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TOURNAMENT FEE |
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TEAM ENTRIES |
$60.00 |
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2006 OHIO MARINE OPEN RULES
1. Rule changes These rules will remain
unchanged during the year 2006. Interpretation of these rules will be left exclusively to the tournament director. Decisions
of the tournament director are final in all matters and are not subject to appeal. Protests must be made in writing within
30 minutes of the official check-in time of the final flight of each tournament day.
2. Participation Participation is open
to anyone who are 16 years of age or older. Any person entering a tournament under the age of majority must also have the
signature of their parent or legal guardian in the provided space on the entry form. Entries for
Each tournament will be limited to a total field of 100 teams (unless state law mandates
a smaller number of contestants).
Tournament morning entries will be accepted.
3. Pre-tournament practice There will
be no official practice period or off-limits period prior to the pre-tournament meeting for all qualifying tournaments.
4. Registration and pre-tournament meeting Each team
must register in person during the morning of the tournament. The official check-in time is between 5:00am and 6:00am. No
entries will be accepted after 6:00am the morning of the event.
5. Pairings Teams will
be given boat numbers the morning of the event,
6. Safety Safe boating must be observed
at all times. Each contestant is required to wear a fastened, U.S. Coast Guard approved, personal flotation device anytime
the combustion engine is in operation from boat check until weigh-in. All boats must be equipped with an emergency ignition
shut-off device that must be securely attached to the driver's body whenever the combustion engine is in operation. At the
discretion of the tournament director tournament days may be shortened or canceled due to unsafe weather or water conditions. It
will be a new requirement starting the 2006 that you must have your running lights in and in working order until you reach
your first fishing location. If lights are not in you will be held at blast off until safe light conditions occur for your
release.
7. Sportsmanship All contestants are required
to follow high standards of sportsmanship, courtesy and conservation and to conduct themselves in a manner that will be a
credit to themselves, to the OHIO MARINE OPEN sponsors, Examples of conduct not complying with those standards include,
but are not limited to, the following:
- Consumption and/or possession of alcoholic beverages or any kind of mind-altering substance during
registration, the pre-tournament meeting or during tournament hours extending through the weigh-in procedure.
- Abuse of, or addiction to, mind altering substances.
- Conviction of a felony within the past 36 months.
- Any other words, conduct or actions reflecting unfavorably upon efforts to promote safety, sportsmanship,
fair competition and compliance with tournament rules.
- In case of any conduct not complying with the standards, OHIO MARINE shall have the right
to refuse any application, or to deny a confirmed application, by returning the entry fee of a previously accepted application,
or to disqualify a contestant.
8. Boat operation All teams in a OHIO
MARINE OPEN event is expected to operate their boats with full control and compliance with all the regulations with the
coast guard governing Lake Erie and its tributaries. During the hours of competition contestants may not obtain or receive
assistance from non-competitors, follow a non-competitor's boat or participate in the practice of "hole sitting" or the placing
of markers by anyone. The use of mobile communication devices such as cellular phones, marine radios, walkie-talkies, CB's,
etc., to communicate fishing location or information during tournament hours is strictly prohibited.
9. Boat and horsepower regulations All
boats must be a minimum of 15 feet in length. All boats must be equipped with wheel steering; no other steering devices will
be permitted. No barges or similar cumbersome crafts will be permitted. Each boat must have all required U.S. Coast Guard
safety equipment. Boats must contain a properly aerated livewell space to maintain alive a limit catch of bass by both contestants.
Maximum horsepower for all outboards used in tournament competition will be 250 HP, not to exceed the horsepower limitations
as set by the U.S. Coast Guard. Each boat must have a U.S. Coast Guard horsepower rating plate where applicable 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 250 HP maximum . By signing the entry form, each contestant agrees to submit their boat and/or motor to an inspection
by factory trained personnel. Falsifying information on entry forms or altering the horsepower numbers on the motor or rating
plate will be cause for disqualification from the tournament and may result in future ineligibility to enter Gold Series tournaments.
Fuel may be carried only in factory installed (built-in) fuel tanks. Any additional fuel used during the tournament day must
be purchased from a retail facility open to the public.
10. Permitted fishing methods All bass
must be caught alive in a conventional sporting manner. Only artificial lures may be used, with the exception of pork trailers.
Only one fishing rod may be used at a time. Trolling as a method of fishing is prohibited.
11. Permitted fishing locations Contestants
may fish anywhere on tournament waters accessible by boat, except areas designated as "off limits" or "no fishing" by local,
state, or federal officials, within 50 yards of a marina gas pump or within 50 yards of a competitor's boat which was first
anchored (an anchored boat is a boat held in a stable position by a line attached to a weight with the trolling motor in the
up position). All angling must be conducted from the boat. At no time may a contestant leave the boat to land a fish or to
make the boat more accessible to fishing waters. Contestants must leave and return to the official checkpoint by boat. The
boat must remain in the tournament waters during the tournament day. Tournament boats may be loaded on the trailer before
the weigh-in, except when noted by tournament director. In the event of equipment failure or an emergency, there will be only
two permitted methods of returning to the official check-in: (1) by both partners remaining in their boat and being towed
by water, or (2) by both partners entering the boat of another Gold Series tournament contestant. Under these two
conditions the contestants' catches may be counted without a penalty (except for late penalties, dead fish penalties or other
penalties pertaining to other tournament rules). Contestants who elect to return to the official check-in by any other means
than cited above will forfeit their day's catch to that point in time of the tournament day. Any contestant returning to the
check-in point will be eligible to restart and resume competition only under the supervision of the tournament director or
his designated tournament official. It is the sole responsibility of contestants to locate the tournament director to request
a restart. Partners must remain together at all times and within sight of each other until the weigh-in slip is signed in
order for their catch for that day to be counted. In the case of male/female partners sharing a boat, the momentary condition
of being out of sight of each other for restroom breaks is permitted. If a contestant must violate any part of this rule due
to an emergency or for any other reason their catch for that day will not be counted.
12. Official checkpoints There will be
only one official checkpoint for boat check in the morning and one official check-in point in the afternoon. Failure
to go through boat check and checkout in the morning or failure to check-in at the check-in point will result in disqualification.
All fishing must cease upon check-in. The OHIO MARINE OPEN will begin at safe light until 3:30 pm.
13. Late penalty Contestants
who are not at the official check-in area at the appointed time will be penalized 1 pound per minute deducted from the total
weight including any weight to be counted toward a big bass award. Any contestant more than 15
minutes late will lose credit for that day's weight.
14. Live fish Every effort must be made
to keep bass alive through the use of a properly aerated livewell. We recommends the use of chemical livewell additives
that promote the healthy return of bass to their natural habitat. A (8) Eight ounce
penalty will be deducted from the total weight for each dead bass presented for weigh-in.
15. Scoring Scoring will be determined
by the pounds and ounces of each teams catch during the tournament. Only Largemouth, Spotted, Red Eye or Smallmouth bass
are accepted species. The limit will be (5) five fish unless the state or lake limit is less than five; in which
case the state or lake limit will prevail. Any contestant that possesses more than the tournament limit will have their catch
for that day disqualified. The official length limit for bass is 14 inches unless the state or lake limit
is more than 14 inches, in which case the state or lake limit will prevail. A maximum (5) five Bass
limit may be in your livewell at any one time. Bass presented for weigh-in that fail to measure the prescribed length
limit will be penalized at the rate of 1 pound for each non-legal bass presented. Each teams catch must be presented
in an weigh-in bag that is of high quality, you may use your own bag but it may not leak. If your team does not have a bag,
the Gold Series LLC will provide you with one.
16. Ties In a case of ties, positions
will be resolved by combining and dividing the awards equally among the tied contestants. Trophy positions will be determined
by lottery among those tied. The tournament director may decide to break a first place tie with a fish-off or a coin toss.
18. Insurance Liability insurance is required
of all contestants in Lake Erie Gold Series LLC tournaments. This insurance must be with you at all tournaments
for the request of tournament officials. When signing any Ohio marine open form , you agree that you have read, and
agree to all terms and conditions, and rules associated with the