Rules and Regulations 2008

1. PARTICIPANTS AND ELIGIBILITY

Open to all individuals, male and female. Those under 18 years of age may participate with written permission from a parent or guardian. Team Series or Gold membership in the Fishers of Men National Tournament Trail is required to fish any team series tournament and each competitor must be a member in good standing. (No membership required for a legal substitute, as described in rule 16, fishing one tournament as a sub.) F.O.M.N.T.T reserves the right to reject any entries which we feel are not in the best interest of the tournament.

Associate Membership Benefits: Membership packet (which includes a license plate, a window decal, and a patch). An associate member may upgrade to Team Series membership at any time by paying an additional $15, to Legacy Membership by paying an additional $5, or to Gold Membership by paying an additional $30.

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.

Team Series Membership Benefits: Membership packet and eligibility to compete in any Fishers of Men Team Series Tournament. A Team Series member may upgrade to Gold Membership at any time by paying an additional $15.

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

Entry fees shall be $150.00 per boat per tournament, which includes Big Fish. Entry fees for divisional tournaments should be mailed to the Division Director and must be postmarked no later than the Friday 8 days prior the Tournament. All entries received after the entry deadline will be assessed a $25.00 Late Fee! ABSOLUTELY NO ENTRIES WILL BE ACCEPTED THE MORNING OF THE TOURNAMENT! There will be a $25.00 fee charged on all checks returned for insufficient funds. Winners are responsible for any and all taxes on any moneys or prizes won.

3. 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.

4. PRIZE PAYOUT

Prize money will be awarded following the weigh in at each divisional tournament. One place will be paid out per five teams entered. Big bass will be paid out in two places. 1st place and 2nd place big bass can not be won by the same team.

5. OFF LIMITS

THE TOURNAMENT WATERS SHALL BE OFF-LIMITS FROM 12:01 A.M. THE MONDAY PRECEDING THE TOURNAMENT UNTIL SAFE LIGHT ON FRIDAY. Friday will be an official practice day. The official practice closes at 5:30 pm to allow all teams time to make it to the Friday night pre-tournament meeting. All teams assume responsibility of finding out the time and location of the Friday night Pre-Tournament meeting from their respective Director. The tournament waters will remain off limits from 5:30 pm Friday until blast-off. TEAMS MAY NOT SOLICIT INFORMATION FROM ANYONE WHO HAS BEEN ON THE TOURNAMENT WATERS DURING THE OFF-LIMITS PERIOD. Teams may not have the assistance of any non-competitor for the purpose of locating or catching fish on the official practice day(s) or the competition day(s). (See exception for legal substitute in Rule 16) The use of electronic communication devices for the purpose of sharing fishing information during tournament hours is prohibited. Any competitor found guilty of violating the off limits period will have their catch disqualified and face a disciplinary hearing before being allowed to fish any more on the Trail. If either of the team members is in violation of the off limits rule, both members of that team will be disqualified unless pre-approved as descibed below.

*-Exception-* It is permissible for one team member to compete in a tournament, alone or with a legal sub, even if his/her partner has been on the tournament water during off limits as long as (1) no information is shared between the partners, AND (2) the team requests approval from the tournament director for one team member to compete in the tournament while the other team member will not be competing and will be on the water during off limits, AND (3) the tournament director approves the request BEFORE THE OFF LIMITS PERIOD BEGINS.

6. TOURNAMENT HOURS

Tournament hours will be from safe light to 3:00 p.m. We reserve the right to assign flights and change hours if necessary.

7. LAUNCH SEQUENCE

Starting positions will be determined by either a drawing of all participants or a random number asignment by a computer just before the closing of the Friday night meeting. Participants not in attendance will be assigned a starting position at the back of the line 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 life vest, 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 competitors boat must be equipped with a livewell system capable of keeping a tournament limit of bass alive. Any boat equipped with a motor that exceeds the horse power 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 official practice and 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 required to abide by all state and federal laws and game regulations. 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 5 bass (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 12 inches. Lengths will be measured with mouth closed on a "Pro-Rule" ruler. 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 the 6th fish is caught; no team may continue fishing with more than the tournament limit in the livewell 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 5 fish, 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. 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 or both team members decide to leave the tournament waters early, both members shall bear full responsibility for notifying a tournament official. If one team member leaves the water early, he/she may not return and resume fishing. However, his/her partner may continue fishing for the remainder of the tournament hours. In case of a breakdown, one partner may return with fish by another tournament boat or a Fishers of Men Staff 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. CHANGE OF PARTNERS & USE OF SUBS

A permanent partner change may only be made prior to the start of the second tournament within your division with all points retained. A participant may fish solo in as many tournaments as becomes necessary and retain all points. The following may serve as a substitute in a tournament at any time while still retaining all points: Grandparent, Parent, Spouse, Sibling, Child, Grandchild, or any in-law of the same relations. Any youth who has not reached his/her nineteenth birthday on or before September 10, 2008 may also serve as a legal substitute. (Adult/Junior teams and Male/Female teams See rule #20.) That legal substitute may serve as a sub in as many tournaments as needed, however, before serving as a sub for a second time, he/she must become a Team Series member or Gold member. A substitute may not fish alone. In Multiple day events a team may use any combination of original partners and legal subs to have two anglers in the boat each day. One of the team members must always be one of the original partners. At least one of the original team members must compete in the tournament for the team to recieve tournament points. Any person who qualifies as a legal sub may fish with a member on the Official Practice day at any time. No other substitutions will be allowed. Hardship cases may be appealed to the National Office. Partner disagreements do not constitute hardship cases.

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 team having the highest cumulative point total in each Division will be declared the Division Champions for that Division. They will receive the Points Championship Pot, Jackets, Plaques and an automatic berth in the year-end National Championship Tournament. All ties in the cumulative year end standings will be broken by season cumulative weight. The winning team in each divisional tournament will receive 150 points, 2nd place149 points, 3rd place 148 points and so on. In the event of a tie in a tournament both teams will receive the points for the place they are tied at, and the subsequent place will remain vacant. (example: A tie for 3rd place would result in both 3rd place teams receiving 148 points. The next team behind them would be the 5th place team and would receive 146 points.) Teams not weighing any fish will receive 1 less point than the last place teams with fish. Paying an entry fee but not actually competing does not count as one of the three tournaments required to be eligible to qualify for the Regional Championship Tournament or the Wildcard Regional. Furthermore all teams who attend the Friday night Pre-Tournament meeting (whether entered in the tournament or not) will receive an additional 50 points, which will be applied to the teams cumulative point total for the year, for the purpose of qualifying for the Regional Championship Tournament. (at least one team member must be in attendance prior to the beginning of the inspirational message, and remain until the end of the meeting) Points will run through all 5 Tournaments within that Division and may not be transferred to any other Division.

19. REGIONAL QUALIFIER TOURNAMENT

The Regional Qualifier Tournament will be the final Tournament within your Division. It will be a 1-day tournament. Entry fees will remain at $150.00. The top 5 teams in this tournament who have fished in (actually competed in) at least 4 tournaments within that division (including the regional qualifier) and who have not qualified by way of the points system, or by being the highest finishing adult/junior team or the highest finishing male/female team, will qualify for the Regional Championship Tournament. The Regional Qualifier Tournament is open to all teams.

20. ADULT/JUNIOR & MALE/FEMALE REGIONAL TEAMS

The highest finishing Adult/Junior team and the highest finishing Male/Female team in the year end point standings will earn berths into the Regional Championship Tournament. An Adult/Junior team is defined as a team with one member who has reached his/her nineteenth birthday on or before September 10, 2008, and another member who has not reached his/her nineteenth birthday on or before September 10, 2008.

To be eligible to earn one of these berths in the Regional Tournament, these teams must compete in at least three tournaments with their partner or a sub within the division they are qualifying through, furthermore, they must maintain their Adult/Junior or Male/Female status in the event they have to use a substitute. For example; any person substituting for a junior must be a junior, a person substituting for a female must be a female, etc. These substitutes must also fit the description of a legal substitute as described in rule #16.

21. REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFICATIONS

Only teams who have fished (actually competed in) at least 3 tournaments within their division will be eligible to qualify for the Regional Championship Tournament. The top 20 teams in the year end point standings of each division who have competed in at least 3 tournaments within that division, will qualify to fish their respective Regional Championship Tournament. In addition, each division will be rewarded with one additional slot for each 10 boat increment average above 30 boats. These additional teams will come from the final points standings. The Regional Qualifying Tournament will serve to qualify the 5 highest finishing teams for the Regional Championship Tournament (as stated in rule 19). The highest finishing Adult/Junior team by points and the highest finishing Male/Female team by points will earn berths in the Regional Championship. Fishers of Men Division Directors are eligible to compete in post season tournaments, but must earn their way there in the same manner as all other anglers, and must do so through a division other than the one in which they are the director. Fishers of Men reserves the right to pull additional teams from other Divisions within a Region to fill the Regional Tournament field.

22. REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT

The Regional Championship Tournament will be a 2-day tournament. There will be 2 official practice days preceded by a 1-week off-limits period on the Regional Championship waters. All teams are required to attend the meeting to be held the evening prior to the first day of competition. (at least one team member must be in attendance prior to the beginning of the inspirational message, and remain until the end of the meeting). Those not in attendance at the meeting will be declared ineligible to compete. Teams may practice from two boats on the Official Practice Days. Entry fees will remain at $150.00. Deadline for entry will be set by the National Office and will be announced at a later date. There will be 2 Big Fish paid each day. The winning team will receive a new, fully rigged Triton bass boat with a Mercury Outboard motor. The top 7 teams by cumulative weight in this tournament will advance to the National Championship Tournament. Also, the highest placing team from each division, not already qualified will advance to the National Championship Tournament. In addition, the highest finishing Adult/Junior team and the highest finishing Male/Female team in each Regional Tournament will earn a berth in the National Championship Tournament. To be eligible to compete for the National Championship spots as the highest placing Adult/Junior team and the highest finishing Male/Female team, you must compete in the Regional Tournament with your original partner or a substitute which does not change your Adult/Junior or Male/Female team status as described in rule# 20. In the event of a tie for first place in a Regional Championship Tournament, the team who weighed in the largest number of fish during the Regional Championship Tournament will be declared the winner. If all of the tying teams 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 inclimate 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.

23. WILDCARD REGIONAL TOURNAMENT QUALIFICATIONS

Any team that has paid an entry in at least 5 Fishers of Men tournaments in any division or combination of divisions, and actually competed in at least 3 of them, and is not already qualified for the 2007 National Championship Tournament is eligible to compete in the "Wildcard Regional''. In addition, any Fishers of Men Director may compete in the Wildcard with a partner who is pre-approved by the National Office.

24. WILDCARD REGIONAL TOURNAMENT

The Wildcard Regional Tournament will be a 1-day tournament. There will be no official practice days or off-limits period on the tournament waters. All teams are required to attend the Friday Night meeting on the evening prior to the competition day. (at least one team member must be in attendance prior to the beginning of the inspirational message, and remain until the end of the meeting). Those not in attendance at the meeting will be declared ineligible to compete. Entry fees will remain at $150.00. Deadline for entry will be set by the National Office and will be announced at a later date. There will be 2 Big Fish positions paid. Prizes will be based on the number of entries. The top 7 teams by cumulative weight in this tournament will advance to the National Championship Tournament. In addition, the highest finishing Adult/Junior team and the highest finishing Male/Female team in this tournament will earn berths in the National Championship Tournament. To be eligible to compete for the National Championship berths as the highest placing Adult/Junior team and the highest finishing Male/Female team, teams must compete in the Wildcard Regional Tournament with their original partner or a substitute which does not change their Adult/Junior or Male/Female team status as described in rule #20.

25. NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT

The National Championship Tournament will be a 3-day tournament following three official practice days, which will be preceeded by a two week off limits period. Entry fee will be $150.00 deadline for entry will be set by the National office and announced on www.fomntt.com. Teams are NOT PERMITTED to practice from two boats on the Official Practice Days. All teams are required to attend the meeting to be held the evening prior to the first day of competition. (at least one team member must be in attendance prior to the beginning of the inspirational message, and remain until the end of the meeting). Those not in attendance at the meeting will be declared ineligible to compete. After two days of competition the field of competitors will be cut to the top 20%. All teams who make the cut and compete on day three will receive a check. There will be 2 big fish positions paid each day. The winning team will receive a new, fully rigged Triton bass boat with a Mercury Outboard motor, National Championship Plaques and Jackets as well as an automatic berth in the following year's National Championship Tournament, provided they fish at least 3 Fishers of Men Tournaments in that year. In the event of a tie for first place in the National Championship Tournament, the team who weighed in the largest number of fish during the National Championship Tournament will be declared the winner. If all of the tying teams 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 inclimate weather forces the cancellation of day one or day two of competition, the standings from one day of competition will determine which teams will make the cut to fish day 3. In the event that inclimate weather forces the cancellation of day 3, the standings from day 1 and/or day 2 will be considered the final standings for the event.

26. 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 so, 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.

27. VIOLATION OF RULES AND DISQUALIFICATION

Any team or team member found in violation of any rule will face disqualification of their team's catch. If a team is disqualified 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.

28. RULES INTERPRETATION

Interpretation of these rules will be left to the Division Director. Infractions of any rule may result in disqualification of catch.