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FLATSMASTERS
SPONSORS |
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FLATSMASTERS
SPONSORS |
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Flatsmasters
Official Rules for the 2008 Tournament Season
| 01. |
The
entry fee for the 2008 Flatsmasters Series will be as
follows: |
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$600 for each of the 4 tournament legs |
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(a
$300 deposit , $75 per leg, will be required to enter
the series, balance for each event will be $525) |
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No
Entry Fee for the Flatsmasters Championship |
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A
late fee of $100 will be assessed to any payment
received with in 12 days of the event |
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Any
tournament may be rescheduled due to extreme weather. |
| 02. |
Flatsmasters
teams may consist of up to 3 anglers, each angler must
be a member of The |
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Flatsmasters
Anglers Club, team members may substituted during the
tournament |
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year
but all anglers must be members of the club. Points
and Prizes are awarded to |
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the
Captain of the Team, the Captain may not be
substituted, but 2 team members |
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may
fish with an absentee captain. |
| 03. |
All
contestants are required to follow all applicable
federal, state, and local statutes, |
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rules,
and regulations (laws), any violations of such laws
may result in |
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disqualification
from that particular event or expulsion from the
tournament series. |
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This
includes slow or idle zones and manatee areas. |
| 04. |
All
Flatsmasters Tournaments allow anglers to wade fish,
when an angler is out of the |
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boat
wading, the boat outboard engine (combustible) must be
off. |
| 05. |
Anglers
may fish anywhere on tournament waters accessible by
boat, except areas |
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designated
as off
limits or
no
fishing by local, state, federal, or
Flatsmasters |
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officials,
or within 50 yards of a competitors boat .actively
engaged in fishing.. The |
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definition
of .actively engaged in fishing. is a boat with the
trolling motor in |
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operation
with anglers fishing, a boat held In place by anchor,
push pole, or Power |
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Pole,
or one or more anglers wading. |
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There
will be no fishing within 200 yards of the weigh in
site. |
| 06 |
No angler at anytime may alter any
fish by length or weight with the intention of
gaining |
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advantage
over another competing team. |
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In
addition, no angler may hand or force feed any
tournament fish |
| 07. |
All
boats used in tournament competition must contain
recirculating or aerated live wells |
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that
are at least 2.4 cubic feet or 18 gallons in capacity.
All competing boats must |
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have
all required US Coast Guard safety equipment. For the
safety of all |
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competitors,
All
Flatsmasters teams are required to use kill or
ignition
cutoff |
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switches
and life vests during operation of the combustion
engine. Fuel may
be |
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carried
only in factory installed fuel tanks. Additional fuel
may be purchased from |
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a
retail facility. |
| 08. |
No
changing of boats without tournament official
inspection of disabled boat, |
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replacement
boat must be checked in at tournament dock prior to
restart. |
| 09. |
No
tournament boats may come together for any reason or
pass anything between boats |
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during
tournament hours. Exception for emergency purposes or
in the weigh in line. |
| 10. |
A
VHF radio is required for each tournament boat for
communication of the numbered |
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start.
The use of cell phones, radios ,or other electronic
devices will be prohibited |
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during
tournament hours for the purpose of discussing fishing
with anyone. |
| 11. |
There will be a .pro style. numbered
start. Teams will be released in order of their
drawn |
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boat
number at 5 second intervals. All boats must idle by
the official committee |
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boat
when their number was called. The start will be
broadcast on VHF #68. |
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Late
check allowed until 8am. Boats late for the numbered
start must remain at dock |
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until
checked. |
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Boat numbers will be drawn at each
Captain's Meeting. The first 60 teams to reserve |
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their
series spot, will draw the first 60 numbers, all
remaining teams will draw 61 and |
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up. |
| 12. |
No
angler may fish in the confines of any commercial
marina. A commercial marina is |
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defined
as any marina with a guide dock, boat ramp, bait
dispensing facility, and/or |
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fuel
dock. An addition there will be no fishing within 100
yards of any public boat |
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ramp,
guide dock/ramp, bait dock, or fuel dock not in a
commercial marina. |
| 13. |
Teams may weigh in from 1:30pm to
3:30pm. All teams must be checked-in or be in
the |
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check-in
line by the 3:30pm deadline. |
| 14. |
This
is a catch & release tournament. All fish must be
released alive after weigh in. You |
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will
however be allowed to weigh in one dead fish per year.
The penalty is 1/2lb. |
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For
trout and 1lb. For snook and redfish. An oxygen
release tank will be available |
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for
those teams with stressed fish. Fish may be put in the
tank after they are |
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weighed
in. Time limit in the tank is 20 minutes after which
the fish will be |
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determined
to be alive or dead. |
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No
iced or mutilated fish will be accepted. |
| 15. |
In
all Flatsmasters Tournaments, the tie breaker for
First Place will be a One Hour |
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Shoot-Out
between the 2 tied teams. The team with the heaviest
legal tournament |
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fish
wins. All normal tournament rules apply. |
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In
case of no fish the prizes will be combined and split.
All other ties will be decided |
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by
the time each team completes their weigh-in. |
| 16. |
In
The Summer Redfish Classic and The RedSnook Challenge
Tournaments all baits are |
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allowed. |
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Receiving
bait from an outside source during tournament hours is
prohibited. |
| 17. |
In
The Grand Slam Plug Tournament and The RedPlug
Challenge anglers may use only |
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artificial
lures. No live or dead baits allowed on your
boat. No chumming or tipping |
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of
lures with any natural bait. Scents may be used. |
| 18. |
Only
one rod at a time may be used per angler. A cast must
be fully retrieved before |
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another
rod is picked up. All fish must be caught alive in a
sporting manner. Foul |
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hooked
fish can not be weighed in. A fouled hooked fish is
defined as any fish that |
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does
not have at least one hook in the mouth region. |
| 19. |
Sportsman
Rule - All participants in The Flatsmasters Tournament
Series will conduct |
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themselves
in a sportsman-like manner during all Flatsmasters
activities. |
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Unacceptable
behavior will result in expulsion from all future
Flatsmasters events. |
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Disqualification
or misconduct in any other fishing tournament within
36 months |
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prior
to the tournament date is grounds for an application
not being accepted or |
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returned.
The Flatsmasters may refuse any tournament
application, or deny a |
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previous
application by returning the entry fee or balance of
fees to the Captain. |
| 20. |
Polygraph
tests will be given at random. Each contestant agrees
to submit, by their |
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signature
on the official entry form, to the polygraph test to
determine the results of |
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the
tournament and shall not contest the results. Failure
to be available for the test |
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is
grounds for disqualification. If weigh master of
polygrapher determines that an |
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angler
is unable to take a test, all prizes and points will
be forfeited. |
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Polygraph
tests may be required up to one week after the event. |
| 21. |
Protests
are allowed up to 30 minutes after the last boat
weighs in. |
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All
protests must be in writing and accompanied by $300
fee. If protest is upheld |
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the
fee will be returned, If denied, tournament will
retain the protest fee. A |
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polygraph
test will be given to determine protest. |
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Weighmaster
reserves the right to retain any fish for further
inspection. |
| 22. |
The
Flatsmasters is a TV tournament. All contestants agree
to make their boat and team |
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available
to cameramen and camera boats during the entirety of
any Flatsmasters |
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Event.
All anglers are required to sign a media and liability
release prior to |
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participating
in any Flatsmasters event. |
| 23. |
The
Flatsmasters retains the right to amend or add/delete
to these published rules at any |
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time
during the tournament season in order to maintain the
quality and |
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competitiveness
of The Flatsmasters. |
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