggregate weight from the team s top three tournaments will determine the winner. TOURNAMENT CANCELLATION: Tournament officials retain the right to delay, cancel, or restrict tournament waters in the case of severe weather, or for any other safety reasons. All CWA tournaments will be two-day events (with the exception of the Fall Classic which is a one day event), unless shortened or delayed due to weather or any unforeseen circumstances solely at the discretion of the Tournament Director and/or Tournament Committee. In the event that the scheduled fishing is interrupted, all of one day or parts of two days will constitute a completed event. If one day of a tournament is cancelled, and a refund is due, only the teams that check-in and pass boat inspections with the tournament officials are entitled to a refund. In the event a cancellation occurs in advance of the tournament due to severe weather or travel conditions and is rescheduled, participants who have a scheduling conflict will receive a full refund. FISHING AREA: Fishing will only be allowed within the legal boundaries of the lake. Areas buoyed and otherwise defined by the body of water s governing agency as off limits, and the area adjacent within 50 yards) to the weigh in area, shall be declared off limits. You may not operate any boat outside the designated fishing area during tournament hours. PRE LAUNCH INSPECTION: Check in will start approximately 1.5 hours prior to launch. All boats must check in for inspection prior to launch, please be on time. It is the boat owner s/tournament participant s responsibility to comply with all State and Federal Safe Boating statutes. Non-Compliance is NOT to responsibility of the CWA. Tournament boats will be inspected for functioning live-wells. All tournament boats must be cleaned and ANS inspection ready prior to entering the water and upon departure from infected waters. Once your boat has been inspected you must launch at the same boat ramp. The CWA also provides on the water inspection, if you wish to launch from a different location with prior authorization. Once you are inspected you may not leave the area, doing so is grounds for disqualification. All teams are subject to inspections any time during the tournament. CWA boats may come along side and conduct inspections at any time. Any team found in violation of any rule or regulation will be disqualified. TOURNAMENT BOATS consist of two person teams; dogs are permitted on vessel during tournament hours and are the sole responsibly of the pet owner to ensure its safety, the safety of others and operation of their vessel. All teams are subject to official inspection during the tournament and agree to an inspection at any time from any current board member not fishing the tournament and any tournament team can request the same from any board member fishing the tournament. No other boat or physical contact is permitted during tournament hours with participants boats with the exception of an emergency, Page 3 of 6

4 boat or motor failure, a TV camera or official staff boat during tournament hours. No fishing information should be given to participants during tournament fishing hours. Only friendly non-fishing conversation between competitors is allowed during tournament hours. Cell phones are allowed for safety purposes only. CB s, cell phones, text messaging, and marine band radios are permitted for emergency transmissions or contact with tournament officials only. No internet access is allowed during tournament hours. Use of such devices to communicate fishing information, gather or to listen to fishing information is prohibited and will be grounds for disqualification. It is suggested that each boat be equipped with a weather band radio which use thereof for receiving Hazardous Weather Warnings is suggested and approved for such warnings only. The CWA tournament officials reserve the rights to review or request tournament angler s phones and records (including but not limited to call logs, messages and internet) and GPS coordinates due to discrepancies during an investigation. Participants agree to provide such records if requested of them. Contestants may not leave their boats at any time except in cases of weighing in fish at the weigh station, during an emergency or under special permission from the Tournament Director during Tournament hours. Special accommodations for departures are allowed if permission is granted by Tournament Director under supervision and the boat will be re-inspected prior to continuing to fish. In the case of severe weather or lightning, that poses a threat to personal safety, team boats may proceed, to the nearest shore until it is safe to continue. BOAT OPERATION: Each Participant is required and agrees to wear a Coast Guard-approved personal floatation device upon daily launch. It is strongly recommended while on plane at any time participants wear personal flotation devices. All teams must depart by boat from designated area and may do so only under the direction of an official. Safety is of the utmost importance, especially during launch. It is strongly recommended you wear your personal floatation device whenever your boat is on plane. Any unsafe operation or failure to adhere to buoys (no wake, no boats, etc.) by participants will result in disqualification of the team. All coast guard safety rules apply, including local liability insurance requirements. It is the sole responsibility of the boat owner or senior team captain to be aware of and abide by all state and federal safe boating regulations while participating in a CWA tournament or event. PRE FISHING: All pre fishing will terminate for point tournaments (#1-#4) and all tournament anglers must be off the water by 5:00 PM on Friday prior to the tournament. Any infraction of this rule will result in a 2-pound deduction applied to Saturday s weight. There are no restrictions on how early a team can pre-fish as long as state law is followed. There will be No pre fishing requirements for the Fall Classic as long as state laws are followed and boats are inspected prior to launch. ALCOHOL AND DRUGS: Alcoholic beverages or illegal drugs are not to be consumed by contestants or allowed in the tournament boats during tournament hours. If a participant appears to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs at any time during tournament hours, they will be disqualified. Protests submitted regarding this rule are not subjected to the protest fees. STARTING SEQUENCE: Will be determined prior to the Friday rules meeting and announced at that time. Example of typical starting sequence: two flights with the boats being started in one or two trickle starts. Typical starting positions will be determined by the order of entries received, or as announced at pre-tournament rules meeting. On day two of the tournament the starting sequence may be reversed. Any boat missing their start time must wait until the end of their flight before taking off. The start boat will re-announce boat numbers that have not left the take-off area. HOURS OF TOURNAMENT: Official start and end times will be announced at the Friday night rules meeting. Example starting sequences for a weekend: Saturday, first flight, boat numbers 1-50 depart at 6:30 am and return to weigh station by 3:30 pm Saturday second flight, boat numbers depart at 6:45 am and return to weigh station by 4:00 pm. Sunday Example, first flight, boat numbers depart at 6:30 am and return to weigh station by 2:30 pm, second flight, boat numbers depart at 6:45 am and return to weigh station by 3:00 pm. Clarification on hours of tournament and launch sequences will be discussed at the Friday night rules meeting. PERMITTED FISHING METHODS: Artificial and live bait that complies with the State and Local regulations is allowed. Each angler may use no more than two rods at a time. Be aware of any required second rod stamp regulation. Spare equipment may be carried in the boat. FISH AND LENGTH: It is the responsibility of the tournament angler to know and abide by lake specific regulations regarding legal lengths as well as state and local regulations. The lake specific size limits will be addressed at each prefishing meeting prior to the tournament. Any fish that is brought in to the weigh station that violates State or Local regulations will result in the team s disqualification for that tournament day. If state officials are present you may also be accessed appropriate fines. CWA officials are not liable or responsible for participant s creel or fish. LIMIT AND CULLING: Each team may possess 8 Walleye (Cherry Creek is limited to 6 fish total), and weigh their best 5 Walleye. Once a fish is placed in the live well, it is in your possession. Returning a fish to the water once it is in your possession is considered culling. Culling is not allowed and is grounds for disqualification. Any tournament angler who is observed discarding dead fish will be disqualified. Once a team has 8 fish (6 at Cherry Creek) in the live well, that boat is done for the day and is required to proceed to weigh in and get off the water. If you bring in a struggling or other Walleye to the weigh station during operational hours, you may only have 7 Walleye (5 at Cherry Creek) remaining in your live well and so forth. Each Walleye turned into the weigh station counts toward the team's possession limit and 5 total fish that can be weighed in, teams in violation will be disqualified. All tournament participants agree to random live well inspections at any time during tournament hours. Page 4 of 6

5 WEIGH IN: The weigh in station hours will be announced at the Friday rules night meeting. CWA events are catch and release unless otherwise mandated by state or other local regulations. CWA officials are not responsible or liable for participant s fish and it is the sole responsibility of each angler to ensure all state and local regulations are followed. All fish will be checked and deemed releasable or not releasable while in the bump tank of the weigh station. Releasable fish, in good condition will be given full weight. Fish turned into the weigh station which are unsuitable for live release or dead will result in a.5 pound penalty per each fish determined to be unsuitable for release. Weigh master will make final decision on fish condition. The weigh master has first and final say on fish being weighed including verification of length. The official ruler will be the Judge Measuring Board". Fish will be measured by a tournament official with fish's mouth closed and tail pinched. All fish weighed must be kept in a functioning live well to keep fish alive and as fresh as possible for release. Any fish mauled, mashed, stretched, frozen, stringered, injected with water or other fluids, containing foreign matter to add weight, or showing white gills, soft flesh or other signs of decomposition (as per an CWA official, Tournament Director or Committee) will result in disqualification. An external snap weight is acceptable but must be removed prior to weighing fish; the purpose of which is to keep fish alive/upright in the live well and shall be removed before arriving at the bump tank. Failure to do so will result in a zero for the day. Any discrepancies or protests will follow the Protest paragraph and will be evaluated by Tournament Director and/or Tournament Committee. Boats and boaters must not leave the water prior to weighing in fish, unless directed by tournament director and supervised; failure to do so will disqualify all fish for the day. You must weigh fish at the weigh station prior to trailering your boat, no exceptions again unless directed by tournament director. If you do not have fish to weigh, you will still be required to check out with the weigh station each tournament day. Boats not checking in at the end of the day with the weigh station will be penalized 2 lbs. for the following day or leading into the next tournament. All participants must check-in each morning before take-off and check-in each afternoon with the tournament officials to ensure everyone is off the water each day. LATE ARRIVAL: All boats must check in with the check-in tournament staff or Weigh Master regardless of whether or not they have fish to weigh at the end of each tournament day. This is a safety aspect and we require all teams to check in before you leave the water unless inclement weather is present. Team number, number of fish, final weight for the day and time will be recorded. Teams will be allowed to weigh 5 fish or as designated at the rules meeting. Teams checking in later than their designated check-in time will have their entire weight disqualified for that day including big fish of the day. At the end of each tournament, please return your tournament number packet. SINGLE DAY ENTRY: The CWA is going to permit single day entries to the tournaments for the 2019 season. All of the same rules apply to these teams. Team s fishing single day tournaments will not be eligible for Team of the Year points, or Cabela s NTC spots. But if a team consisting of the same members does fish 3 individual tournaments they will be eligible for the Colorado Cup Tournament. Cost of the single day entry will be $120 and the day the team is going to fish must be declared on the entry form. Once that day has been fished the team may not fish the other day. In other words, if you plan on fishing the Sunday tournament, you cannot fish Saturday. And vice versa. No matter which day the team decides to fish, one member needs to be in attendance at the Friday rules meeting, unless prior arrangements have been made with the Tournament Director. All payouts will be handed out after Sunday's competition!!! We will mail your check if you have to leave. FEDERAL TAXES: If it is determined solely by the CWA, for CWA IRS compliance purposes, that IRS Form 1099 s are required to be issued, Payout recipient s as noted on the written payout checks receiving any prize amount, agree to provide an IRS form W-9 upon request, either at the time of payout receipt or anytime afterward. WAIVER: By signing the attached entry form, the signatory(s) agree that the CWA and its individual members, whether paid or unpaid, any promoters, sponsors, tournament officials, directors, organizations assisting in the tournament operation, their agencies or agents, etc., are not responsible and are to be held harmless for any death, injury, medical attention, damages, liability, theft, fire, or loss of ANY kind to entrants, their vessels, personal property, or vehicles. Each entrant, upon signing this entry form, is signing a release waiver form agreeing to this statement. By signing this application I additionally hereby certify that I have read, understand and agree to follow and abide by all governing rules set forth by the Colorado Walleye Association, with an understanding that failure to do so may result in the disqualification of daily and/or tournament weight, as well as entry fee, cash, prizes and awards. If there are questions, or you need clarification, please contact Tournament Director; Richard Myron, Cell or via cowalleye+info@gmail.com Page 5 of 6

6 Colorado Walleye Association Encouraging family, friendships and fun through education and competitive angling, while conserving our walleye resource MEMBERSHIP: Membership is required to participate in all CWA tournaments. Please refer to the rules/section regarding membership specifics. Please contact the tournament director with questions. If your membership is not current and you haven t paid the non-membership fee the day prior to the tournament, you will not be allowed to fish and your entry fee will be forfeited. Event Tournament Date Entry Fee Cherry Creek Reservoir Points #1 April 27 & 28, 2019 $225/$120 Pueblo Reservoir Points #2 May 18 & 19, 2019 $225/$120 Jumbo Lake Points #3 June 8 & 9, 2019 $225/$120 North Sterling Reservoir Points #4 June 22 & 23, 2019 $225/$120 TBD Fall Classic $160 Non-member Fee #Non-member $20.00/each Total Enclosed Single Day Declaration Enclosed $ Register online ( or via USPS, please mail completed entry form and fees to CWA Tournament Entry, th Ave., #200045, Evans, CO Entry forms will be accepted starting January 15, Entries must be RECEIVED 5 days prior to the date of tournament otherwise a late fee of $25 will be applied, please plan accordingly. For more information contact Tournament Director via cowalleye+info@gmail.com Team Member One (Boat Owner) All fields must be 100% completed to be accepted Name M F Age Address City State Zip Phone Cell Boat Make Model Motor Make HP Team Member Two (Co-angler) All fields must be 100% completed to be accepted No TBD or partner TBD will be accepted. Name M F Youth/Age Address City State Zip Phone Cell Team One Member signature Date Team Two Member signature Date Single Day Declaration: WAIVER: By signing this entry form, the signatory(s) agree that the CWA and its individual members, whether paid or unpaid, any promoters, sponsors, tournament officials, directors, organizations assisting in the tournament operation, their agencies or agents, etc., are not responsible and are to be held harmless for any death, injury, medical attention, damages, liability, theft, fire, or loss of ANY kind to entrants, their vessels, personal property, or vehicles. Each entrant, upon signing this entry form, is signing a release waiver form agreeing to this statement. By signing this application I additionally hereby certify that I have read, understand and agree to follow and abide by all governing rules set forth by the Colorado Walleye Association, with an understanding that failure to do so may result in the disqualification of daily and/or tournament weight, as well as entry fee, cash, prizes and awards. Page 6 of 6