2012 Tournament Rules

General Rules

Registration: Early entry fees and forms should be mailed to Bluewater Movements, Inc., PO Box 50114, Lighthouse Point, FL 33074 or faxed to 954-725-4070. Make check payable to Bluewater Movements in the amount of $736 per team (tax included). Early entry fee valid through 2/14/12. Entry fee after 2/14/12 is $948 per team (tax included). Registrations at the kickoff must be paid by cash, Mastercard or Visa. Entry fees are not refundable for any reason. For questions regarding registration call (954) 725-4010.
Entry Forms: Entry forms must be filled out by all participants in the Sailfish Challenge with appropriate fees and registration information. Officials in the Sailfish Challenge reserve the right to refuse application or entry into the tournament at their discretion with or without cause.
Date & Location: Tournament competition will be held on 2/25/12 with a kickoff party & final registration on 2/23 from 6pm-10pm at the IGFA Hall of Fame, 300 Gulfstream Way, Dania, FL 33004. The awards ceremony will be held on 2/26 from 4pm-6pm at Blue Moon Fish Company, 4405 W. Tradewinds Ave., Lauderdale by the Sea, FL 33308.
Eligible Species: Sailfish, White Marlin, Blue Marlin, Dolphin, Wahoo, and Kingfish.
Maximum Anglers: All anglers should be listed on the entry form. There is no limit on anglers. Additional crewmembers or mates may accompany the team if desired. Any teams with angler changes or substitutions must notify the committee prior to the start of fishing.
Maximum Lines: All boats are permitted to fish up to eight lines in the water in the Sailfish Challenge.
Tackle: All fish must be caught on rod and reel. Wire lines are permitted. No electric reels (except kite rods and downriggers). All teams must use a non-offset circle hook in the tournament. The length of the leader may not exceed 15 feet. The combined length of the double line and the leader may not exceed 20 feet in length. Artificial dredges are permissible in the tournament.
Bait & Bait Fishing: Fishing with live bait is permitted in the tournament; however, live chumming is not permitted. Frozen chum is acceptable. Registered boats may catch their own live bait at any time during the tournament.
Hook & Catch:All anglers must hook, fight, and catch their own fish. Once a fish is hooked, that angler must fight the fish until it is properly released, boated, or lost. Anglers may not pass rods to fellow anglers once a fish has been hooked. A fish is considered to be hooked once a strike occurs and the drag is engaged or the bail is closed. The use of a rod holder to hook a fish is allowable provided the individual that engages the drag is the same person that fights the fish until release, catch, or loss.
Tournament Channel: The tournament committee will operate on channel 74. Channel 68 will be used as an alternate. The tournament channel is reserved for specific announcements and the report of angler releases. All discussions among competitors should be conducted on alternate channels.
Boundaries: Participating boats are limited to the waters off the coast of Florida no more than 35 miles offshore. Boats may fish as far north or south as they wish, so long as they return to the check-in area in their boat by the time specified in rule 14.
Check-Out: Teams may check out of Government Cut, Hillsboro Inlet or Lake Worth Inlet. Each team must specify which inlet they will check out of on their entry form. A team may change their selected inlet by phone on Friday, February 24^th through 4pm. After that time, inlet locations may not be changed. Boats may begin checking out on Saturday at 6:30 am. All boats must pass by the check-out crew at idle speed and clearly display their boat # for verification with the check-out committee. Check-out locations inside each inlet will be announced at the captain’s meeting. Any boats that do not visually clear prior to fishing will be automatically disqualified from the tournament.
NO BIMINI START: Upon checking out, all boats should exercise idle speed until clearing the inlet. Once beyond that point all boats may proceed safely towards their fishing grounds to await the official announcement for lines in the water over channel 74 at 7:30 am. No boats may be trailered to or from their fishing locations during the tournament.
Check-In: Boats with release cards, Mini DV tapes, DVD’s and/or SD cards to turn in must do so by visually displaying their boat # to the check-in committee at the specified location inside any one of the (3) inlet checkpoints by 5:30 pm. Check-in locations for each inlet will be identified at the Captain’s meeting. Fun fish may be weighed in at any of the check-in locations. Boats that do not check in one of the specified locations by 5:30 pm will be ineligible to submit their release cards or weigh their fish.
Weigh-In: Fish may be weighed in at all three check-in locations. The weigh stations open at 4:30 pm. All fish must be brought to the weigh station in the boat that they were caught. Boats will be called to the weigh station in the order that they check in. Listen for your boat number to be called on channel 68 before approaching the weigh station docks. All decisions of the weigh master are final.
Weather: In the event that weather conditions arise deemed unsafe for the average registered boat, by the tournament officials, the tournament may be called off for that day. No refunds will be made in the event of cancellation. Any notice of cancellation will be broadcast on channel 74. If Saturday is weathered out, the tournament will be moved to the same hours on Sunday. It is expressly understood that the permitting of fishing by tournament officials does not ensure the safety of registered anglers or any other occupants of their vessels. Captains, anglers, and all other members of registered boats must determine in their own judgment whether to fish under the given conditions based on factors including but not limited to the seaworthiness of their boat and their own seamanship.
Protests: All protests must be submitted in writing along with $500 cash or check to the tournament officials within five hours of the conclusion of the day of fishing. All decisions of the tournament officials regarding protests are final.
Polygraph: By entering the tournament all captains, anglers, and occupants of their boats voluntarily consent to submit to a polygraph examination as deemed necessary by tournament officials. All decisions of the polygraph examiner will be final. Any captain, angler, or occupant of a registered boat who refuses to take a polygraph or provides untruthful answers as determined by the examiner will be disqualified from the tournament without further notice. Such a disqualification will eliminate payment or provision of any prize money, awards, and/or refund of entrance fees.
Tournament Discretion:The tournament director reserves the right to implement his or her discretion at any time during the tournament as it may apply to the rules or any other circumstance that should arise during the course of the event.
Release: All registered captains, anglers, and occupants of their boats consent that tournament officials may use without payment or restriction, any photographs or video in which he or she appears for any purpose whatsoever, including but not limited to resale, advertising, and promotional material.
Hold Harmless: It is expressly understood that all registered participants and non-registered occupants of their boats enter into the Sailfish Challenge voluntarily and at their own risk. Further, each registered and non-registered participant on behalf of other family members and/or executors agrees to release and hold harmless Bluewater Movements Inc, tournament officials, sponsors, and all other persons connected directly or indirectly with operation of said tournament from any liability for libel, slander, loss, damage, negligence, harm, injury, or death suffered by any participant, entrant, sportfishermen, their companions, boat captains, mates, crew members, vessels or their equipment during the tournament.

Competition Rules

Scoring: Billfish Points- Registered anglers will receive 200 points for each eligible billfish released in the tournament. All team and individual prize categories will be awarded based on the individual or team’s overall point standings. In the event of a tie, winners will be determined by the team or individual that releases their last fish first.
Scoring: Dolphin, Wahoo & Kingfish Points- These species must weigh a minimum of 10 pounds to be eligible in the tournament. Each boat may weigh in a maximum of 1 fish per species. Each fish meeting weight requirements will be given a score of one point per pound. These points will not be included with points awarded for billfish releases when determining the top team standings. See prize structure for details on funfish prize categories. Mutilated fish will be disqualified. All decisions of the weighmaster are final.
Billfish Release Criteria: All billfish must be properly released in order for the 200 points to be scored to the registered angler and his or her team. The requirements for a release are as follows: (1) The double line and leader must leave the tip of the rod once a strike occurs. (2) At the conclusion of the fight the fish must be brought close enough to the boat for a mate or crewmember to touch the leader, not the double line. (3) In a continuous sequence, video footage must clearly identify the fish as well as the leader touch by a crew member. (4) The proper color card and confirmation # must be displayed on video to mark the completion of a catch.
Video Requirement: Every billfish released in the tournament must be verified by video footage clearly identifying the release. Each team is responsible for providing their own video camera and the appropriate media to record video footage which documents the releases on their boat. Video media will not be provided to teams by the tournament committee. Acceptable video formats are Mini DV tape, Mini DVD-R disc and SD cards. The first video clip to be shot by all teams should be of the checkout staff at your chosen inlet on the morning of the tournament. If you fill your first video and need to switch to a 2nd video during fishing please contact the radio room for an establishing shot to begin your video. If you are shooting with a Mini DVD camera, be sure to finalize the disc prior to turning it in to the committee during check-in.
Continuous Video Sequence: To ensure the authenticity of the releases, each team will be required to maintain a continuous video sequence from the time video evidence of the fish is established up to the time the leader touch is verified on video. If a break in the footage should occur, the team must reestablish video evidence of the fish again with a continuous video sequence up to the leader touch. It is not necessary to keep the camera rolling while waiting for a confirmation # and color card verification from the committee.
Break Image: Once a release has occurred, the captain must contact the radio room for a confirmation # and instructions on which color card to shoot before footage of a subsequent release begins. If a team is hooked up to multiple fish, a crewmember should state that on camera with video evidence to support it. If both fish are brought boat side at the same time the break image can be made once both fish are properly released and confirmation numbers are received.
Release & Catch Verification: All billfish releases must be reported to the tournament committee immediately following the release. Individuals calling in a release must include the boat number and angler name in their report. A release will be official once the radio controller responds to the respective angler with a confirmation number. That confirmation number should be recorded on the registered angler’s release card. Any boat unable to contact the committee should contact another boat for a relay. A tournament cell phone # will also be provided to teams at the Captain’s meeting. Boats that intend to fish in areas with poor cell phone coverage are still responsible for maintaining communication with the tournament committee on all releases.
Amateur Division: Two primary factors will be considered when determining whether a team qualifies to compete for the prize money in the amateur division. #1: If any team member, mate or guest on the competing team's boat has ever earned money in the past 10 years on the water in South Florida as a full-time or part-time captain, guide, mate or commercial fishermen then that team shall not be eligible for the amateur prize money. #2: If any team member, mate or guest on the competing team's boat has ever placed in the top 8 of any South Florida Sailfish tournaments then that team shall not be eligible for the amateur prize money. The tournament committee reserves the right to exercise final discretion in determining any team's eligibility for this category.
Winnings: All winners are required to provide their social security number prior to receiving any awards. Awards and prize money will be withheld as required by law if a social security number is not presented in advance of the awards presentations.