Rules for 2008
(Subject to change)
 

RULE CHANGES - These rules could be subject to modification if needed throughout the season. Interpretation of these rules shall be left exclusively to the tournament director. Failure to comply with any rule may result in disqualification. The decision of the tournament director and/or ruling board shall be final in all matters. Tournament Director may choose a ruling board consisting of a panel of the tournament director and 2 contestants. Contestants will be selected from boat draw positions 3 and 7.

PARTICIPANTS AND ELIGIBILITY - Participation is open to all who are 12 years of age or older. Proof of age to the satisfaction of tournament officials is the responsibility of the competitor. A properly completed and signed official entry form and the entry fee must be presented to the tournament director prior to the tournament. A single entry/release form will apply to all yearly events. Tournament officials reserve the right to refund any entry fee, if they shall choose for any reason not to accept the application for entrance. Tournament Director may comp an entry under special conditions.  Any person entering a tournament that is under 18 years of age must have the signature of his/her parent or legal guardian on the entry form. To encourage youth participation, a youth 12 years of age or older may participate if accompanied by an adult 21 years or older and have written approval by his/her legal guardian or parent.

PRE-TOURNAMENT PRACTICE - There will be no official practice period or off-limits period prior to the tournament.

REGISTRATION - All entry forms and payment must be received on the Wednesday prior to the tournament date by 3:00 p.m. (Sorry no credit cards but PayPal is accepted). A refund or transfer to another tournament date may be requested in the event you cannot participate in a tournament entered; however, the request must be made before the Wed. 3:00 deadline. Depending on availability, on-site registration period is defined as 1 hour preceding start of tournament. Entry fee will be $200/Pro and $50/Am with a 40 boat max. field.  All entries must be paid before the second Friday prior to each event to be in the boat draw.  Tournament Director must received notification of any cancellations before the Weds. of each event or entries will be forfeited. Membership fees are not reimbursable upon cancellation.

TOURNAMENT FORMAT – Excel Elite events are a Pro/Am format with the Pro in control of the boat at all times.  The Am cannot help the Pro in any way to; source spots, help netting, run the boat or trolling motor.   Both the Pro and Am will weigh-in their own catch.   The Pro is responsible for providing the Am with a life jacket and other related safety items.

The Am will be required to contribute to the Pro, a reasonable amount of money to cover gas.  The Pro and Am will determine what is reasonable. The Am will be paired with a Pro using a blind draw computer selection process.  In case there are not enough Am entries, the Pro will fish as a single.  The draw will be the Thursday before each event and will be posted on the website with ease-off position, names and phone numbers.  The Tournament Director has the right to pair Pro/Am after the draw for late sign-ups.

SAFETY - Safe boating conduct will be observed at all times. Each competitor must wear a serviceable U.S. Coast Guard approved chest-type life preserver (PFD). This preserver must be worn, strapped, snapped or zipped any time the combustion engine is operating and until the combustion engine is shut off. The boat operator must have a safety-stop switch attached to his person when the combustion engine is running. Violation of either the PFD or safety-stop switch portion of this rule will result in disqualification.

SPORTSMANSHIP - All contestants are expected to follow high standards of sportsmanship, courtesy, safety and conservation. Violation of this rule shall be reason for disqualification. No alcoholic beverages or illegal drugs are allowed in the boat at any time. Drunkenness at any official activity will be grounds for immediate disqualification. Each contestant must keep the waters clean and bring trash back to the dock for disposal. Any violation of state, local or federal laws may result in immediate disqualification.

TACKLE AND EQUIPMENT - Only artificial lures with the exception of pork rind may be used. Only one rod and reel combination may be used at one time. Trolling as a method of fishing is prohibited. All bass must be caught live and in a conventional sporting manner. All angling must be done from the boat. Anglers are not permitted to leave the boat to land a fish or leave the boat to gain access to secluded waters unless needing to retrieve lure or in case of emergency (i.e.nature call or bad weather). Citizen band radios, marine radios and cellular phones are allowed in the boat for emergency use only. Any transmission of information via any communicative device concerning any aspect of fishing is prohibited during the tournament.

SCORING - Each competitors catch will determine tournament standings and placement. Only largemouth or smallmouth bass will be weighed. The limit shall be Pro (5) and Am (5) no combined weights.  At no time shall a competitor have in his/her possession more than the tournament limit. Culling must be done immediately. Minimum length will be 12 inches. A penalty of 1 lb. will be deducted from the total weight for each short fish and a penalty of 4 oz. will be deducted from the total weight for each dead fish. Fish must be able to stay/swim upright to be considered as a live fish. If big bass is weighed dead, a 4 oz. penalty is subtracted from the scale weight. A contestant that presents more fish than the tournament limit will be disqualified immediately. All live fish will be returned to the lake and the tournament director will dispose of any dead fish. Points earned will be determined on place of finish. Example: 1st place = 100pts, 2nd place = 99 points ect.  If a team doesn't weight-in any fish they will earn 35 "show" points.

BOAT AND MOTOR - All boats entered in the tournament must carry a $300,000 liability insurance policy. Any boat considered inadequate to safely fish two contestants for an 8-hour day will not be allowed.  Determination with cause is solely at the tournament director's discretion.  All boats must be a minimum of 14ft in length, have an operational safety stop switch on 35HP and over motors, and have all required U.S. Coast Guard safety equipment. Each boat must also have a properly aerated or re-circulating live well to maintain a live limit catch of bass by both contestants. Maximum horsepower for all outboards used in tournament competition will be 300 HP, not to exceed the maximum horsepower limitations set by the U.S. Coast Guard. Each boat must have a U.S. Coast Guard horsepower rating plate attached to the boat by the manufacturer. The horsepower of the outboard engine must not exceed the rating specified on this rating plate or the 300 horsepower maximum.

PERMITTED FISHING LOCATIONS - Contestants may fish anywhere accessible by boat, except areas designated by federal, state or local officials or within 50 yards of another competitor's boat, anchored or not. Competitors invoking the 50-yard rule must hold their boats steady. Any competitor that allows any other competitor to fish within 50 yards of his boat has suspended the 50-yard rule and opened the water to all competitors. No competitor can be within 10 feet from a non-competitors boat or person on the water, in a boat or on a dock.

OFFICIAL CHECKPOINT - There will be only one official point for checkout and check in as designated by the tournament director. Competitors not at the checkpoint ( boat off-plane ) at the designated time will be penalized at the rate of 1 lb. per minute, deducted from his/her total weight for the day. Any competitor more than 15 minutes late for check-in will be disqualified for the day. Any competitor may join the tournament within 1 hour of start time provided they check-in with tournament director on the water. A cell phone number will be available to determine location of "on the water" check-in.  Tournament Director has the option to the assign last boat out as "ease-off" boat.

TOURNAMENT HOURS - Official start and weigh-in times will be announced at the pre-tournament meeting. Our best effort will be given to allow at least 8 hours fishing time. In the case of adverse weather conditions, the tournament director will open weigh-in early.

TIE - In case of a tie, big bass will be tie breaker. No big bass weighed-in by contestant will equal 0.00 lbs. If both parties don't weigh-in big bass then a flip of the coin will determine place. Example, a tie for first place: the loser of the flip is awarded second place.  Other pot ties, parties will split the pot.