BATESVILLE BASSMASTERS OFFICIAL RULES
This revision supersedes all others
dated prior to December 2018
- Scheduling, Cancellation and Pairing
- Scheduling tournaments
- Each year the club will host a ten (10)
tournament schedule. Nine (9) tournaments for points toward angler(s) of the
year and one (1) Classic. See section III
- Each Team will be awarded points for tournaments
one thru nine (1-9). (See section IV (b) for points awards)
- The tournament committee will be made up of the
officers of the club.
- The tournament committee (officers) will set the
tournament schedule. The only exception will be the two-day classic. The
committee will pick the dates for the classic when the tournament schedule is
set. The teams that fish six (6) of the nine (9) tournaments will choose the
times and the water(s) to be fished the meeting prior to that Classic
Tournament.
- Cancellation
- Cancellation will be by unanimous vote of the
tournament committee (Officers). It will be the duty of the officers to notify
all members of the change.
- It will be the responsibility of the members to
make sure the officers have good contact information for them.
- Paring
- All Club Tournaments will be fished as a team
- It is the team’s responsibility to communicate
their intentions with one another.
- Each Member will have two (2) guest spots each
or they may fish by themselves.
- When a Club Member fishes with another club
member, that is not his/her declared partner a guest slot will be charged but
only to the one who pays the entry. An additional ten-dollar ($ 10) will be
paid to the club. One member will receive the points and the other will receive
ten (10) participation points.
- When a Club Member fishes with another Club
Member that is not His/her designated partner and both choose to pay the full
entry each and they keep their fish separated they can both receive the full
points for that event. (See section IV Awards for point assignment)
- A team may split: if this occurs prior to the
fifth (5th) tournament both members will keep the points they have
earned together. (Note: if two split teams join they may retain the higher of the two
points but never combine.) If after the fifth (5th)
tournament, the points will be divided equally between the two (2) members.
(e.g. A team has accumulated 150 points through 4 events and split each member
would keep 150 points. IF this split happens after the 5th
tournament each member would receive 75 points.)
- The payback will be three (3) places if 29 boats
or less and Big Bass:
- The entry will be divided as follows
- 1st place: $17.00
- 2nd Place: $12.00
- 3rd Place: $ 9.00
- Big Bass: $ 6.00
- Classic: $ 6.00
- Total Entry: $50.00
- The payback will be four (4) places if there are
30 boats or more and Big Bass
- The entry will be divided as follows:
- 1st Place: $15.00
- 2nd Place: $10.00
- 3rd Place: $ 8.00
- 4th Place: $ 5.00
- Big Bass: $6.00
- Classic: $ 6.00
- Total Entry: $50.00
- New Members (anyone who has never been in the club at
any time in the past) that
sign up at the ramp must pay two (2) memberships and two (2) Tournament entry
fees.
- Registration at the tournament site must be
completed thirty (30) minutes prior to “Take off”. It is the team’s
responsibility to be on time.
- Take off position will be determined by the
number that corresponds with the number on the weigh-in sheet. (e.g. Your team
is number 11 on the weigh-in sheet your take off position is number 11) The
last team that signs in prior to the Tournaments Directors launching his/her
boat will be the official “Call” Boat.
- Pay envelope:
- Each team must have their exact entry fee in an
envelope with the names of the entrants printed on the outside.
- You must indicate (writing on the envelope) if
you are fishing with a guest, other than your designated partner.
- If fishing with another member, who is not your
designated partner, they are fishing as a guest in your boat, you must indicate
who will receive the what points.
- If fishing with another member, who is not your
partner and both are paying full entries, each will need to provide his/her own
envelope with the information listed above.
- If member fishes with a guest on a two-day event
only one quest spot will be charged for that event.
- If a member brings a school aged child, grades
K-12 who is still enrolled, to fish, a guest spot will not be charged. Each child may only fish once.
- Each team will have one “Drop” tournament for
points.
- Eligibility, Entry Fee, Safety Policy and
Weigh-in
- Eligibility
- To be Eligible to fish, one must be:
- A member in good standing. (Current membership paid prior to or between
the first tournament of one year to the first tournament of the following
year.)
- An invited guest. (ANYONE FISHING FROM YOUR BOAT THAT IS NOT
YOUR DECLARED PARTNER) A guest may fish only one tournament as a guest
per tournament year.
- Exception: A member in good standing may fish
with a dependent, grandchild, or spouse without using a “Guest Spot”. It is the members responsibility to notify
the Tournament Director prior to fishing.
- Entry Fee
- Entry fee will be Fifty dollars ($50) per
tournament.
- Boat and Safety Equipment
- There must be a working kill switch on each boat
equipped with an outboard motor and it must be used.
- There must be a fire extinguisher in each boat
- All entrants must wear a life jacket when the
boat is “On plane”.
- Only artificial lures may be used.
- Only one rod and reel may be uses at any time.
- Trolling is not permitted
- Fishing is not allowed within 50 yards of gas
pumps at commercial docks.
- Fishing is not permitted within 50 yards or
another tournament boat unless permission is granted.
- Boats must stay on the water during the
tournament. With emergency exceptions.
- All state and federal laws must be upheld.
- Weigh-In
- Note: Kentucky, Large Mouth and Small Mouth are legal fish to weigh. Each must be twelve (12) inches in length or
meet the regulations of the fishery you are on.
- Any “Short” fish, under twelve (12) inches or
shorter than the regulation of the fishery, will be penalized one pound plus
the loss of the short fish.
- Length of the fish will be determined by
measuring on with a flat board. The fish will be laid on the measuring board
with the mouth closed and butted to the end of the board with the fish lying in
a straight line. IF the tail does not touch the declared line, the fish will be
considered “Short”. see number 1 above.
- A limit of five (5) fish will be allowed to be
weighed in.
- If a team brings more than five to be weighed,
the Tournament Director will cull by removing the largest fish from the
stringer first.
- Prior to start of the “Official” weigh-in a
contestant my receive a judgement by the tournament director as the eligibility
of any fish without penalty.
- Fish must be brought to weigh-in in a water
filled bag.
- Contestants who are not with-in fifty (50) yards
of the official docking (Staging) area at the declared ending time of each
event will be docked one-half (1/2) pound off total weight per minute. After 15 minutes the team will be disqualified. If you depart the tournament early, Notify
the Tournament Director, Please.
- Year End Classic
- The Classic tournament will be a two-day (2-day)
event.
- Each team that fishes six (6) of the nine (9)
tournaments will be eligible to fish the Classic Tournament.
- The Classic will be funded with twenty dollars
($20) of each membership and six dollars ($6) of each entry at tournaments one
thru nine (1-9).
- The Tournament Committee (Officers) will
determine the payout for the classic and any plaques or awards that will be
given.
- Only Those Qualified Teams or those fishing solo
who have qualified will be allowed to fish the Classic. No invited quests including any of the
exception to the guest rules will be allowed to participate.
- All Safety rules, Tournament fishing and
weigh-in rules will apply to the Classic.
- If two solo fishers qualify, and so choose, they
may team together for the purpose of safety and fish together at the Classic.
- Awards
- End of Year Awards
- Angler(s) of the year
- Plaque
- Entry Fees paid for the next season
- Exception: the Team must fish together to receive Entries paid.
- If an angler of the year fishes with an “invited
guest” one-half ( ½) of the Tournament entry fee must be paid in addition to
other rules that may apply.
- Ties for angler of the year
- All tied teams will receive equal benefit as
outlined in this section.
- Qualification points for Angler(s) of the year
- Angler(s) of the Year will be based on total
Points. The team with the most points at the end of the nine (9) point
tournaments will receive Awards.
- Points will be awarded as follows:
- 1st Place – 60 points
- 2nd Place – 59 points
- 3rd Place – 58 points
- Descending places will receive points in
descending orders minus one per every place.
- This only applies to those teams who weigh fish.
Those who do not weigh fish will receive 10 points for participation.
- Ties
- Ties will result in points being awarded to each
team occupying that position and the next team will receive two points below
the shared position. If three way-tie the
next team will receive three points below and so on.
- Tying Money winners.
- First-place ties then first and second place
money will be added together and divided equally between the two teams and the
next highest total weight will receive third-place money.
- Ties for second place. Second and third-place
money will be added together and divided equally among the two teams. (with
more than 30 boats the next highest total weigh will receive fourth-place
money)
- Third place ties with 29 boats or less will
split third-place money equally
- Third place tie with 30 or more boats will add
third and fourth place money and divide equally between the two team.
- Fourth place tie with more than 30 boats will
result in the fourth-place money being divided equally between the two teams.
- Protests, Disqualifications and Change in
Official Rules
- Protests
- Any member wishing to protest another member
must do so in writing (a text will be accepted) to the
Tournament Director. The Tournament Director and the Committee (All officers
present) will handle all protest by investigation and secret vote at the site
of the protest. All protest must be made prior to the close of the weigh-in and
a decision will be made prior to any payouts made.
- Disqualification
- Any person showing unsportsmanlike conduct that
would bring disrespect to the club or any member thereof will be disqualified
by protest, subject to the provisions of this section.
- Any person leaving the launch site to fish prior
to their number being called will be disqualified.
- Change in Official Rules
- Official Rules are binding and will require the
following procedures for change.
- 10% of the membership must be present at a rules
meeting to make a quorum.
- Any member present may make a proposed rule
change.
- The proposal must be seconded
- The rule change may not be voted on during the
same meeting but must be voted the next meeting.
- Any rule change must pass a vote of 75% of the
members present provided there is a minimum of 10% of the membership present.
- All Rule changes must occur during the off
season. (After the classic and prior to the first tournament of the next season)
- High School Team(s)
- Membership
- The High School Team will pay the same entry as
all other teams
- The High School Team(s) will Compete for all the
prizes and awards as listed throughout this document alongside all other teams.
- In Boat
- High School Team(s) are the only team allowed
three (3) in a Boat.
- Two must be high school team members and one
their Boat Captain.
- In the event one high school team member cannot
be present, the Boat Captain may fish as the partner to the other high school
team member.
- The additional ten dollar ($10) fee to the club
must be paid and the points will go to the High School team.
- In no instance shall all three be allowed to
fish together as one team.
- Penalty
- Should all three fish at the same time the boat
will be disqualified.
These Official Rules have been adopted
by the Membership and are Binding on all participants equally. There are no exceptions for any member and
the officers are to set the standard. If
any officer is found in violation or conduct unbecoming, Please notify the
other officers. Thank you.
Our goal is as yours, to fish,
fellowship and have a great time on the water, to be treated consistently and
expect all to behave like adults should.