Beat the Elites Tournaments for Grass Roots Amateur Anglers

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. All competitors agree to report any rule violation to the tournament director immediately upon the discovery of the violation. Failure to report violations may be cause for disqualification. Protests must be made in writing within 30 minutes of the official check-in time of the final flight of each tournament day. Rules are subject to change, prior to the pairings meeting.

2. Participation

Participation is open. All contestants must have a valid Virginia state fishing license.

· The tournament field will be cut to the top 50 Boaters / Non-Boaters after the second day. The field will be cut to the top 12 Boaters / Non-Boaters for the final day.

· A boater whose entry fee arrives at our office by the entry deadline and provides a co-angler (name, address and phone number) will receive entry priority and, if accepted into the tournament, will be drawn with a co-angler. A co-angler whose entry fee arrives at our office by the entry deadline and provides a boater (name, address and phone number) will receive entry priority. All other entrys will be taken in the order of the date and time stamp of the online registration and entry fee payment. Guaranteed status is given at the time both the boater and the co-angler have paid entry fee.

· Entries fees must be paid by check. Entries received after the field has filled will be placed on a waiting list. Those placed on the waiting list and not accepted into the tournament will have their entry returned.

· There will be no official practice period or off-limits period prior to the pretournament meeting for all qualifying tournaments. However, no contestant may be on tournament waters for the purpose of locating bass or potential fishing waters after the start of the pretournament meeting except during tournament hours. The purchasing of, or bartering for, information or the hiring of services will not be permitted after the entry deadline for each qualifying tournament.

4. Registration and pre-tournament meeting

· Each contestant must register in person at the designated site during the official registration hours. It is mandatory that all contestants attend the pretournament meeting that will be held the day before the tournament. Being late for the pretournament meeting could cause disqualification.

· Partners will be paired by draw. All contestants must meet with their assigned partners during pairings at the pretournament meeting. Partners should advise each other of their respective lodging and phone numbers and establish a meeting time and place for the following morning's takeoff. The tournament director, at his sole discretion, may reassign partners prior to the morning takeoff. If the number of co-anglers exceeds the number of boaters, excess co-anglers may choose to change to boater status. The selection of co-anglers in this situation will be determined by date and time of entry beginning with those co-anglers who entered the tournament individually.

· 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, postponed or canceled due to unsafe weather or water conditions.

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.

8. Boat operation

· Boaters will fish from the front deck of the boat only. Co-anglers will fish from the back deck of the boat only. Boaters will have complete control of boat operation and waters to be fished. Boaters may not request that the co-angler not fish. Any boater who, in the judgment of the tournament director, operates the boat in a manner that unfairly handicaps their co-angler partner will be disqualified for that day. In multiday tournaments, co-anglers who share their boater partner's fishing locations with other competitors will be disqualified along with the person utilizing this information.

· The use of mobile communication devices including, but not limited to, cellular phones, marine radios, walkie-talkies, CBs, etc., during tournament hours is strictly prohibited except in an emergency (severe weather, etc.) or to communicate with lockmasters or the tournament director.

· Contestants are expected to compete every day for which they are qualified; failure to do so may result in ineligibility to compete in future events.

9. Boat and horsepower regulations

· All boats must be propeller driven, a minimum of 17 feet in length and have a rear deck.

· All boats must be equipped with wheel steering; no other steering device will be permitted. No barges or similar cumbersome crafts will be permitted.

· 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 horsepower, not to exceed the horsepower capacity set forth on the "Maximum Capacities" placard described below.

o Each boat must have a clearly legible "Maximum Capacities" (or comparably titled) placard that includes a maximum horsepower rating affixed to the boat by the manufacturer.

o The horsepower of the outboard engine must not exceed the maximum horsepower capacity specified on this plate or the 250 horsepower maximum.

o By signing the entry form, each contestant agrees to submit their boat and/or motor to an inspection by tournament 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 ineligibility to compete in future events.

· Fishing platforms must be factory-installed equipment. No portable platforms may be used in tournament competition.

· 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

· Only artificial lures may be used, with the exception of pork trailers, Berkley Gulp! Baits and Gulp Alive!

11. Permitted fishing locations

· Contestants may fish anywhere on tournament waters available to the public and accessible by boat, except areas designated as "off limits" or "no fishing" by local, state, or federal officials or within 50 yards of a competitor's boat that was first anchored. An anchored boat is a boat held in a stable position by a line attached to a weight or by a Power Pole 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.

· No tournament boat may be loaded on the trailer before the weigh-in except with the permission of the 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:

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 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 verification is signed in order for their catch for that day to be counted. 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 may 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 check-out in the morning or failure to check in at the check-in point will result in disqualification. All fishing must cease upon check-in.

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. Any contestant more than 15 minutes late will lose credit for that day's weight.

· Every effort must be made to keep bass alive through the use of a properly aerated livewell. Eight ounces will be deducted from the total weight for each dead bass presented for weigh-in.

· Scoring will be determined by the pounds and ounces of each contestant's catch during the tournament.

· The limit will be five unless the state or lake limit is less than five, in which case the state or lake limit will prevail. Contestants possessing more than the tournament limit will have their catch disqualified.

· The official length limit for bass is the state or lake limit. Smith Mountain Lake limit is 5 Bass, 2 can be less than 14 inches. Bass presented for weigh-in that fail to measure the prescribed length limit will be penalized at the rate of 1 pound for each nonlegal bass presented.

· Each contestant's catch must be presented and verified by the signature of their partner.

· In case of ties, the angler with the most weight for that day will advance or win.

· Each contestant agrees to submit, by their signature on the official tournament entry form, to a polygraph examination and abide by its conclusion. Failure to pass the examination will result in disqualification. Polygraphs will be used at the sole discretion and the determination of the meaning of the results will be made solely by the tournament director.

· Liability insurance, with coverage in reasonable amounts, is required of all contestants.

All payouts are based on a 100 boat field and may decrease if that number is not achieved.

Bonus – If more than one angler weighs in more total weight than the winning Elite Series Angler, the bonus award will be awarded to the angler with the highest total weight.