2010 Tournament Rules

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Colorado Walleye Association

PO Box 861, Wheatridge, CO  80034-0861

www.cwaonline.net

“Encouraging family, friendships and fun through education and competitive angling, while conserving our walleye resource” 

2010 Tournament Application  

Points Tournaments    Two day tournaments $160 Per Team – CWA membership required for all tournaments excluding Fall Classic – Limited to first 100 teams for all tournaments with the exception of Cherry Creek; Limited to first 60 teams.

Note: Tournament Date are subject to change without notice  

PICNICS:  Club will provide main dish at point tournaments – Teams should bring side dishes. Utensils & plates provided. 

RULES MEETING There will be an optional rules meeting held at or near the boat ramp at 8:00PM Friday evening prior to each tournament to go over lake specific rules, launch time, weight station location and time.  If you are a new member or have not fished a CWA tournament; the Friday night rules meeting is mandatory.  All tournament numbers and packets will be handed out at the rules meeting.  Please contact the tournament director with any questions. 

2010 Colorado Walleye Association (CWA) Tournament Regulations 

RULES Contestants will be responsible for knowing and abiding by all CWA, State and Local rules and regulations which pertain to the tournament waters at all times. The following rules for the tournament will be used.  Solely, the Tournament Committee, which consists of the Tournament director, and two CWA board members, which will be appointed prior to the tournament, will interpret the rules.  The Tournament Committee, or any contestant, has the right to protest another team or contestant.  All protests must be submitted to the Tournament Committee in writing and include a protest fee of $150.00, within 30 minutes of completion of the daily weigh in.  Following interviews with the concerned parties, a ruling will be made.   In the event, it is determined a violation occurred; daily and /or tournament weight will be forfeited as well as entry fee, cash, prizes and awards and the reason for the disqualification will be announced at the awards presentation.   If the protest is valid the $150.00 (cash) protest fee will be returned to the team protesting.  If the protest is found invalid the fee will be forfeited to the CWA treasury.  The Tournament Committee will interpret the rules according to the spirit and the intent of the rule and their decision in all disputes is final. 

SPORTSMANSHIP All CWA anglers are expected to act in a sportsmanlike manner at all times. Courteous and safe conduct is required from all contestants. Any contestant’s conduct or action, which negatively reflects the CWA, other contestants, sponsors or the host community at any time, will be subject to disqualification for the entire Tournament and Point Tournaments. 

ELIGIBILITY Two-person team, both of which must be members in good standing of the CWA, with the exception of the Ice Breaker and Fall Classic. The Ice Breaker and Fall Classic is an open tournament and teams need not be members of the CWA to participate.  An adult club member must accompany any team member under the age of 18. Anglers who are under 18 years of age by April 1, 2009 will be considered Youth anglers for the entire 2009 tournament season.  The CWA retains the right to request and review youth age verification.  Both members need to have the ability to operate the boat safely. Only team members are allowed in the boat.  Both team members must posses a valid State or Local fishing license.   Substitutions are allowed but must be submitted to the tournament director 7 days prior to the tournament.  If either of the two anglers is unable to complete the tournament, the remainder of the tournament will be forfeited. The Tournament Committee reserves the right to refuse entry to any individual who has been disciplined for tournament rules violations.

MEMBERSHIP CWA memberships run January 1 through December 31.  Members are responsible for maintaining and having membership up to date and current.  If membership is not current 7 days prior to the tournament you will not be allowed to fish and your entry fee will be forfeited.  

ENTRIES Forms must be RECEIVED 7 days prior to the tournament.  Rosters will be assembled by postmark.   

RULES MEETING will be held at or near the boat ramp at 8:00 PM, Friday evening prior to each tournament. The rules, tournament packets, boat inspection and start times will be announced including picnic information and special announcements. It is suggested that at least one team member be present and checked in between 8:00 PM and 8:30 PM.  If you have not competed in the CWA tournaments recently (2009) the meeting is mandatory or the team will be disqualified without a refund of entry fees.  Only exceptions are prior notification to the Tournament Director 7 days in advance with valid excuse or conflict.  In the case of exceptional circumstances it will be a case by case evaluation.  

REFUNDS Entry fee refunds will be made only if the Tournament Director receives a written cancellation notice 7 days prior to the tournament date.  A cancellation fee of $30.00 will be assessed to each tournament cancelled. 

TOURNAMENT CANCELLATION Tournament officials retain the right to delay, cancel, or restrict tournament waters in the case of severe weather.  All CWA events will be two-day events (with the exception of the Icebreaker and Fall Classic), unless shortened or delayed due to weather or any unforeseen circumstances.  In the event that the scheduled fishing is interrupted, all of one day or parts of two days will constitute a complete event.  If one day of a tournament is cancelled, and a refund is due, only the teams that check-in and pass boat inspections with the tournament officials are entitled to a refund.  CWA will refund 80% of the tournament entry fees for the specified tournament. In the event a cancellation occurs in advance of the tournament due to sever weather or travel conditions and is rescheduled, participants who have a schedule conflict will receive a full refund.  

FISHING AREA Fishing will only be allowed within the legal boundaries of the lake. Areas buoyed and otherwise defined by the body of water’s governing agency as off limits, and the area adjacent (within 50 yards) to the weigh in area, shall be declared off limits. You may not operate any boat outside the designated fishing area during tournament hours. Contestants may not leave their boats at any time except in case of an emergency or allowed by special permission of tournament officials.  In this situation, the team must check in with a tournament official, and the boat will be re-inspected prior to continuing to fish.  In the case of severe weather or lightning, that poses a threat to personal safety, team boats may proceed, to the nearest shore until it is safe to continue.  No physical contact is permitted between boats during tournament hours.  CB’s, cell phones, text messaging, and marine band radios are permitted for emergency transmissions only.  Use of such devices to communicate fishing information or to listen to fishing information is prohibited and will be grounds for disqualification.  

PRE FISHING All pre fishing will terminate for point tournaments and all tournament anglers must be off the water by 5:00 PM on Friday prior to the tournament.  Any infraction of this rule will result in a 2-pound deduction applied to Saturday’s weight. 

PRE LAUNCH INSPECTION   Check in will start 1.5 hours prior to launch.  All boats must check in for inspection prior to launch.  Once your boat has been inspected you must launch at that boat ramp.  CWA also provides on the water inspection, if you wish to launch from a different location.  Once you are inspected you may not leave the area, doing so is grounds for disqualification.  All teams are subject to inspection during the tournament.  CWA patrol boats may come along side and conduct inspections at any time.  Any team found in violation of any rule or regulation will be disqualified. 

ALCOHOL AND DRUGS Alcoholic beverages or illegal drugs are not to be consumed by contestants or allowed in the tournament boats during tournament hours. Nor is it to be brought to weigh in area.  If a participant appears to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs at anytime during tournament hours, they will be disqualified.  Protests submitted regarding this rule are not subjected to the protest fee. 

STARTING SEQUENCE There will be two flights with the boats being started in one continuous trickle start.  Starting positions will be determined by the order of entries received.  On day two of the tournament the starting sequence will be reversed.  Any boat missing their start time must wait until the end of their flight before taking off. The start boat will re-announce boat numbers that have not left the take off area. 

HOURS OF TOURNAMENT   Saturday, first flight boat numbers 1-50: 6:30- 3:00, second flight boat numbers 51-100: 6:30 - 3:30.  Sunday first flight boat numbers 100-51: 6:30 - 2:00, second flight boat numbers 50-1: 6:30 - 2:30.  

BOAT OPERATION Each entrant is required to wear a personal floatation device upon take off.  All teams must depart by boat from designated area and may do so only under the direction of an official.  Safety is of the utmost importance, especially during launch.  Any unsafe operation or failure to adhere to buoys (no wake, no boats, etc.) by participants will result in disqualification of the team.  All coast guard safety rules apply, including local liability insurance requirements, if applicable.  The following items are required to be in each boat to participate in any CWA tournament: 2 life jackets, throw cushion, fire extinguisher, horn or whistle and an aerated live well or cooler.   

PERMITTED FISHING METHODS Artificial and live bait that complies with the State and Local regulations are allowed.  Each angler may use no more than two rods at a time.  Be aware of second rod stamp regulation if required.  Spare equipment may be carried in the boat.

FISH AND LENGTH   Fish refers to Walleye and Saugeye. Minimum length limits:  Cherry Creek 18”, Pueblo 18”, Trinidad 15” and McConaughy 15”.  McConaughy permits only 1 fish over 22” per angler. All Colorado lakes permit only 1 fish over 21” per angler.  Any fish that is brought in to the weigh station that violates State or Local regulations will result in the team’s disqualification from the entire tournament.  It is the sole responsibly of the angler to abide by State or Local regulations; the CWA is not responsible for illegal possession of fish or actions taken by an angler during or surround an event.

LIMIT AND CULLING Each team may possess 8 fish, and weigh their best 5. Once a fish is placed in the live well, it is in your possession.  Returning a fish to the water once it is in your possession is considered culling.  Culling is not allowed and will be grounds for disqualification.  Any tournament angler who is observed discarding dead fish will be disqualified.   Once a team has 8 fish in the live well, that boat is done for the day and is required to proceed to weigh in and get off the water.   

WEIGH IN The weigh in station hours will be announced at the Friday night meeting.  All boats must check in with the Check-in boat or Weight Master regardless of weather or not they have fish to weigh.  Team number, number of fish, final weight for the day and time will be recorded.  Teams will be allowed to weigh 5 fish. Teams checking in later than their designated check-in time will be penalized 50% of their weight for that day and will be disqualified for big fish of the day.  Teams checking in more than 15 minutes late will have their entire weight disqualified for the day.  Any fish that is brought in to the weigh station that violates State or Local regulations will result in the team’s disqualification from the entire tournament.  All fish will be checked and deemed releasable or not releasable while in the bump tank of the weigh station.  Releasable fish, in good condition will be given full weight.  Fish turned into the weight station which are unsuitable for live release or dead will result in a 50 % penalty of the weight of the fish.  Weigh master will make final decision on fish condition.  The weight master has first and final say on fish being weighed including verification of length.  Any discrepancies or protests will follow paragraph one and will be evaluated by Tournament Director or Committee.   

SCORING All tournaments are catch and release unless otherwise noted or informed by the Tournament Director or Committee.  Each team has sole responsibility for the care and the handling of their fish, prior to turning them over to the weigh staff.  Final placement will be determined by total weight for the day.  In the event of a tie, the two finishing teams will be combined and the winnings will be split down the middle.  Example if 1^st and second place have a tie, they will be combined for a tie for first place and the winnings will be combined and split down the middle.  

BIG FISH AWARD Anglers are responsible to declare which, if any, of your fish need to be weighed for big fish.   

AWARDS All awards will be based on a guaranteed 80% payback to the field.  Plaques will be awarded for 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd place over all as well as top adult youth team and Top Mixed Team. Tournament payouts are based on a full field per the payouts listed on the entry form.  In the event there is a tie for total daily weight, the tie will be resolved by splitting the collective prize and points.  Ties for big fish each day will be resolved by splitting the prize award equally. 

POINTS The first place team will receive 100 qualifying points, decreasing down to the last team weighing fish, all other teams will receive 5 points.  This excludes the Invitational and Fall Classic.  These points will be used to determine the Team of the Year standings.  To qualify for Team of the Year, a team must fish all three of the points tournaments with the same partner.  The top three teams and the top Adult/Youth team will receive trophies and other contingency prizes.  In case of a tie, the total aggregate weight from the team’s top three tournaments will determine the winner. 

WAIVER Promoters, sponsors, tournament officials, directors, organizations assisting in the tournament operation, their agencies, agents, etc., are not responsible for death, injuries, damages, liability, theft, fire or loss of any kind to entrants or their vessels.  Each entrant, upon signing an entry form, is signing a release waiver form agreeing to this statement.       

 MEMBERSHIP:  CWA Memberships run January 1 through December 31.  All anglers must be members of the Colorado Walleye Association to participate in point tournaments.  The Fall Classic is open to the public with no membership required.   Membership dues are $25.00 for an individual or a family membership.  Youth teams consist of one adult and a youth angler under the age of 18 prior to the first point’s tournament.  Mix teams consist of male and female angling team. 

Name ___________________________________________________M____ F____ Age_______  Address ______________________________City __________________ State _______ Zip __________ Phone ___________________   Cell _______________ Email_________________________________

Boat Make & Model _____________________________Motor Make & HP_______________________

Team One Member signature___________________________ Date ________________ 

Team Two Member signature___________________________ Date ________________