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1.
RULES:
Interpretation and enforcement of the following rules
and regulations shall be left exclusively to the officers of Florida
Disabled Anglers, Inc. and / or the tournament officials. In the
event of a rule violation, the tournament officials may impose such
sanctions, as it deems appropriate, including, without limitation,
disqualification, forfeiture of prizes and prohibition from
subsequent tournaments. The decision of the officials shall be final
in all matters.
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2. PARTICIPANTS: Participation in this
tournament trail is open to all persons, including minors with a
written parental or guardian consent, providing the person operating
the combustion engine is 18 years of age or older. The definition of
a “disabled”, or “mobility impaired” angler is the sole discretion
of the tournament officials. Disabled anglers as deemed by the
tournament officials may also be the boat captain, but will still be
considered a disabled angler for scoring purposes. “Able-bodied”
captains may fish alone if a disabled partner is unavailable and
will receive all benefits and points thereof. The tournament field
will be held to 25 boats unless the tournament officials deem it
necessary to add more as to accommodate disabled anglers. The boat
field cap is the sole discretion of the tournament officials.
Tournament officials reserve the right to discontinue acceptance of
applications prior to the tournament date or at the tournament site
on the morning of the tournament. ALL participants must complete an
official entry form including the tournament waiver each year before
becoming eligible to participate.
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3. OFF-LIMITS PERIOD: There shall be no
off-limits period for the competitors of these tournaments.
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4. SAFETY: Safe boating conduct shall be
observed at all times by tournament competitors. Each competitor is
required to wear a Coast Guard approved chest type life preserver.
The preserver MUST BE WORN ANYTIME THE COMBUSTION ENGINE IS RUNNING.
The only exception shall be if the anglers are trolling for fish
with lines in water and running at idle speed. Violation of this
rule shall be reason for disqualification.
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5. SPORTSMANSHIP: Competitors in these
tournaments are expected to follow high standards of sportsmanship,
courtesy and safety at all times. Special considerations may be
applied for the disabled anglers as deemed necessary by the disabled
anglers and the boat captains will comply with the request within
reason. Use of alcohol or drugs (other than those purchased over the
counter or prescribed by a licensed physician) by any competitor
during this tournament will not be tolerated and shall be cause for
automatic disqualification from the tournament. No firearms of any
kind shall be allowed in the boats or at the registration or
weigh-in area at any time. This rule excludes enforcement officials.
Any infraction of these fundamental sporting principles may be
deemed cause for disqualification.
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6. TACKLE AND EQUIPMENT: Only artificial
lures may be used. There will be no live, cut, or prepared baits
with the exception of pork rind. A competitor may use only one
casting, spin cast, or spinning rod and reel at any one time. Fly
rods are prohibited. Trolling as a method of fishing IS permitted
due to the nature of this disabled tournament trail.
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7. ASSISTANCE: Participants may not ask for
or have other individuals, whether competing or not, hold fishing
spots/waters for their use. Additionally, no participants may ask
for or accept fish from other individuals, whether competing or not;
NOR MAY CAPTAINS OR THE DISABLED ANGLERS SHARE FISH BETWEEN THEM.
Violations of this rule will result in automatic disqualification
and forfeiture of any prizes.
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8. BOATS AND EQUIPMENT: Every boat must
have on board at all times the required safety equipment adequate to
meet Coast Guard regulations. ALL boats must be equipped with a
functional ignition kill switch, which shall be attached to the
driver’s body anytime the combustion engine is operating. Only boats
14 feet or more in length will be permitted. Airboats, canoes, jet
skis, or similar craft are prohibited. The use of a combustion
engine larger than the BIA certificate rating will not be allowed to
compete. EVERY boat must be equipped with a functional aerated live
well system capable of maintaining alive a limit of tournament bass.
Tournament officials have the right to inspect said live well system
and deem the boat acceptable or not for competition.
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9. PERMITTED FISHING LOCATIONS: Tournament
waters shall be on waters open to all public for fishing at the
tournament location. Fishing is permitted anywhere except within 50
yards of another competitor’s boat that was first anchored with the
trolling motor in the stored position, or to pull in front of
another competitor’s boat in a canal or dead end canal without first
asking permission from the lead boat.
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10. BIG BASS PURSE: All competitors upon
payment of entry fee are included in the Big Bass Purse. $5 of the
entry fee is designated for the Big Bass purse. The largest bass
caught during the tournament in each division will receive 100% of
the fees collected for said division.
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11. SCORING: Final winners in each division
(captain’s, disabled angler’s) of these tournaments shall be
determined by the total weight of each participants catch during the
tournament. Only large mouth bass shall be weighed. The tournament
weigh-in limit shall be THREE FISH PER ANGLER. At no time shall a
competitor have more than five live fish in his
possession, unless the participant is in the act of culling a LIVE
fish. Final culling to the three fish weigh-in limit must be done
prior to arriving at the ramp for weigh-in The trail official length shall be 14 INCHES or more
unless a special length is established for a particular tournament
by the officials and the proper permits are available. Only bass as
described above which legally measure according to the tournament
officials on a flat board “Golden Rule” shall be weighed in. If a
weigh-in official measures a fish and determines it’s short on the
official rule, the fish is then measured on the participant’s rule.
If the fish measures legal on the participant’s rule, the fish is
released and the weigh-in continues. If the fish is found to be
short on the participant’s rule also, then the participant will be
disqualified. A “Golden Rule” master will be available at the
tournament site for the purpose of verifying said rule lengths. In
the event of a tie, the tied competitors will each draw a number.
The angler with the lowest number will be considered the winner of
the tie.
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12. CULLING FISH: There shall be NO
CULLING OF DEAD FISH. No culling shall be permitted at the
tournament ramp or any area inside the official check in point.
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13. POINTS: Participant’s point standings
within the tournament trail are determined by the participant’s
finish based on a linear point system. 200 points for first place,
195 points for second place, etc.
If a participant cannot
weigh in fish, then the participant receives a minimum score for
participating in the tournament of five points below the last place
participant that was able to weigh in a fish. A participant arriving
late to a tournament after the other boats have left should find a
trail official and report his intentions, and pay the entry fees
prior to the weigh-in to receive any point score. Point standings at the end of the
tournament year shall determine the “Angler of the Year” in each
division (Captain and Disabled Angler).
The Angler of the Year points for
both Disabled
Angler and Captains Divisions are
determined by each individual's
points total for
Angler of The Year title in both
Disabled Angler
and Captains Divisions.
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14. ABSENCE: Under extenuating
circumstances and trail officer approval, a participant may be
completely absent from a tournament and receive normal trail
benefits provided the entry fees are paid prior to the tournament.
An absent participant shall receive five points below the lowest
points given to a participating angler provided the individual has
pre-paid.
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15. PENALTY POINTS: Legal length dead bass
presented to weigh-in officials by a competitor shall accrue penalty
points at the rate of .25 pounds for each dead fish. There shall be
only one official check-in point and the tournament officials shall
designate this point prior to the morning launch. Competitor’s who
are not in the official check-in area at the appointed time shall be
penalized at the rate of one pound per minute to be deducted from
the total weight of each of the competitor’s catch of that day,
starting with the largest bass. All competitors who are more than 15
minutes late shall be disqualified.
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16. LAUNCH POSITIONS: Boat launch positions
shall be by a number draw during the morning check-in. In case of a
tie or ties, the boat having the lower launch number shall be
determined the tie or ties breaker.
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17. TOURNAMENT HOURS: The official hours of
competition shall be from safe light, as determined by the
tournament officials, until 2:00 P.M. unless otherwise noted prior
to the morning launch. All competitors should arrive at the ramp
location at least one hour prior to safe light in order to ensure a
timely loading of the disabled anglers, check-in and launch of the
boats.
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18. WEIGH-INS: Official tournament bags
will be available, and no fish in other than the official tournament
bags will be accepted. Once a competitor is called and his fish are
transferred to the tournament officials, said participant can no
longer handle those fish. The fish will be measured, weighed and the
results recorded. The tournament officials will be responsible for
the chemical treating and the health release of all live fish. Fish
shall be weighed one time and the tournament official’s say is
final.
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19. PROTEST: There shall be only one time
during the tournament at which to register a protest. That time
shall be immediately following the weigh-in of the last participants
catch from that days fishing only, and before the start of the
awards presentation. The tournament officials will discuss the said
protest and they will rule on and announce the final decision. If
there are no protests at the start of the awards presentation, then
the results of the tournament shall be considered fair and final.
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20. FEES AND EXPENSES: There shall be a
$30.00 entry fee to fish in F.D.A. tournaments of which $5.00 will
go to the Big Bass purse. The non-boater must realize the cost of
boat ownership and a fee of $20.00 is the normal rate of half of the
expenses. However, if the competitor chooses to travel longer
distances while fishing, the non-boater should agree to share the
extra expenses. F.D.A. tournament officials will not be responsible
for any collections of boat or fuel expenses occurred. The exception
is that a guest may fish their first tournament free of the $30
entry fee only if they choose to but are not eligible to receive any
money, trophies, or points. A non-boater still needs to share boat
running expenses.
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21. PAY BACKS: The pay back will be for the
first three (3) places for nine (9) competitors or more and the
first two (2) places for eight (8) or less competitors in each
division. Trophies will be awarded for first, second and big bass in
each division. Paybacks will be 100% of the money collected for fees
provided the cost of tournament expenses has been donated by
sponsors.
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22. EMERGENCIES: Competitors must remain in
the tournament waters and both competitors must remain in the boat
at all times except in the case of a dire emergency. In such
emergency, both competitors may be removed from their boat to
another boat operated by another competitor or a rescue boat so
designated by tournament officials, or one competitor may exit the
disabled boat into a rescue boat with the competitors catch of the
day and proceed directly to the weigh-in. Trailering of boats during
tournament hours and prior to the weigh-in of the competitors catch
is prohibited except by direction of tournament officials.
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