2009 SEASON AMERICAN BASSTOURNAMENT RULES

“TEAMTOURNAMENTS”

1) Theserules are for all 2008/2009 American Bass “Team Tournaments”. In addition to these rules, eachcontestant MUST READ, UNDERSTAND, AGREE TO, AND SIGN a 2008/2009 American BassWaiver. Failure to “agree to”  “Truth Verification” provisions statedin the Waiver may result in ineligibility to participate in American Bassevents and loss of membership status with American bass.  Separate or additional rules may applyfor “American Bass Team Opens”, “Special Events” or non-team tournaments.  It is the responsibility of eachentrant to know these rules. Ignorance of the rules is not a defense for violation of them.  Regional Tournament Directors shallapply penalties for rule infractions. Protests must be made in writing within 30 minutes of the officialcheck-in time of the final flight at each tournament. The person(s) submitting the protest must be present andwilling to identify the offender(s) in a face to face situation at the time thedirector confronts the named offender(s). The Regional Tournament Director may assess a penalty/disqualificationwithout a written protest. Theresults of any event where protests have been filed or penalties ordisqualifications have be assessed shall be considered unofficial until areview of the incident has been conducted by the Head Tournament Director ofAmerican Bass. This review shallbe completed within 72 hours of the event. The exception to this 72 hour limit is for “TruthVerification” testing (see Truth Verification rule for additional information).  In the event of “Truth Verification”testing the final decision on tournament results are pending the outcome of thetest. The decision of the HeadTournament Director shall be final in all matters. Adjustments to the results/paybacks, if necessary, shall bemade after the final decision. American Bass uses this procedure to assure fair and consistentapplication of rules and penalties in all regions and matters.  Our objective is to offer you thefairest most consistent handling of any problem. To avoid protests, if you suspect a possible infraction isabout to take place - Alert the would-be offender and check the rules!

COMPUTERGENERATED RESULTS - In the unlikely event of a computer failure at any eventwhere the tournament director utilizes a computer to generate the results, thedirector may choose to give the basic tournament results and payments at theawards ceremony but hold any option payments until the computer problem isresolved. All results will becompleted within 72 hours of the event and all results will be posted on theAmerican Bass web site. All optionwinnings will be mailed within 72 hours. This procedure is necessary to insure respect for all of the competitorstime. The possibility of acomputer failure exists. Alldirectors keep back-up data that will assure proper payment. However, manual checking of this datacan be time consuming and would not be practical at the weigh-in site.

2) SPORTSMANSHIP- Any contestant who displays poor sportsmanship and/or misconduct and/orviolates these rules and/or violates the state fishing laws or lake rules maybe disqualified and/or excluded from membership in American Bass. This includes conduct on and off thewater including improper fishing techniques, illegal fishing techniques,misconduct in and around the host facilities for any event including hotels,casinos, retail establishments, etc. Misconduct is a bad reflection on organized fishing and AmericanBass. Misconduct may be deemed asan infraction of our sportsmanship rule and is grounds for disqualificationfrom any event and/or exclusion from membership in American Bass.  Any angler who engages in improper orillegal fishing techniques, either during a competition or not, may bedisqualified from any event and/or excluded from membership in AmericanBass. American Bass shall make thedetermination as to any sportsmanship, improper fishing techniques and/ormisconduct issue. American Bassreserves the right to refuse membership in American Bass to anyone.

3) PARTICIPATIONAND ELIGIBILITY - Participation is open to all members of American Bass. Membership in American Bass is open toeveryone. However, American Bassreserves the right to refuse membership and to refuse participation in AmericanBass events to anyone. Any anglerunwilling to provide accurate address and/or social security # information maybe denied membership. At least one(1) partner of each team shall be 18 years of age or older.   Those anglers under the age of 18years must have written consent of parent or guardian.  No one under the age of 18 may fishalone without special provisions. A “Team” consists of two anglers. One member of a team may fish alone at any American Bass event, however,points will not be awarded if the other partner fishes the same event with adifferent partner.

4) BOATAND HORSEPOWER REGULATION (TEAM TOURNAMENTS) - There is no minimum length orminimum horsepower requirements to compete in American Bass “Team Tournaments”or “American Bass Team Opens”. Nointernal combustion engine is required. Other American Bass tournaments will specify any specificrequirements. Horsepower shall notexceed the horsepower rating for that boat or the U.S. Coast Guard rating plateattached to the boat by the manufacturer. Each boat must contain all required U.S. Coast Guard safetyequipment. Boats must contain aproperly aerated or recirculating livewell to maintain alive a team limit catchof fish. Ice chests with anaerator is acceptable upon approval of the tournament director. Any vessel deemed “unsuitable” by aRegional Tournament Director will not be allowed to participate in that event.

5) SAFETY- All boats must meet Coast Guard regulations. Boat owners must carry a minimum of $300,000 single limitliability insurance. Safe boatingshall be observed at all times. During competition, each contestant is required to wear a Coast Guardapproved life jacket anytime the combustion engine is in operation. Anyone found operating a boat in anunsafe manner in the opinion of the Tournament Director may be disqualified.  All boats must be equipped with anemergency ignition shut-off device which must be securely attached to thedrivers body whenever the combustion engine is in operation.  Any non-lanyard shut-off systems mustbe approved by the tournament director. All boats 16 ft. must have a float cushion on board.  Each contestant is responsible to haveproper safety equipment to meet state and local regulations.  It is not the responsibility ofAmerican Bass or any tournament sponsor to provide assistance in on-the-waterrepairs or rescues at any time. Each contestant shall provide their own on-the-water assistance ifneeded. American Bass and itssponsors are not responsible to assure that any contestant has returned at theend of any contest. For safety,each contestant should inform another contestant as to the location(s) thatthey will be fishing and have that contestant check to assure that the othercontestant has returned safely at the end of the contest and have a plan forassistance if needed.

6) PERMITTEDFISHING METHODS AND TACKLE - All fish must be caught live in a conventional andsporting manner. Trolling, alsoreferred to as ripping / sweeping or jerking, is prohibited. Cast and retrieve methods of rippingand jerking are legal. Onlyartificial lures may be used with the exception of pork rind or deer hide.  No prepared or live bait may beused. The intentional snagging offish is strictly prohibited. Landing nets are permitted in American Bass events.  Only one “rod and reel” may be used ata time. Rods may not exceed 8 feetin length.

7) PERMITTEDFISHING WATERS - Contestants may fish anywhere accessible by boat, except areasdesignated as “off limits” or “no fishing” by the tournament director, local,state or federal officials or within 50 yards of any marina gas pump. All angling must be conducted from theboat. At no time may a contestantleave the boat to land a fish or to make the boat more accessible to fishingwaters. No contestants are permittedto leave their boat in an effort to propel or float their boat to fishingwaters they could not otherwise reach, however, the use of push poles ispermitted. The boat must remain inthe tournament waters during the tournament day. Contestants must leave and return to the official check-inby boat. Some events have“off-limits” periods preceding the event. Consult the schedule or call the Regional Director for details.

8) ENCROACHMENT- A “25 yard rule” is in effect at all times during competition. No contestant’s boat may move within 25yards of another contestant’s boat at any time for the purpose of fishingwithout the consent of all contestant’s involved. A boat moving from one area to another may infringe uponthis zone as long and the parties that are moving do not fish and do not intentionallydisrupt the area. Judging distanceis very difficult on the water. Asa general rule of sportsmanship all anglers should give all others enough roomto make a reasonable cast to fish an area. Exception: In the case of fishing docks or piers, nocontestant’s boat may “tie up,” or “protect” more than a single dock at onetime regardless of the distance involved.

9) EQUIPMENTFAILURE OR EMERGENCY - In the event of equipment failure or emergency,contestants boat may be towed to the check-in. If it is necessary to transfer fish to another boat, it mustbe another contestants boat. Atleast one member of the team must accompany the fish to the weigh-in site.

10) FISHINGHOURS AND LATE PENALTY - Official fishing hours will be announced at tournamentsign-up prior to each event. Allcontestants must check in at the weigh-in site. Contestants who are not at the official check-in area at theappointed time may be disqualified. DON’T BE LATE! No cullingof fish in the host marina or weigh-in area.

11) LIVEFISH - Contestants shall makeevery effort to keep all fish alive through the use of a properly aeratedlivewell. American Bass stronglyrecommends the use of chemical additives in livewells. .20 lbs will be deducted from the totalweight for each dead fish presented for weigh-in. Night tournaments, “special” events or any specific event orregion, may have a different dead fish weight penalty.  The Regional Tournament Director or adesignee will make all judgements of fish mortality. Culling of dead fish is prohibited and may result in disqualification.

12) SCORING- Scoring will be determined by the total weight of each teams catch. The limit shall be five (5) fish pertwo angler team, five (5) fish for an angler fishing alone.  (Some lake limits may be less)  Check for legal species at eachevent. The official minimum lengthfor bass shall be thirteen (13) inches unless otherwise stated at sign-up or ifthe lake limit is greater than thirteen (13) inches. Bass will be measured laying down, mouth open / tail fanned,on a FLAT board. (Some lakes mayrequire different measuring techniques) Bass presented for weigh-in which fail to measure the prescribed minimumlength limit shall be removed from the catch and a penalty of one (1) poundwill be deducted from the remaining weight. Each team’s catch must be presented in an official weigh-inbag.

“Team Tournaments” will award 100points for first place, 99 points for second place and so on. All ties will be broken by the teamweighing the heaviest bass at that event. Ten (10) “Show-up” points will be awarded to each team in attendance atAmerican Bass “Team Tournaments”.

Team Classic Qualification: A teams best 5 finishes will counttowards American Bass Team Classic qualification from a single region.  Teams may fish all events in any region.  If a team fishes more than 5 events ina region, their lowest finish(s), including the “Show-up” points for thatevent(s) will be dropped for the final standings calculation in that region.  Any team must compete in a minimum of 5events in any region to qualify to compete in the American Bass Team Classicfor that region. The best 5finishes for each team in each region will be counted to determine the regional“Angler’s of the Year” title. These teams must have fished a minimum of 5 events in that region toearn this title. The “Angler ofthe Year” title will be awarded in each region to the team that accumulates themost points their best 5 finishes in that region. Anglers competing in the American Bass Traveler’s regionmust compete in a minimum of 5 events in any one Division (North, Northwest orSouth). Points will be accumulatedby totaling the best 5 finishes with no more than 3 finishes counted in any oneRegion. The “Angler of the Year”title in Traveler’s will be awarded to the team that accumulates the mostpoints from their best 5 finishes in each Traveler’s Division (North, Northwestand South). Many American Bass“Special Events” award Traveler’s points. Additional information is available on www.americanbass.com.

“Anglers of the Year” for each region will be determined by the team thathas the most points based on their best 5 finishes in any one region.  If a team fishes more than 5 events ina region, their lowest finish(s), including the “Show-up” points for thatevent(s) will be dropped for the final standings calculation for “Anglers ofthe Year”. A minimum average of 10boats throughout the season is required in any region to qualify for “Angler ofthe Year” awards. Not all regions listed in the event schedule award “Anglersof the Year” awards at the end of the season, even if the average participationis greater that 10 boats. Many“Special” regions do not award “Anglers of the Year” awards.  Call for specific details on theseregions.

13) OFFICIALBOATS - Officials may be on the water during tournament hours and can approach,photograph or observe any contestant’s boat. Each contestant is requested to cooperate with allreasonable requests.

14) WAIVERAND RELEASE - Each contestant must sign an annual American Bass waiver /release form prior to entering their first event each year.

15) PRETOURNAMENTPRACTICE (PRE-FISHING) - Most regions allow pre-fishing on the tournament lakeprior to each tournament. However,some regions have restrictions for pre-fishing. Check with the Regional Tournament Director for eachevent. At no time during the“closed period” will contestants be permitted to “fly the lake” for the sake ofscouting the waters. No SCUBAdiving or snorkeling will be permitted by contestants during the off-limitsperiod or on any specified practice rounds or on any competition day. Any tournament that is preceded by amajor National holiday on the Monday prior to the event will allow pre-fish onthat Monday. Call American Bassfor conformation on “legal” Monday pre-fish days.

16) NOALCOHOL - No alcoholic beverages are allowed during tournament hours. No alcoholic beverages are allowed inany tournament boat.

17) BOATINSPECTION - Boat inspection instructions will be given at the sign-upsite. Failure to obtain a sign-offat boat inspection may result in disqualification.

18) LOSTWEIGH SLIP - The loss of a weigh slip during tournament hours may result indisqualification.

19) COOPERATION WITHMEDIA/PROMOTION - Within the framework of reasonable requests, all contestantsin American Bass events will cooperate with media representatives covering saidevent. Likewise, participation inthe tournament grants American Bass the use of any pictures of contestants,accounts or interviews with contestants it gathers for the lawful promotion ofAmerican Bass and its tournament operations and sponsors.

20) TOURNAMENT PROTECTIONRULE - Any act or inflammatory statement by any contestant that, in the opinionof the Tournament Authority, is detrimental to the operation of the tournament,damaging to organized bass fishing, to American Bass or any of its sponsors, orto permitting agencies or their officers (such as rangers, wardens, fisherybiologists, etc.) during the practice round or tournament, may result in thetemporary or permanent suspension from all future American Bass tournaments.

21) CITATIONS - Acontestant cited by officers for violation of State or Federal fishing orboating regulations may be disqualified.

22) TRUTH VerificationTESTING - All contestants, by virtue of their entry into any American Bassevent, are subject to testing by any “Truth Verification” method by authorityof the management of American Bass. The cost of testing may be assessed to the challenger.  Failure to comply to taking or failureto pass a “truth verification” test, either at the tournament site or at anytime after the tournament is concluded may result in forfeiture of any or all awards.  This may also affect your membership statuswith American Bass. See the waiverfor additional details.

If you have any questions,

CALL AMERICAN BASS  (310) 376-1026