Oregon Tuna Classic 2022

Tournament Rules

Download the IGFA Rules

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.

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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.

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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.

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4. TOURNAMENT START OFFICAL CLOCK
Optional Big Fish Friday event will officially start with lines in the water @ 7:30 AM. The main competition on Saturday start time will be confirmed at the Captains meetings Friday evening. The official start on Saturday is a shotgun-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 4:00 PM on Friday and 5:00 PM on Saturday. 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.

  • GARIBALDI, OR – August 27th & 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.

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6. WEATHER AND CANCELATION
The Oregon Tuna Classic does not have a pre-event forecasted weather cancellation policy. A weather advisory will be sent via e-mail to registered participants, and updated on the OTC website after 3:00pm on the Thursday prior to the events.

The Executive Board of the OTC reserves the right to cancel, at their discretion, the fishing portion of any event at any time. The remainder of the event will take place as scheduled along with the raffle and BBQ.

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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, jack poles, 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.

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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 2020 OTC tournament flag so as to be visible.

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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 on Friday and 5:00PM on Saturday.

  • No Team may check in until they have crossed the designated finish line.

  • Any team that either does not check in or does not cross the finish line before 5:00pm will not be able to qualify for the purse but may still donate their fish to the OTC.

  • There are no exceptions.

11. FISH CHECK IN

  • The Official Check in Station opens at 2:00pm.

  • Teams will line up in the order they checked in with tournament control.

  • A total of the five (5) heaviest fish will be accepted at the official check in station and must be accompanied by a team member to verify your fish are tagged and properly tied together.

  • All fish must be tagged with an official OTC band that will be supplied to each team.

  • 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.

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12. OFFICIAL WEIGH IN
The weigh in will be completed on Friday and Saturday for all boats that have passed the established finish line by 4:00PM on Friday and 5:00PM on Saturday.

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13. TOURNAMENT AWARDS
Cash awards for Saturday’s main event are based on the following:

  • Heaviest 5 fish… $6000.00

  • 2nd Heaviest 5 fish… $3000.00

  • 3nd Heaviest 5 fish… $1000.00

  • Largest Tuna Jackpot entry is $50.00 per tournament.

  • Pelagic Jackpot entry is $50.00 per tournament.

  • Pelagic is defined as Blue Fin Tuna, Big Eye Tuna, Yellow Fin Tuna, Yellowtail Jack, Marlin or Swordfish… NO SHARKS WILL BE ALLOWED.

  • The $100, $250, $500 and $1000 Cash Side Pots will pay out to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd places at each level of side pot and will split 60% 20% 10% and 10% to the OTC. The cash side pot will paid out for Saturdays event.

  • Side pots will be refunded in the event OTC should cancel the fishing tournament for a given day.

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14. 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.

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15. POLYGRAPH ACCEPTANCE
One member from each of the top 10 teams must be available on Sunday morning for a mandatory polygraph.

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.

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16. 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.

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

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18. 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.

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19. 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.