2012 Tournament of Champions Rules

TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS:To qualify for this event two entrants must be designated as a team on the entry forms for the qualifying events that they participated in. They also must enter a minimum of five events during the season and must accumulate 160 or more points in their best five events in any one division. Points are accumulated in the following manner. Events with less then ten boats will receive 40 points for first place, 39 for second, on down to 30. For tournaments over 10 teams, first place will be 30 points plus the number of teams participating. Example: If there are 22 teams first place will be 52 points (30 plus 22) second place 51 and so on down. There will be a minimum of 30 awarded to any team that enters an event. Entry fees for the Tournament of Champions will be $160 due by Sept. 14. Entries received after Sept 14 will be assessed a $40 late fee. The 2012 Tournament of Champions will take place on Sept. 21 and Sept. 22 and will be held on Kentucky Lake. The tournament headquarters for the event will be the KenLake Marina. Weigh in will be at the pavilion in the KenLake State Park Tennis Court Area. There will be NO off limits. There will be a mandatory pre tournament meeting on Thursday Sept. 20 at 5:00 pm inside the KenLake State Park Tennis Court facility. Dinner will be provided. No entries will be allowed after that time.
SAFETY: Safe boating conduct must be observed at all times. Each competitor is required to wear a Coast Guard approved life preserver whenever the combustion engine is operating. All boats must be equipped with an ignition kill switch. This switch is to be attached to the operator any time the combustion engine is operating.
SPORTSMANSHIP: Tournament competitors are expected to adhere to high standards of sportsmanship, safety and conservation. Consumption of alcoholic beverages or illegal possession or use of a controlled substance during the tournament will be grounds for disqualification from this event and all further Anglers Dream events. Any contestants cited during tournament hours for a violation of state, marine, fishing or conservation laws will be disqualified, pending due process.
TACKLE AND EQUIPMENT: Only artificial lures may be used. (No live or prepared bait will be allowed with the exception of pork strips, rinds, etc). Only one casting or spinning rod, 8’ maximum length may be used at a time. Any competitor found to have in his possession equipment or baits not permitted will be disqualified.
HORSEPOWER REGULATIONS: Only boats and motors that are in compliance with the B.I.A. Horsepower rating will be allowed to participate.
BASIC BOAT EQUIPMENT: Every boat must have all required Coast Guard safety equipment, in addition to a live-well properly aerated to adequately maintain a live five bass team limit.
OFFICIAL CHECK POINTS: There shall be only one official point for check out in the morning and check in for the afternoon.
PERMITTED FISHING LOCATIONS: Fishing on tournament waters is permitted anywhere except those areas designated off limits on the day of the tournament or within 50 yards of another competitor’s boat which was first anchored. All angling must be done from the boat. Contestants may not depart the boat to retrieve a fish. The boat must remain in legal tournament waters on tournament days. Trailering of the boat during tournament hours is prohibited. Both team members must remain in the boat at all times except in case of dire emergency. SCORING: Tournament standing and final winners shall be determined by the pound and fraction of a pound of each teams catch during the day. Only largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass will be weighed. All contestants are bound by the statutes and regulations of the State of Kentucky. If contestants elect to enter or fish in the State of Tennessee they are also required to follow the statues and regulation of the State of Tennessee. All bass must be caught live and in a conventional sporting manner. Any fish deemed caught foul hooked will not be weighed. At no time shall a team have more than five fish in possession. In the event that a team does have more than five fish in their possession, tournament officials shall cull the fish, starting with the largest fish, down to the five fish limit. All bass weighed will become the property of the tournament officials and will be released.
DEAD FISH PENALTY: a penalty of one-half (.50) pound will be deducted for each dead fish brought in at the time of weigh-in.
SHORT FISH PENALTY: Any fish presented for weigh-in by a contestant that fails to measure a minimum of 15” shall not be counted in the days totals. In addition, the largest fish of that days catch for that team shall be culled.
LATE PENALTY: Competitors who have not arrived at the appointed time shall be penalized at the rate of one pound per minute late. Any weight penalties shall be deducted from the largest fish of the day’s catch. Any competitor more than ten minutes late shall lose credit for that days catch.
TIES: In the event of a tie, the prize for the places tied for will be added together then split among the tying teams.
PAIRINGS: This is a fish with you buddy tournament. Angling guest are not permitted. There will be no substitutes or guides allowed either during the tournament or during practice the Friday before the event. If only one member of a qualified team can show that member can fish alone. No splitting of teams.
ELIGIBILITY: Any two anglers that qualified can fish as a team together in the 2012 Tournament of Champions. One member of the team must be eighteen (18) years of age or older.
REGISTRATION: At least one (1) member of the team must be present for the registration. Failure to register during the prescribed time shall result in a loss of starting position on both days.
STARTING POSITIONS: Boats positions will be drawn during the pre tournament meeting at Kenlake State Park Tennis Court Facility at on Thursday September 20 at 5:00 PM. There will be two flights with the second flight taking off and coming in 30 minutes after the start of the first flight. Boats will take off in the order assigned the first day from the lowest to the highest. The second day of the event flights will be flipped, (first going second, second going first) and the order of drawing will be in reversed in each flight.
PRE-TOURNAMENT PRACTICE: Kentucky Lake and all adjoining water is off limit to all competitors from 4:30 Pm Thursday September 20, until the start of the tournament the next morning. There will be no other off limits.
NO WAKE ZONES: All no wake zones are no pass zones unless the boat being passed is fishing, gives permission to pass, is inoperable or multiple boat lanes permit a different route to be taken.
ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION: Use of Cell Phones or Radio’s during tournament hours to contact anyone but a tournament official is prohibited.
COMPLIANCE: It shall be the sole responsibility of all entrants to comply with the said rules and regulations.
RULINGS: The tournament Director and his designated appointees shall reserve the right for the rules interpretations and ruling thereof. Protest must be in writing, signed by the protestor, and filed within ten minutes after the completion of the weigh-in. The decision of the tournament officials in all rulings shall be final. Any and all contestants are subject to truth verification, polygraph exam at the discretion of the director or tournament officials. Failure to take and successfully complete this exam is reason for disqualification and forfeit of all prizes from this and all future Anglers Dream events.