OREGON TUNA CLASSIC 2010 Tournament Rules

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IGFA rules (Print friendly).

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1.RULES ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

It is the sole responsibility of the participating Captain, crew and angler(s) to obtain a copy, read, know, understand and abide by the tournament's rules, including but not limited to, any final instructions that may be announced during the captains meetings. Rules are subject to change. By entering the events(s) all participants agree to accept the rules of the tournaments and accept all decisions made by the Executive Committee of The Oregon Tuna Classic.

2. CAPTAINS MEETING(S)

One registered team member MUST attend the captains meeting for registration and to be present for the safety briefing. It is recommended that the Captain and all crew members attend the Captains meeting. If they do not attend, they automatically accept and agree to be bound by the instructions given at the meeting. All anglers including the Captain must sign and return a Liability Waiver prior to participating in any event. One Liability Waiver is all that is needed for the tournament season.

3. PERMITS AND LICENSES

All participating anglers must obtain and be in possession of a valid personal fishing license and comply with all Federal, State and local laws as it pertains to size limits, bag limits and any other regulations that may apply.

4. TOURNAMENT START OFFICAL CLOCK

Each event start time will be determined at the Captains meetings. The official start is a shot gun type flare start which will be shot from a United States Coast Guard vessel or another official boat which will be determined at the Captains meeting. The location of each starting and ending line can be found on the web site www.oregontunaclassic.org/tournaments and will also be confirmed at each captains meeting. All boats must be present 30 minutes prior to the start and must acknowledge their team when roll call is done. Roll call will start 45 minutes prior to the shot gun start. Any team that does not acknowledge when called will not be allowed to participate in the event. In the event that it is determined that the flare start is not feasible due to weather conditions such as fog, the official start will be relayed by Tournament Control via the assigned VHF channel.

Each team must be across the pre determined finish line by 4:00pm. The Executive Committee reserves the right to change and or cancel a starting time and ending time the morning of each event if in its discretion there is a possible threat of safety due to weather, ocean conditions or anything they deem to dangerous.

NEWPORT, OR - JULY 17TH
ILWACO, WA - JULY 31ST
CHARLESTON, OR - AUGUST 14TH
GARIBALDI, OR - AUGUST 28TH

5. TOURNAMENT COMMUNICATIONS

The official VHF frequency will be determined at each Captains meeting. This will be used as the means for morning roll call prior to the shot gun start. It is recommended that all teams monitor the USCG frequency as well as any specific frequency that will assure the best means of safety from other sport and commercial vessels.

6. WEATHER AND CANCELATION

Due to the nature of our ocean and the dangers that potentially exist, the Executive Committee of The Oregon Tuna Classic (OTC) reserves the right to cancel any event it deems unsafe, or for any other reason the Executive Committee deems necessary. There will be no refunds of entry fees. In the event of a cancellation due to rough ocean conditions the OTC will make the announcement via www.oregontunaclassic.org and www.ifish.net after the 2:30pm local NOAA update weather for ocean conditions broadcast on Thursday prior to the event.

Only the fishing portion of the event will be canceled. The remainder of the event will take place as scheduled along with the raffle and BBQ.

7. EQUIPMENT AND ANGLING RULES

Gear and equipment shall follow the rules of the IGFA International angling rules as defined by the International Game Fishing Association. A copy of the International angling rules is available at www.igfa.org and will also be included in the tourney booklet sent to all registered teams prior to the events.

Only legal methods of sport fishing are permitted which may include rods and reels as well as hand lines. No snag hooks, gaff hooks, herring rigs, bow & arrow or spears will be allowed. The use of spotter planes is not permitted.

No team during the fishing hours entered in any of the tournaments may be involved in the handing off or receiving of anything from another vessel whether that vessel is entered in the tournament or not, this excludes bait receivers. In the event of an emergency in which the personal safety of someone or property is at risk this rule does not apply and any action necessary can be taken to protect or preserve life or property.

8. FISH HANDLING

All tuna must be properly bled and iced with the following best practices
Adequate bleeding upon landing by using best practices
Proper icing of fish to insure adequate chilling
Any fish determined to not be bled or iced properly at the weigh in will be disqualified from official team weight
All fish from the winning teams will be reviewed a second time by the fillet team via the official band
Any fish deemed to be improperly cared for, or with anything foreign introduced will lead to disqualification of the team and forfeiture of prizes

9. TEAM/CREW

A team consists of up to six (6) anglers on the boat fishing. Charters cannot have more than 6 event participants per each vessel. Multiple teams may participate on one vessel as long as there are no more than 6 total event participants per vessel. Each team must fly the 2010 OTC tournament flag so as to be visible.

10. CHECK IN

All teams must be across the predetermined finish line and must check in via the pre assigned VHF frequency at or before 4:00pm
No Team may check in until they have crossed the finish line
Any team that either does not check in or does not cross the finish line before 4:00pm will not be able to qualify for the purse but may still donate their fish to the OTC
There are no exceptions

11. FISH WEIGH-IN

Teams will line up in the order they checked in with tournament control
The official weigh in scale opens at 2:00pm. The fish are weighed to the hundredth of a pound
A total of the five (5) heaviest fish will be accepted at the official weigh in station and must be accompanied by a team member to verify the weight
All fish must be tagged with an official OTC band that is supplied to each team at the captains meeting
All donated fish will become the property of the OTC
In the event another species of tuna is caught it may be used as part of the total weight and does not have to be donated
All fish will be bled upon landing and will be packed in ice until they are received for weigh in
Mutilated fish will not be accepted or weighed
Any participant requesting a fish to be reweighed must do so at the time the fish in question is being weighed. The final decision will be determined by the weigh master

12. TOURNAMENT AWARDS

Cash awards are based on the following:

Heaviest 5 fish... $3,000.00
2nd Heaviest 5 fish... $2,000.00
3nd Heaviest 5 fish... $1,000.00

Largest Fish Jackpot entry is $100.00 per boat... 50% paid out per each event
Pelagic Jackpot entry is $100.00 per boat ... 50% paid out per each event
Pelagic is defined as Blue Fin Tuna, Big Eye Tuna, Yellow Fin Tuna, Yellowtail Jack, Marlin or Swordfish... NO SHARKS WILL BE ALLOWED

13. TIE BREAKER

In the event that two or more teams aggregate weight are the same the winner will be determined by the heaviest single fish from each team. In the event there is still a tie the second heaviest fish will then be used, than the third and so on.

14. POLYGRAPH ACCEPTANCE

The Executive Committee reserves the right to require any participant to a polygraph examination and by registering to compete in any event the registered participant agrees to submit to a polygraph. Failure to either take a polygraph and or the failure of the polygraph will disqualify the applicant and at the discretion of the Executive Committee reserve the right to disqualify the entire team. All prizes, prize money, including the entry fee, will be forfeited and the participant and or team will be refused entry to all future OTC events.

15. PROTESTS

Any protest must be submitted to the Chairman before 6:00pm on the day of the event. The Executive Committee will rule as soon as feasible and if needed will use a polygraph to reach a decision. By submitting a protest and being a registered participant you agree to the final decision of the Executive Committee.

16. WAVIER

All participants, anglers, crews and guests must sign a waiver before participating in any events.

17. DISPUTES

Any and all disputes, protests, claims both in writing and verbal arising out of, or in relation to any events associated with the OTC shall be decided by the Executive Committee and shall be final and binding.

18. ETHICS and CONDUCT

Each participant agrees to conduct themselves with honesty and integrity during all facets of the tournament including events prior to, and after the fishing portion. Any unethical or illegal conduct will result in disqualification from the event, and possibility of elimination from future events.