1. INTERPRETATION & ENFORCEMENT: 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. 2. LIABILITIES/RISK: The SBC will not be liable for any accident or injury to contestants or spectators or for any damage to property. A contestant's entry into this tournament constitutes a release of liability to the SBC, and any of the event s sponsors, their successors and/or assignees, for any such accident, injury, or property damage the contestant may be involved in. Every contestant is responsible for reading and understanding these rules, and the SBC Code of Conduct. A copy is available on the internet at www.thestripedbasschallenge.com, or may be viewed on request to the Tournament Director. Each contestant, by entry into any of these events, consents to the requirement to take and pass a polygraph exam to be eligible to win any prize including cash and merchandise. 3. COMPETITION PAYBACK & PARTICIPATION: There are two competition divisions and teams can compete in only one division in this tournament. 100% of proceeds will be paid back. a. SBC PRO Division is for the serious competitor that is interested in competing in a professional team fishing competition. i. The entry fee is $500/boat and is restricted to a total of four (4) team members in the boat. ii. Payout is guaranteed for the Top spot. Payout for 2 nd through 15 th places are based on the total number of entries. Pro teams are assigned to Group A for flight numbers. Group-A flight will depart first. iii. Lines out for the Pro Division will be 3:00PM. All Pro teams must be checked in by 4:00PM b. SBC Open Division is for the family competitor interested in fair and fun competition. i. The entry fee is $150/boat and is restricted to a total of four (4) team members in the boat. ii. Payout is guaranteed for the Top spot. Payout for 2 nd through 15 th places are based on the total number of entries. iii. Open Division teams are assigned to Group B for flight numbers. Group-B will depart approximately 5-minutes after all Group-A flight boats depart. iv. Lines out for the Open Division will be 2:00PM. All teams must be checked in by 3:00PM. 4. SPECIAL AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS: The following special awards and recognitions have no entry fee and are awarded to the specific angler based on special criteria. The score is the final tournament score and place finished after any penalties are assessed.
a. YOUTH ANGLER-OF-THE-TOURNAMENT: Awarded to the youth (age 15 or younger) based on the highest weight fish regardless of Division registered. This prize is awarded to the winner s team and the distribution of the prize among the team is not the responsibility of the tournament. b. LADY ANGLER-OF-THE-TOURNAMENT: Awarded to the Lady (female angler age 16 or older) based on the highest weight fish regardless of the Division registered. This prize is awarded to the winner s team and the distribution of the prize among the team is not the responsibility of the tournament. c. THE BAD BOY BUGGY BIG STRIPED BASS OF THE TOURNAMENT: Awarded to the angler that finishes with the overall heaviest striped bass regardless of Division registered. This prize is awarded to the winner s team and the distribution of the prize among the team is not the responsibility of the tournament. a. 5. SAFETY/CAPTAINS CHOICE/COMPETITION: This is a boating and sporting Captains choice team event and is thus limited to fish caught with rod and reel from aboard a specific team boat. Fish must be caught by anglers registered in the competition from the same boat registered in the competition. Fish caught from a different boat, or while the angler is outside the boat are not eligible. All contestants must have a valid fishing license as required by the State. All State game and fish laws must be obeyed. U.S. Coast Guard safety requirements must be followed. The team captain is responsible for the actions or inactions of the team, as it pertains to the SBC competition. Failure of the Captain and/or team members to comply with state and local regulations can, at the sole discretion of the Tournament Director, render a team ineligible to compete for prizes. 6. REGISTRATION AND PRE-TOURNAMENT CAPTAINS MEETING: Registration will be open to the general public from July 1 to August 31, 2015. Each team must register during the month of August 2015 to be eligible to compete in the December 5 th 2015 tournament. Adjustments to team members may be made at the Captains meeting but the total number of team members cannot be increased after registration. All teams must be represented at the Friday, December 4 th Captains meeting. In the event of an emergency or due to sponsorship obligations, teams may request permission from the Tournament Director to send a boat representative to the Captains meeting. If permission is granted this representative must attend the pretournament Captains Meeting. Failure of the Captain or a representative authorized by the Tournament Director to attend the Captains Meeting can, at the sole discretion of the Tournament Director, render a team ineligible to compete for prizes. 7. COMPETITION CHECKOUT/IN FLIGHTS AND WEIGH-IN: Trailering will NOT be allowed. The SBC tournament competition hours for all competitions (including any changes) shall be as announced by the Tournament Director at the Captains Meeting. Boats should be in the water 30-minutes prior to the expected safe light time announced at the Captains Meeting. All boats should be present for the opening ceremonies. All
activity shall stop and appropriate courtesies shall be exhibited during the opening prayer and the playing of the National Anthem. The tournament Check boat will be clearly marked and be displaying the American Flag. Ceremonies and check out activities will be conducted over the marine radio on channel 10. All boats must check out and check in with the check boat. a. FLIGHTS: Flight assignments will be based on the order of team registration. The first pro team registered with be A1, the second A2 and continuing. The open teams will follow the same naming convention with the first to register being B1, the second B2 and continuing. Official flight time is determined by the Tournament Director. Opening ceremonies on Saturday morning will begin at approximately 7:00AM. i. The SBC PRO teams will occupy the Group-A flights with 10-teams per flight. Flights will be in groups of 10-boats and Flight assignment will be based on the receipt of paid registration. There will be a 1-minute timed safety pause between each flight to allow the water to settle. The first 10 PRO teams registered will be in Flight-A, and will be numbered A-1 through A10. The following PRO flight numbers will be A-11 through A20, A-21 through A30, A-31 through A40, and A-41 through A50 and so forth. ii. The first Open Division flight will depart approximately 5-minutes after the last SBC PRO flight leaves the check-out area. The first 10 SBC Open/Family Series Division teams registered will be in Flight-B, and will be numbered B-1 through B10. The following SBC Open/Family Series Division flight numbers will be B-11 through B20, B-21 through B30, and so forth. Just as in the PRO Division, there will be a 1-minute timed safety pause between each flight to allow the water to settle. b. LAKE LIMITS: Fish entered must be caught only from the Lake Proper. The Lake Proper has no off limits period before the event. The boundaries of the Lake Proper shall be defined as navigable waters to include rivers and creeks leading to the Lake Proper. However, waters of the Saluda River will be limited to the waters downstream from SC Hwy 121 Bridge (GPS 34.183443, -81.725664) leading into Lake Murray to the Lake Murray Dam. c. WEIGH-IN: A tournament official will verify the creel and assess penalties in accordance with rule 10. It is the sole responsibility of the crew aboard each boat to off-load and present its catch for weighing/scoring. No fish will be allowed to remain in the boat. A crewmember must accompany fish to the weigh station. It is the responsibility of the contestants in the tournament to bring ALL their fish to the scales but will only be allowed to weigh in two (2) eligible fish. If more than two (2) fish are possessed, the two (2) fish to be weighed in must be properly identified by the team before presenting them to the tournament official. The official scale will NOT be used to cull fish. The captain of the team MUST be present at the weigh-in. In the event of an emergency a Captain may designate a representative to act in his/her stead with special permission granted by the Tournament Director. ALL team members must sign the official weigh-in form.
8. ACCEPTABLE SPECIES: Any species of True Bass Family (Striped bass, hybrid striped bass, white bass, yellow bass, etc.) may be weighed in for the SBC Striped bass competition provided they are 21-inches or longer. Live fish will get priority at weigh-in. All fish brought to the tournament area MUST be in a container not visible to the general public. 9. TOURNAMENT SCORING: Scoring is determined by the total weight measured in pounds and tenths and/or pounds and hundredths of a pound of each team s catch during the SBC Lake Murray Fall Brawl less any penalties assessed. No regurgitated forage or other foreign matter may be placed in a Striped Bass. 10. PENALTIES: A team receiving penalties can receive multiple penalties and have scores deducted up to the total weight of the team for that day. However, at no time can penalties be assessed to give a team a negative score. a. DEAD FISH PENALTY: Every effort must be made to keep Striped Bass alive through the use of a properly functioning striper tube or functioning live well system. A 10% weight penalty will be deducted from the total weight for each dead Striped Bass presented for weigh-in. The dead fish penalty shall be applied to all dead fish in possession in the boat up to the possession limit. The definition of a live fish for our tournament is a fish that has good color, clear eyes and the ability to swim up right. b. UNDER SIZE PENALTY: The minimum length limit for Striped Bass will be 21- inches. Striped Bass presented for weigh-in that fail to measure the prescribed tournament length limit will be penalized at the rate of 100% of the weight for each short Striped Bass presented. c. LATE PENALTY: Contestants who are not at the check-in area at the appointed time will be penalized 1 pound per minute, deducted from the total weight, including any weight to be counted toward the Bad Boy Buggy Big Striped Bass of the Tournament Award and the Lady and Youth angler awards. Any contestant more than 15 minutes late will lose credit for that day s entire weight unless otherwise approved by Tournament Director. d. CITATION PENALTY/MISCONDUCT PENALTY: Any team receiving a citation from any law enforcement official during the tournament event hours may be subject to a weight penalty of up to 100% for that day of the tournament. Contestants who violate any of the tournament rules including any Code of Conduct are subject to disqualification and/or penalties based on the severity of the infraction. Any contestant showing signs of being under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or who operates a boat in a manner which might endanger others, will be disqualified and receive 100% penalty for the score for that date. Public consumption of alcohol during the tournament hours is prohibited. Penalties for
misconduct or citation will be levied at the sole discretion of the Tournament Director. 11. TIES: In cases of a tie in the two (2) Fish Tournament, the largest fish will determine the place the boat will receive. If the boats are still tied, the ultimate tiebreaker will be a coin toss conducted by the Tournament Director. PROTESTS: Any protest against contestants must be filed in writing (within ten 10-minutes after the last flight check-in time) with the Tournament Director, and must be accompanied by a cash protest bond (no checks) of $150. Teams cannot join together in a protest. Each team protesting must provide a separate protest bond. All protests must be in writing stating the specifics of the protest. If the protest is upheld, the money is returned, if the protest is not upheld the protest bond will be donated to the Harvest Hope Food Bank, 2220 Shop Road, Columbia SC 29201. 12. TRUTH VERIFICATION TEST: Each team, upon tournament registration, agrees to submit to a polygraph or voice stress analysis examination and to abide by its conclusion. Failure to pass an examination will result in disqualification from the tournament. Truth verification tests will be used at SBC s sole discretion, and the determination of the meaning of the results will be made solely by SBC. If results of one member of a team is inconclusive the SBC may select another team member to be tested. 13. INSURANCE: Liability insurance as required by the local and state governments is required for all SBC events. Proof of insurance must be with the boat being used and must cover all passengers in the boat. Random checks will be conducted. Failure to provide proof of insurance when requested by the Tournament Director may result in disqualification.