Legacy Series presented by Pflueger
Rules and Regulations 2013
1. PARTICIPANTS AND ELIGIBILITY
Open to all individuals, male and female. Each team must consist of one adult who has reached his/her nineteenth birthday by September 10, 2013, and another member who has not reached his/her nineteenth birthday by September 10, 2013. Those under 18 years of age, not fishing with a parent, must have written permission from a parent or guardian. The adult team member must be a member in good standing and hold a current Legacy or Gold membership. No membership is required for a junior member or a legal substitute, (see rule 16), fishing one tournament as a sub. Fishers of Men reserve the right to reject any entry, which we feel, is not in the best interest of the tournament. All participants must sign a release of liability form to be eligible to compete.
Legacy Series Membership - $30
Gold Membership - $55
Submit memberships to the division director, prior to fishing your first tournament. Fishers of Men division directors are not eligible to compete in the division they direct. (Except "one year interim" directors)
Legacy Series Membership Benefits: Membership packet and eligibility to compete in any Fishers of Men Legacy Series Tournament. A Legacy Series member may upgrade to Gold Membership at any time by paying an additional $25.
Gold Membership Benefits: Membership packet and eligibility for you and any immediate family member residing in that household to compete in any Fishers of Men Team series or Legacy Series Tournament.
2. ENTRY FEES
Division tournament entry fees shall be $75.00 per team per tournament with a $5.00 Big Bass pot optional. Entry fees for Legacy tournaments should be mailed to the tournament director and should be postmarked no later than the Friday 8 days prior the tournament or paid at the Friday Night pre-tournament meeting. All entries received after the entry deadline may be assessed a $25.00 Late Fee! ABSOLUTELY NO ENTRIES WILL BE ACCEPTED THE MORNING OF THE TOURNAMENT! There will be a fee charged on all checks returned for insufficient funds. ***Any team paying an entry at the pretournament meeting must have at least one team member in attendance prior to the beginning of the inspirational message, and remaining until the conclusion of the meeting.*** Absolutely no entries will be accepted after the introduction of the main speaker at the pre-tournament meeting.
3. PRIZE PAYOUT
At the end of each Legacy tournament one out of every three teams entered will receive prize money. In addition, one big bass prize is paid. Winners are responsible for all taxes on any moneys or prizes won.
4. BONUS BUCKS
The "Bonus Bucks" program is designed to increase tournament payout for those who wish to compete for a higher purse. This totally OPTIONAL program features 100% payback of a $25 per team entry, in a 50%; 30%; 20% split, which will be paid to the three highest finishing teams who elect to enter the "Bonus Bucks" program.
5. OFF LIMITS
There will be no off limits or official practice days for Legacy events. Exception: The Tournament waters will be off limits during the pre-tournament meeting hours. (All teams assume responsibility of finding out the time and location of the Pre-Tournament meeting). Teams may not have the assistance of any non-competitor for the purpose of locating or catching fish on the competition day(s). The use of electronic communication devices, for sharing fishing information during tournament hours, is prohibited.
6. TOURNAMENT HOURS
Tournament hours will be from safe light to 1:00 p.m. We reserve the right to assign flights and change hours if necessary.
7. LAUNCH SEQUENCE
Starting positions will be determined by a drawing of all participants just before the closing of the Friday night meeting or a random number assignment by a computer. Participants not in attendance will be assigned a starting position by the division director.
8. SAFETY
Safe boating conduct must be observed at all times. Each competitor is required to wear a Coast Guard approved personal flotation device securely fastened, at all times while the boat is being propelled by the combustion engine. Furthermore, a kill switch must be fastened to the driver anytime the combustion engine is propelling the boat. Failure to do so is grounds for disqualification of the offending team's catch. Running lights must be operational and turned on at the blast-off of each tournament. Each competitor's boat must be equipped with a live well system capable of keeping a tournament limit of bass alive. Any boat equipped with a motor that exceeds the horsepower rating of the boat according to the manufacturer is prohibited from being used in a Fishers of Men Tournament. All AUXILIARY gas tanks and BLADDER tanks that are not installed by the boat manufacturer are prohibited. Additional gas tanks that are factory options and installed by a manufacturer's authorized dealer are legal. Boats that do not have factory-installed gas tanks are restricted to a maximum of 18 gallons of gasoline in tanks that meet U.S. Coast Guard regulations. Gas tanks must be properly secured or strapped in a boat. During the tournament, no portable gas tanks or containers capable of holding gasoline can be placed anywhere on the tournament waters or shoreline for use by any tournament competitor.
9. SPORTSMANSHIP
Each contestant is expected to follow high standards of sportsmanship, courtesy, and conservation. NO TEAM MAY FISH WITHIN 50 YARDS OF ANY OTHER BOAT WHICH IS ANCHORED WITH THE TROLLING MOTOR UP. FURTHERMORE, NO TEAM MAY FISH WITHIN 25 YARDS OF ANY OTHER BOAT WITHOUT THE OTHER BOATER'S PERMISSION. PERMISSION MAY NOT BE GRANTED TO ANY TEAM AT THE EXCLUSION OF ANY OTHER TEAM. No hole sitting by a non-competitor to aid a tournament participant will be allowed. Violators will have their catch disqualified.
10. TACKLE AND FISHING METHODS
Only artificial baits may be used. No live or cut bait is permitted (pork baits are permitted). All bass must be caught alive in a legal and sporting manner. No snagging. Each competitor may only use 1 rod at a time. No more than 1 line in the water at a time per angler. Trolling with the combustion motor is not permitted. No competitor may leave the boat to land or catch fish.
11. STATE AND FEDERAL GAME REGULATIONS
All participants are expected to abide by all state and federal laws and game regulations. Any team who intentionally violates a law or regulation in an attempt to gain an unfair advantage will have their catch disqualified. In the case of multiple governing authorities, the strictest law is applicable. Any participant who consumes, or is under the influence of alcoholic beverages, stimulants or depressants during any Fishers of Men function will have their catch disqualified. (prescribed medications taken per doctor's instructions are excluded)
12. SCORING
A limit of bass, as set by the tournament director, (largemouth, smallmouth, & spotted bass) may be weighed in. Minimum lengths will be set at the discretion of the Division Director but at no time will be less than the legal limit. Lengths will be measured with mouth closed. A short fish brought to the scales will not be weighed, and will result in a 1-pound penalty. Dead fish will be penalized .25 (1/4) pound. The dead fish penalty will also apply to any fish weighed as a Big Fish if that fish is dead. All culling must be done at the time a fish is caught that would exceed the set limit; no team may continue fishing with more than the tournament limit in the live well at any time during the tournament, with the exception of dead fish that is not included in their limit. On any water where State or local laws prohibit culling or impose limits of less than the limit set by the tournament director, the state or local laws will replace the above as the rule.
13. EMERGENCIES
Competitors shall remain with their partners in the boat at all times during the tournament, except in the event of sickness or brief excursions for "nature calling", severe storm or other such hazard. It is permitted for a competitor to leave the boat for marina services. Competitors may leave the boat to dislodge it, but only to return the boat in the direction it came from. Leaving the boat to advance it is not permitted. (In falling water conditions, a team may leave the boat to advance it only to return from water they accessed without leaving the boat. If for any reason either team member decides to leave the tournament waters early, his or her partner must also stop fishing and return to the dock. In case of a breakdown, one partner may return with fish by another tournament boat while the other partner is permitted to stay with the disabled boat.
14. WEIGH-IN PROCEDURES
Weigh-in will be on a first come first serve basis. Once fish have been presented to a Tournament Official to be weighed-in, all fish become the property of the F.O.M.N.T.T. and no additional fish may be brought to the scales. Bags will be limited in order to avoid a bottleneck at the weigh-in tanks. Teams not weighing any fish are still required to check in with tournament officials in order to account for all teams. Once a team member has checked in or left the boat for the purpose of checking in, neither team member may fish or continue fishing.
15. LATE PENALTY
Competitors who are not checked in by the check in deadline will be penalized at a rate of 1 pound per minute, up to 15 minutes at which time their catch will be disqualified. The contestants will retain their participation points for their yearly total. Late penalties will be deducted from "Big Fish" weight as well as total weight.
16. USE OF SUBS
Substitutes, in Legacy Series events, are permitted as long as the team's adult/junior status in maintained. Any junior angler can substitute for a junior angler at any time. Adult substitutes must be a parent, grandparent, spouse, sibling, or in-law of the same relationship, of either partner, to maintain the team's divisional championship points. Any other adult partner change will require the creation of a new team. Adult substitutes at a Legacy Championship event must be a parent, grandparent, spouse, sibling, in-law of the same relationship, of either partner. A Team Series adult who has competed in 3 or more series events in that year may also sub at the Championship. Any adult sub fishing more than one tournament will be required to purchase a membership.
17. PROTEST AND POLYGRAPH TEST
Any protest must be submitted in writing to the Tournament Director within 15 minutes of the close of the weigh-in. The Fishers of Men National Tournament Trail reserves the right to give a polygraph test to any participant at any time. This test does not have to be administered on site and may be set up by the Tournament Director at his discretion. All participants agree to abide by the results of any polygraph test administered. In the event of a protest and an off-site polygraph test, the Tournament Director will have the option of mailing all the checks to the teams in the money pending the outcome of the polygraph.
18. CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS
The winning team in each division tournament will receive 150 points, second 149 points, third 148 points, and so on. In case of a tie, both teams will receive the points for that place and the subsequent place will remain vacant. Teams not weighing in a fish will receive one less point than the last place team with fish. Any team that attends a Friday night meeting whether fishing or not will receive an additional 50 points which will be applied to the teams cumulative point total. All ties in the year-end standings will be broken by the cumulative weight of fish caught during the season. The team having the highest cumulative point total at the end of the year is the Division Points Champion.
19. LEGACY NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT
The Legacy Championship Tournament will be a two-day event. To qualify for the championship a team must have entered in one Legacy Series event in any Legacy Division. There will be no off limits or official practice days for Legacy Championships. Exception: "See Rule #5" All teams are required to attend the meeting to be held the evening prior to the first day of competition. Those teams who do not have at least one member in attendance at the meeting will be declared ineligible to compete. Legacy Championship substitutions "See Rule #16".
National Championship entries fees will be $100.00. This entry includes big bass. Two big bass awards will be paid each day. Deadline for entry will be set by the National Office and will be announced at a later date.
In the event of a tie for first place in a Legacy Championship Tournament, the team who weighed in the largest number of fish during the Legacy Championship Tournament will be declared the winner. If all of the tying teams weighed in the same number of fish, then the team who had the heaviest single day weight during the event will be declared the winner. In the event there is still a tie, a fish-off will determine the winner, if possible. The details of the fish off will be arranged by the tournament director.
In the event that bad weather forces the cancellation of one day of competition, the standings from one day of competition will be considered the final standings for the event.
20. LIABILITY INSURANCE
All members must carry a minimum of $100,000 of liability insurance on any boat they might use during any Fishers of Men Tournament. Failure to do this or reporting of false information will result in disqualification of catch. Participants must include the company name and either the policy number or the name of the agent binding the coverage on the entry form for each tournament.
21. VIOLATION OF RULES AND DISQUALIFICATION
The violation of a tournament rule by either team member may result in weight loss, the loss of weight up to a particular time in the tournament day (eligible for a restart), loss of weight for the entire day, disqualification for the entire tournament or, in an extreme circumstance, ineligibility to participate in future FOM events. If a team is diqualified from a tournament their weight will be recorded as 0 lb. However they will still receive tournament points as if they had just caught no fish. If the director feels that their violation was a willful attempt to gain an unfair advantage or to intentionally cheat, then the director has the right to refuse entry from that team or team members in the future and will inform all other Fishers of Men directors of the situation.
22. RULES INTERPRETATION
Interpretation of the rules will be left to the Division Director. Infractions of any rule may result in disqualification of catch.
