Thursday, October 13, 2016

Lake Simcoe Open's New Rules

Here's some of the new rules for the Bass Pro Shop Lake Simcoe Open. As an angler or spectator, this is one of the most thrill tournament of the season!
The following rules shall apply to the Lake Simcoe Open except that (i) these rules may be changed by the Aurora Bassmasters (AB) immediately upon notice by AB to its members, sponsors, partners, suppliers and/or participants, which notice may be published on http://www.aurorabass.com or http://www.simcoeopen.com
Interpretation and enforcement of these rules shall be left solely to the Tournament Director or to his/her designee. In the event of a rule violation, the Tournament Director or a rules committee may impose such sanctions as deemed appropriate by them; including, without limitation to, disqualification, forfeiture of prizes, entry free and prohibition from participation in subsequent tournaments. Subject to any protests process in paragraph 28 below, the decision of the tournament Director of his/her designee shall be final in all matters. Penalties for rules violations may include the following: (a) loss of catch for the day of the violation, (b) disqualification from the tournament in question, (c) disqualification from future tournaments/events, whereby disqualification may be from a specific number of events or for a specific period of time or may be a lifetime disqualification and, (d) any different or additional penalties determined by the tournament directors.
PARTICIPANTS, ELIGIBILITY & COMPETITION:
1) Competitors must be 16 years of age or older. Competitors under the age of 18 must have written parental consent accompanied by a completed proof of General Rules, Regulations & Liability.
2) Entry fees are non-refundable. The Tournament Director reserves the right to refuse or deny application. Payments must be received in-full by Saturday October 17th. Late Entries will be accepted afterwards right up to 7pm at the pre-tournament meeting beginning at 5pm on Friday October 23rd at the Highway Man Inn, Orillia.  Late entries will be assessed a late fee payment of $50.00 to complete their registration.  These will be accepted on a first come/first serve basis (cash only during pre-tournament meeting)
2a) Tournament Director reserves the right to add up to 10 boats to the proposed 100 boat cap in 2016. A waiting list will be compiled and farmed on a first-come, first-serve basis.
3) All competitors must hold a valid Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources Fishing License and must be on your person & produced upon request- MNRF Conservation Licenses are not valid for the Lake Simcoe Open.

3a) All Federal & Provincial fishing, boating and criminal laws must be obeyed.
4) No live bait; artificial lures only.
5) You are not allowed to have the species of fish you are competing for in your live wells during pre-fish and/or up to 5-days prior to the event itself.
6) Competitors must be off the water by 5:00pm the Friday night prior to the event.
7) Event Fish Limit: Five (5) Bass. In the event a Team is found to be over the event limit, the Tournament Director or Tournament Organizers will throw out your largest fish. No traveling with more than the event fish limit.
8) You must have an operating live well. Once occupied, aeration must remain constant/on at all times.
9) Minimum Size: 12 inches! Short Fish will not be weighed. 1lb penalty will be applied for each occurrence/fish.
10) .5 lb penalty per dead fish.
10a) a dead fish may not be “Big Fish”
10b) Any contested “Big Fish”, may be tested for illegal substances, internal or otherwise, for verification. If intentional tampering to increase the weight of any fish is confirmed, it will result in immediate disqualification and a permanent ban on fishing any future Lake Simcoe Open events for both members of the Team in question. Any fraudulent intent will be met with strict legal prosecution.
11) If in questions, any cash/prize winning competitors must agree to take a lie detector test and pass before receiving their prize. The cost of the test will come out of the payback if the protest stands. If the Team in question is deemed innocent of those accusations put forward, the protesting Team will pay the cost of the test. Participants must make themselves available within 7-days (after) the Lake Simcoe Open.
12) Zero tolerance for unsportsmanlike Conduct (at discretion of Tournament Director or Tournament Organizers). Automatic disqualification will result without refund.
13) Competitors must wear an approved floatation device while outboard is running. Competitors’ boats must meet all required boater safety specifications and is the responsibility of the Team as a whole. Failure to do so will result in disqualification.
14) Boats must be 16ft or greater and considered seaworthy. No canoes permitted.
15) Identification numbers will be assigned & boats flagged; these must be made clearly visible or produced upon request.
16) All boats must carry a minimum of $1,000,000 insurance liability. Proof of insurance must be produced upon registration and per request.
17) All boats must adhere to the maximum horsepower rating for the boat in question per plate. Kickers are permitted. At their discretion, the Tournament Director reserves the right to refuse unsafe vessels.
18) All combustion engines must have operating kill switches that are attached to the driver when operating.
19) 10km/hr (6mph) or less within 30m (100 feet) of shore. Exceptions: in buoyed channels & canals, on rivers, or sections of rivers less than 100m in width, unless otherwise posted. No passing allowed in posted zones unless you are waived through.
20) No fishing within 100yds of MNRF nets.
21) You must remain 100ft (33yds) from another competitor!
22) Do not approach or board another vessel during the course of the event. Only in case of emergency (see rule 25 for more details).
23) If in need of fuel or repairs, one competitor is to remain with the boat at all times and a valid receipt must be produced for verification if so required.
24) If your boat is deemed no longer functional you may acquire tow by another vessel (competitor or non-competitor). If the tow Team feels for any reason that they cannot tow you as it may jeopardize their respective standing, you must respect their decision and either abort your fish and seek a ride back or await another tow.
25) Fish can be transferred to another competitor’s boat only; one of the downed Team members must stay with the fish and bear witness at all times. Notification must be made immediately to Check-In Boat/Tournament Director via cell phone.
If you choose to transfer your fish into a competitor’s boat, the live well(s) must be separate or you must use a system to clearly identify your fish from a competitors’. Fish cannot be combined within the same live well. If fish are combined in any manner (accidental or otherwise), both Team’s weights will be disqualified. No fishing permitted while in rescue. Rescue boat must proceed directly to Check-In Boat for transfer. Downed boat must report directly to Check-In for inspection purposes. If, after inspection, the fish from the downed boat are found to be tampered with, this will result in disqualification and the rescuing Team placed in protest.
Prize money will be held until further investigation & determination. All competitors must comply with Rule 13 as it pertains to personal floatation devices.
26) If a broken down Team requires a tow by the Tournament Director or their boats or any boats that are not competition boats, the competitors must release their fish. Tournament Directors must remain impartial to all competing Teams and therefore cannot act in an individual manner causing conflict and/or the perception of bias. Emergencies may nullify the aforementioned.
27) If a broken down boat returns to the tournament site and the Team manages to repair their vessel or make the decision to change boats; prior to transferring fish, the boat must be inspected and registered with the Tournament Director.
28) Any protests of violations made prior to check-in time must be made at the Check-In Boat. Any violations occurring after check-in can be made to the Tournament Director. Cost of protest: $100. Protests must be filed before weighing in.
29) You must report to Check-In boat. You may check-in at the tournament site up to 60minutes prior to check-in time (3:00pm). Otherwise, you must return to the Check-In boat. Any boats arriving at the Check-in Boat after the Official Tournament time will be penalized 1lb. per minute. 30) Official Tournament Time will be established and in accord prior to Blast-Off.
30) In the event of a (first) place tie, the competing Teams will fish for an addition hour; heaviest weight wins. Combining the payout placing and purse splitting will equally resolve ties for all other positions.
31) If in case of extreme weather conditions or severe wind/weather warnings, the tournament may be delayed, restricted to Lake Couchiching only, rescheduled or cancelled. The intent is to host the event the following day if fishing is not viable, unless predicted weather conditions (small craft warnings etc.) could also make fishing unsafe. Thereby, the event would then be rescheduled to either the following Saturday or Sunday at the discretion of Tournament Director. This decision will be made by the tournament director the morning of the scheduled tournament.
32) Cell phones are for emergency use only. Each Team will be required to have one fully charged cell phone onboard for emergency purposes. That cell number MUST be supplied to Tournament Directors at registration and the Team is obliged to write down the Tournament Director(s) contact number(s) for emergency use on the water.
33) In case of emergency, call 911 first
34) Presence of alcohol and/or any illegal substance will result in immediate disqualification with no refund.
35) All Tournament Directors’ rulings are final.
36) If you witness an act in violation of the rules, it is considered an infraction to not report it to the Tournament Director and may lead to disqualification.
37) The Tournament Director reserves the right to amend the rules and regulations as they see fit without notice.
38) Any and all taxes payable are the responsibility of respective winners/winning recipients

REGISTRATION:
Each competitor must register in person with Tournament Organizers at the time and place designated in the schedule of events. Failure to register in person during the prescribed hours shall result in a penalty of 1lb off the Team’s total weight. NO EXCEPTIONS. It shall be each competitor’s responsibility to check the schedule of events for registration time and location.
Registrations: Registrations will be held 6pm and 8pm, at Bayside Resturant located at:
500 Atherley rd, Orillia
Early registration: Early registrations will be made at the launch location at memorial park launch  in Orillia between 4pm to 6pm.
Please read all rules and regulations and bring a signed copy of the Rules and liability waver to the registration.

TACKLE & EQUIPMENT:
The use of grippers in landing bass is prohibited. Only artificial lures and biodegradable artificial lures may be used. No “live bait” or “prepared bait” will be permitted during official practice and competition. Only ONE casting, spin-casting or spinning rod and reel may be used at any one time. Other rigs as specified about may be in the boat ready for use; however, only ONE is permitted in use at any given time. All bass must be caught live and in a conventional sporting manner. Anyone guilty of snagging visible fish will have his/her catch disqualified.
SAFETY:
1) Safe boat conduct must be observed at all times by tournament competitors. During the official practice and competition, each competitor must wear an approved floatation device. This floatation device must be worn at all times while the combustion engine is operating. This approved floatation device must be strapped, snapped or zippered securely and maintained in that conduction until the combustion engine is shut off. Violation of this rule shall be reason for disqualification.FLOATER SUIT STRONGLY RECOMMENDED.
2) The Tournament Director has the right to delay, shorten or cancel the start of an official tournament day due to bad weather or other factors that would otherwise endanger the safety of the competitors. Tournament waters may also be restricted at any time because of bad weather.Therefore restricting the fishable waters to Lake Couchiching only, because of high winds, is a definite possibility.
3) In the event of an emergency situation, competitors should call 911 first and then notify Tournament Organizers.
4) Competitors are allowed to leave the boat and seek safe shelter in bad weather where danger may be imminent.
PRE-TOURNAMENT  FISHING / SITE-FISHING:
Pre-fishing is allowed for our tournament up to Friday October 28th 2016 no later than 5pm. Anyone caught pre-fishing or site-fishing after this time will be disqualified from the tournament with no refund.

ANGLER CODE OF CONDUCT:
Anglers shall, at all times, conduct themselves in a manner becoming of anglers that will not reflect unfavorably on the Aurora Bassmasters, it’s members, officers, representatives, tournament or sponsors and/or supplier. To this end, anglers shall use their best efforts to demonstrate professionalism and integrity in support of the sport of fishing.
MEDIA COMMENTS:
In an effort to further establish the integrity of the sport of fishing, the future of the Bass Pro Shops Lake Simcoe Open, it is the obligation of competitors to refrain from comments to the news media that unreasonably attack or disparage the integrity of the sport of fishing, the Aurora Bassmasters, Tournament Director and Organizers, sponsors, suppliers, fellow competitors and BASS alike. Please uphold a level of decorum favorable to the growth and integrity of the sport as a whole.
I have read and am familiar with the General Rules, Regulations & Liability including all pre-fishing stipulations and the recommendation that floater suits be used at all times. In signing the Lake Simcoe Open Application & General Rules, Regulations & Liability, I hereby agree to hold harmless all contestants, partners, tournament directors, parks, property owners, sponsors, and organizers from bodily injury or any damages incurred in connection with these event(s). I am also aware that these events may be filmed for future broadcasts and photographed for print distribution and other intended Medias or promotional vehicles; I hereby permit the use of said images for my person at no cost.
A completed signed copy of acceptance of General Rules, Regulations and Liability must be submitted no later than the registration meeting on Friday October 28th 2016. This form must be signed by both anglers. Special exceptions will be made at the discretion of the tournament director.

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