North Florida Gulf Fishing Club 2010 Tournament Rules

1.          Teams may consist of one to four members.  

 

2.          One team member must be at least 18 years of age. All members of a registered team must fish from the same vessel.

 

3.          At least one team member must be a member in good standing with N.F.G.F.C. In the event of an unforeseen situation that would result in a team composed entirely of non-members, and if this team finishes in the top 3 for the tournament, one membership fee will be deducted from the team’s winnings.

 

4.          Non-members may fish no more than two tournaments a calendar year.

 

5.          Entry fees are $20.00 per team regardless of number on team up to four. Entry fee for a team with at least one non-member is $25.00.

 

6.          Entry fees are non-refundable. The only exception to this is in the event that a tournament is postponed or cancelled by the Tournament Director.

 

7.          In the event a tournament is cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances, it may be rescheduled by the Tournament Director.

 

8.          The Tournament Director reserves the right to make all decisions regarding the safe operation of a tournament.

 

9.          Each captain is responsible for the safe operation of his or her vessel and must comply with all federal and state regulations governing such operation.

 

10.      Tournaments will begin at safe daylight, as determined by the Tournament Director, at the launch site.  Anglers may launch their boats before safe daylight.  For non-ramp specific tournaments, they may not go above idle speed and cannot have lines in the water until safe daylight.  Safe daylight is defined as 30 minutes before sunrise. This time will be posted on bigbendfishing.net, nfgfc.org, and mentioned at the Thursday meeting before the tournament each month.

 

11.      Tournament conclusion time will be 3:30 p.m. At least one member of each team must check in with the Tournament Director by this time.  Any team that checks in late will be penalized as follows: Up to 5 minutes late- 25% of total stringer weight. Over 5 minutes to 15 minutes late- 50% of total stringer weight. Over 15 minutes late -  no credit for the day’s catch

 

12.      Each team is allowed to weigh one person’s legal bag limit for the specified tournament species. Only fish of legal harvest size, according to State law, will be accepted at the weigh in. Questionable fish will be measured by the Tournament Director. If a fish is determined to be illegal, the fish will be removed from the team’s catch. The team will not be allowed to substitute another fish. 

 

13.      Only recreational limits may be kept during tournaments. Commercial limits are not allowed.

 

14.      Only fish taken by hook and line are eligible for weigh in. Electrically driven reels on freestanding rods (Electramates) are acceptable. Mounted winch devices (one armed bandits), motor driven long lines, spearing, Gigging, netting, shooting (including bang sticks), or any method of catching fish in violation of Florida or U.S. laws are prohibited. Use of any illegal method for catching fish will result in disqualification from the tournament of all entrants on the violating team.

 

15.      All weights are final. Fish will not be weighed more than once.

 

16.      In the event of a tie, the team with the greater number of fish will take the position. If the teams that are tied have the same number of fish, the tie will be broken by the weight of the teams’ largest fish.  If still tied, the tie will be broken by the weight of the teams’ second largest fish.  The process will continue until the tie is broken.

 

17.      Teams are allowed to use live, dead, or artificial bait considered legal by the laws of the State of Florida.

 

18.      No team may approach another team on the water any closer than 100 feet unless under mutual agreement by both teams.

 

19.      Contestants may exit their vessel to fish (i.e. wade fish).

 

20.      All participants must possess a valid Florida Saltwater Fishing License when applicable to Florida State Law.

 

21.      All team members are expected to conduct themselves in a safe, courteous and professional manner at all times. The Tournament Committee will have the final say in all conduct matters.

 

22.      The Tournament Director may implement additional tournament specific rules and restrictions for individual tournaments. Entrants are responsible for understanding rules for each tournament.

 

23.      The tournament committee shall consist of the Tournament Director and four club members designated by the Tournament Director. 

 

24.      The Tournament Director will determine location for draw tournaments. The Tournament Director or a designated representative will conduct the draw.

 

25.      The Tournament Director may allow anglers choice of launch site.

 

26.      HAVE FUN!

 Angler of the Year Points System

 First Place = 50 points  

Second Place = 49 points  

Third Place = 48 points  

Fourth Place = 47 points  

ETC (All teams with legal fish to be weighed will be placed and will receive points in descending amount, by 1 point. I.e. 7^th place = 44 points.)  

If a team does not present a legal fish for weigh in, the team will be awarded 25 points for participation.  

Tournament points are awarded to all NFGFC members of each team. Guests do not receive points.

Even though tournament points are awarded to an entire team, Angler of the Year is an individual award. The Angler of the Year will be determined as the individual angler with the most points at the end of the tournament year. Each angler is allowed to drop 1 tournament at the end of the year. For example, if there are 10 scheduled tournaments, each angler will count his or her best 9 tournaments. If a tournament is cancelled throughout the year, it will not count as a drop.

In the event of any points tie for Angler of the year standings, the higher standing will be awarded to the angler(s) with the greater number of fish weighed throughout the year.  If the tied participants have weighed the same number of fish for the year, the second tiebreaker will be most highest individual tournament finishes (IE- the angler with the most first place finishes will be awarded the position). If this does not break the tie, the angler with the most second place finishes will be awarded the position. The process will continue through as many finishing positions as necessary to determine standings position.

Cash Payouts 

The NFGFC Board of Directors will determine the prizes for Angler of the Year at the February Board Meeting for the following year’s tournament series. Each tournament will pay back 100% of the entry fees collected and will be dispersed as follows:  

First Place = 50%  

Second Place = 30%  

Third Place = 20%

In the event there is not a qualifying team for the entire payout (less than three teams weigh fish) the money for those places will be designated toward Angler of the Year awards.