|
|
2009 Emerald Coast Redfish Club Season MEMBERSHIP / TOURNAMENT ENTRY FEES: Membership fee is $35.00 person per year. Only paid members may participate in ECRC tournaments. Tournament Entry fee will be $10.00 per person for any of the 9 regular season ECRC events (Championship will be Free). A contestant can pay ALL 2009 season membership and tournament entry dues before the date 2/01/09 for $100.00 (this does not include any Calcutta entries). Payment may be made by check or money order to: The Emerald Coast Redfish Club, 4203 Crosswinds Dr, Pace, Fl 32583, or in person at the ECRC 2009 Kick Off Party on January 9th. If choosing not to pay for all club membership and tournament dues by 2/01/09, then contestants may sign up and pay at the check-in of any regular season ECRC event. All membership and tournament entry fees will go into the ECRC bank for "End of Season" cash and gift prizes given away after the weigh-in of the Championship. TOURNAMENT SIDE BETS (CALCUTTAS): To participate in any Calcutta, CASH ONLY must be paid during check-in at any ECRC event. $10.00 Calcutta per team for longest Speckled Trout (Dead or Alive). $20.00 Calcutta per team for largest single redfish. $20.00 Calcutta per team for largest Aggregate redfish weight. All the Calcutta pot money will be paid to the winning team(s) at the conclusion of weigh-in of each ECRC event. PARTICIPATION/ELIGIBILITY: Participation is open only to current members of the ECRC. Any person age 16 or under must be a team partner with a parent or a person age 18 or older. Persons under 18 must have the signature of his/her parent or legal guardian on the tournament entry form. All participants must have in their possession a valid fishing license and are required to follow all applicable federal, state, and local regulations and laws. Any violation of such regulations and laws may result in disqualification from the tournament. SCORING SYSTEM: Each team's weight will be measured in pounds and ounces. The highest weight will be 1st Place and receive 100 Points for the event. Each descending weight will receive 1 point less than the previous team. All teams that do not weigh fish will receive participation points, 10 points less than the last team that weighs fish. If a team is disqualified for any reason they will receive (0) points for that tournament. Team's largest fish will determine ties. If teams remain tied, both teams will be awarded 100 points. If both members of a team have paid membership dues and have paid entry fee dues for an ECRC Event, but: was not able to make it or had to leave early, they will still receive participation points for the event. CLUB POINTS CHAMPIONS/TEAM OF THE YEAR: ECRC will calculate your team's best 7 tournament finishes in the 9 tournament regular season to determine the points going into the ECRC Championship. The same 100-point structure will remain in the Championship. The highest placing points team will be crowned Team of the Year at the conclusion of the 11/28/09 Championship. At the Championship, the ECRC will guarantee cash and gift prizes for a minimum of 5 teams up to 20 teams, and a prize for the 2009 season largest redfish within the 27-inch slot. FISH LIMITS & PENALTY: Only Redfish/Red Drum are accepted species. Size limits will comply with state of Florida regulations, total length 18 inches to 27 inches with pinched tail. Total Length means the length of a fish as measured from the most forward point of the head to the hind-most point of the tail on a flat rule. It is advisable that each team checks their measuring device with the tournament director's device. The legal limit is one fish per angler. Teams possessing more than the tournament limit will have their catch for that day disqualified. Fish presented for weigh-in that fail to measure to prescribed length limits will not be counted in team weight for the tournament. If any redfish dies, 1 pound will be subtracted from that fish's total weight. No person shall harvest in or from the waters of the State of Florida at any time, or unnecessarily destroy any redfish of total length less than 18 inches, nor greater than 27 inches. All team weigh in bags will be supplied at each ECRC event. PARTNER SUBSTITUTION: A team may have as many partners as needed, but all partners must pay membership fees. All point credits shall stay with the team captain for the entire season. For an alternate to fish the 2009 Panama City Championship, they must have fished at least two tournaments with any team during the regular season. SAFETY: Safe boating must be observed at all times. At the discretion of the tournament director, tournament days may be shortened, lengthened, postponed or canceled due to unsafe weather or water conditions. The tournament will not start under U.S. Coast Guard "Gale Storm", tropical storm, or hurricane warnings. If a tournament is delayed due to unsafe weather conditions, that tournament will take place the next calendar Saturday. PERMITTED FISHING METHODS: All fish must be caught in the mouth with a rod and reel, Artificial Baits Only, NO LIVE BAIT. All snagged fish will not be weighed. Only one fishing rod per contestant may be used at a time. No wading or trolling permitted. PERMITTED FISHING LOCATIONS: Teams may fish anywhere in tournament waters available to the public and accessible by boat, except areas designated as "off limits," "no boats," "no motors" or "no fishing" by local, state or federal officials. All angling must be conducted from the boat. The only time a contestant is permitted to leave his/her vessel is in order to move it far enough from obstacle i.e. sandbar to continue safe operations. Teams must leave and return to the official checkpoint by boat. The boat must remain in the tournament waters during the tournament day. No tournament boat may be loaded on the trailer before the weigh-in except with the permission of the tournament director. During tournament hours, 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. TOURNAMENT HOURS: Safe light until 3:00 PM. Safe light / Safe Weather time may be adjusted by tournament director. Teams must be in a stationary position at the official check-in by 3:00 PM to weigh in fish, 3:01 PM will be considered late, resulting in deduction on 1 lb per minute. Safe Light / Safe weather wait time can be added to end of day up to 2 hours. EMERGENCY OR BREAK DOWN: In the event of equipment failure or emergency, there will be only one permitted method of team members returning to the official check-in to weigh in fish: - Both team members must remain in their boat and be towed in by water. Under this condition the team's catch may be counted without a penalty (except for late penalties, dead fish penalties, or other penalties pertaining to other tournament rules). Teams that elect to return to the official check-in by any other means than cited above will be forced to forfeit their catch and will be awarded participation points only. If a call is made to the tournament director before the official weigh in time, he can make an exception to any late penalties being placed on the rescue boat if they are tournament contestants. BOAT & HORSEPOWER REGULATIONS: All boats must be a minimum of 15 feet in length. Each boat must have all required U.S. Coast Guard safety equipment on board. All boats used in the tournament must contain a sufficient livewell for keeping two redfish alive for long periods of time. Outboard motor will not exceed the horsepower capacity set forth on the Maximum Capacity placard installed by the manufacturer. SPORTSMANSHIP: Each team is expected to follow high standards of sportsmanship, safety, courtesy, and conservation. The use, possession or consumption of any illegal drugs (other than prescription) during tournament fishing hours will not be tolerated and shall be cause for disqualification from current and future ECRC events. If a member appears to be under the influence of alcohol during tournament fishing hours, it will result in disqualification from current and future ECRC events. |