2025 TNCBA Tournament Rules

Section 1 – Tournament Format Regulations

1. The Tournament Committee will determine the time and location of each tournament. Each site will be discussed and voted on within the committee. The end of year Classic date will also be set. The tournament schedule will be determined and distributed by the 1st club meeting of each calendar year. Day tournaments will not exceed 10 hours in length and night tournaments will not exceed 8 hours in length.

2. Entry fees are currently $20 per tournament for members and $20 for nonmembers (guests). At the beginning of each season, a new big-fish non-cash prize pot will be instituted for club anglers who wish to participate. The participation fee is $10. Club members opting to participate must pay this fee before the first tournament of the year, else this opportunity is forfeited until the next year. Guests who join the club membership later during the year may also opt to participate. Yet the participation fee must be paid at the time club membership dues are paid, else this opportunity is forfeited until the next year. These figures are subject to change by club vote. Up until the March club meeting, members may elect to pay a one-time annual tournament fee to cover all tournaments. Or members may elect to pay 50% of them up-front and pay the remaining 50% at mid-season. The Club will use these funds to support charities and other worthy causes at the end of the year and possibly during the year if needs arise and finances permit. Any club anglers having an outstanding balance owed from the previous year’s tournament schedule are not eligible to fish any current year club tournaments until the previous year’s balance owed is paid in full and club membership dues for the current year are paid. Tournament payments should be made at the club meeting prior to the tournament if possible. Tournament payment for BOTH team anglers MUST be made by the end of the weigh-in on the tournament date. Otherwise, both team anglers will receive a zero (0) team score for that tournament; regardless of any big fish bonus points an angler may qualify to receive. The zero score is final; points will not be awarded for late tournament payments made. Anglers may not register to fish any successive tournament until payments are made for previous tournaments fished.

3. All club members and non-members are required to sign a release, as needed, in which they agree to hold TCBA harmless for any liabilities. All anglers must obtain the proper fishing license(s) needed to participate in any and all tournaments.

Boat owners are required to carry an active boat insurance policy having personal liability coverage. In doing so, boat owners will assume responsibility for expenses associated with any and all damages and claims. This includes, but is not limited to, damages or claims relating to injury of any persons, including themself, and damages or claims to any property, including their own, due to their participation in a tournament event.

As a guideline, TCBA strongly recommends a minimum $100,000 (per incident) personal liability coverage. Yet TCBA will not dictate a specific amount for this purpose.

4. Persons under the age of 18 are only eligible to fish with a parent or legal guardian. A separate release must be signed by the parent or guardian to acknowledge and accept responsibility and liability for minors.

5. Safety is a top priority of TCBA. Participants must wear a USCG approved life preserver whenever the boat is under power. Each boat must be equipped with a fire extinguisher and throw cushion as these are required by the TWRA (Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency). The kill switch must also be used. Boats must have working live wells, aerators, and bilge pumps. Though not required by law, each boater should consider having adequate towing rope in case assistance is needed. In the event of experiencing boat or engine failure which cannot be diagnosed and corrected during a tournament, anglers should contact a club officer or Tournament Committee member immediately to begin the process of finding another angler/team in the near vicinity for towing assistance. 6. Tournaments will be classified as honor start or draw-for-position. For honor start tournaments, club members may trailer and launch at their ramp of choice for more convenient access to a desirable fishing location at the tournament start time. No fishing is allowed until the tournament start time (honor system). For draw-for-position tournaments, participants will gather prior to the starting of the tournament at a safe location on the water near the designated ramp. The tournament director will announce this location at the club meeting prior to the tournament. The drawing for start positions will be held at the previous club meeting. Late entries will start after the last position. The last entry drawn will be the official starter boat. Participants will begin the tournament based on their position drawn. Each participant must be present at the designated ramp or in the water near the safe starting location at the start of the tournament. A live well check will be done on each boat at the tournament start. When their respective position is called, participants may trailer their boat to launch at an alternate ramp. 7. The Tournament Committee reserves the right and is authorized to make impromptu decisions and changes concerning specific tournament criteria. These criteria include - tournament cancellation or postponement due to inclement weather; changes in tournament hours due to weather conditions, launch delays, or conflicting weigh-in times; changes in launch/weigh-in location, and changes in draw/honor start method. Tournaments cancelled due to inclement weather will automatically be re-scheduled for the following week unless the Tournament Committee decides to re-schedule it for another time later during the season. In very rare cases, the Tournament Committee may also elect to change the tournament lake due to unforeseeable and/or exceptional circumstances. For any of these tournament criteria, a vote by the Tournament Committee members present will be taken. In case of a tie, the president will cast the deciding vote. If the president is unavailable, the vice-president will vote. As reasonably possible, the Tournament Committee will contact all registered tournament participants if any of these described changes are invoked at a given tournament. Each participant is responsible to check their cell phone for voicemail or text before and during the tournament. 8. In club draw-for-partner tournaments, participants must either draw for a partner, bring a guest to fish with, or fish alone. Participants signing up after the draw is made must call the tournament director to get paired with the next

available person. Anyone having to cancel on a partner should courteously contact that partner and tournament director as soon as possible. 9. TCBA welcomes guest anglers to fish and experience the camaraderie of the club. Guests may register to fish with a club member, another guest, or even by themselves. Yet an angler can fish as a guest only two times for the lifetime of the club; retroactive since 2020. After those two tournaments, the guest angler must join the club, else they are no longer eligible to participate in future tournaments until they join. Guests should be encouraged to join the club and become an active member. Guests are eligible for tournament placement awards, but not big-fish awards. Guests will receive no points toward ‘angler of the year’ or ‘team of the year’ competition, nor are they eligible to fish the end of year Classic tournament. Guests may join the club membership at or after the start of the tournament season. They may opt to join the club on a tournament day or at the following club meeting. Point accrual does not begin until an angler officially joins the club. Points are not retroactively awarded for previous tournaments fished as a guest. Yet to qualify for point accrual and/or big-fish pot awards on that tournament day, all paperwork and fees must be submitted and collected before the tournament conclusion. 10. Currently, there is a 1-day off-limits tournament rule for each local tournament lake. A 5-day off-limits tournament rule applies for the year-end classic lake. No off-limits tournament rules apply for the annual out of town tournament. By club vote, the Tournament Committee may elect to change the off-limits policy. The term ‘off-limits’ means a complete off-limits for the upcoming tournament lake. Not only does it concern the act of fishing, but it also includes all recreational activity. Quite simply, during the off-limits period, anglers are not allowed to be on that given tournament lake under any circumstances. In consideration of rule #6 - For draw-for-position tournaments, anglers are not allowed to launch early from the designated ramp to run about the lake. Once launched, each angler must remain near and around the designated safe starting location until the start of the tournament. There is one exception to this rule: If an angler’s boat underwent recent engine repair(s) and has not initially been tested until the tournament date, the angler may arrive up to 1 hour early to run about the lake within one mile of the safe starting location to test the engine repair(s). However, an angler from a different team must accompany the boater instead of the angler’s tournament partner. No graphing or scouting areas of the tournament lake are allowed during the test period. 11. All fish must be caught live and in a conventional sporting manner. Only artificial lures may be used except for pork trailers. Only 1 fishing rod may be used at a time. Trolling is not allowed. 12. The tournament creel limit is currently set at 5 fish per boat for day tournaments and 3 fish per boat for night tournaments. By club vote, the

Tournament Committee may elect to change these limits indefinitely, or for a given tournament. All creel limits must be in accordance with the state fishing regulations. Fish must be culled so as not to violate or exceed the total creel/possession limit per person. 13. The Tournament Committee may elect to schedule or allow a club tournament to specifically coincide with a tournament of another organization (ex. Non-Typical Ministries, etc.) to allow simultaneous participation. TCBA members are not obligated to participate in any concurring tournaments. However, all optional, concurrent 3rd party tournaments must have the same format as TCBA tournaments: 1) similar creel limits (per team) to the coinciding club tournament and 2) tournament hours that do not precede or exceed the tournament hours of the coinciding club tournament. These restrictions help ensure that TCBA members who do not participate in the concurring tournament will not be placed at a disadvantage with respect to tournament start time, total fishing time, or creel limit. The TCBA scales will be open at tournament completion to record individual weights as usual. However, for TCBA members opting to participate in the concurring tournament, the following rules apply: a) You are personally responsible for any fees or expenses it may require. b) Anglers must fish with another TCBA angler. The team weight must be reported to the TCBA tournament director. c) You are exempt from gaining any big fish bonus points for that specific tournament, because different scales are used between the 2 tournament events.

Section 2 – Tournament Weigh-In Regulations

14. Anglers must be at the weigh-in site by the designated time. Each team will be penalized 2 ounces per minute up to 15 minutes (30 ounces). Teams arriving more than 15 minutes late once the weigh-in has started will be disqualified and receive no points. However, any team in tow to the weigh-in due to boat engine/prop failure will not be penalized, nor will any angler/team who is late due to assisting such an angler. However, this policy is limited to a 1-hour grace period starting from the weigh-in time. Anglers should contact a club officer or Tournament Committee member before the weigh in time to alert such an occurrence. If an angler or team having no fish decides to leave a tournament event early, please notify a club officer, the Tournament Director, or a Tournament Committee member that you have safely left the water. If a team must leave a tournament early due to high-priority circumstances (ex. family medical emergency) they may weigh their fish early on the official TCBA scales and in the accompaniment of the designated member(s). It is also acceptable to allow another team to hold and transport the catch to the weigh-in. In this case, fish markers must be used to separate the teams’ catches. An individual angler is not allowed to transport another team’s catch, unless the combined creel amount in the angler’s boat does not exceed the ‘per person’ state fishing regulation.

15. All fish will be measured and weighed by the Tournament Committee or designated members. Each team’s fish must be brought to the scales in an appropriate bag. All fish must be in the bags - no exceptions. All live fish, except for a trophy, must be released. We will play an active role in the catch and release program. During all club activities, we must show the best examples in

sportsmanship. To eliminate any discrepancies, each team is responsible to verify the weight of their own catch as displayed on the scales. Weights will be recorded per team. However, participants are eligible to receive extra individual points for "Big Fish" and/or species of bass exceeding certain weight thresholds.

16. All fish must be a minimum of 12 inches in length unless otherwise stated by law. Fish will be measured (with mouth closed) on the Golden Rule board. A board will be provided for anyone to use prior to weigh-in, as needed. Fish brought to the scales more than 1/4" short of the limit will result in a penalty of 8 ounces per fish. A 1-pound dead fish penalty will be imposed for each dead fish brought to the scales.

17. Any questions or rules infraction should be addressed to the tournament director within 30 minutes of the tournament completion. Tournament Committee decisions will be made in a prompt manner and results final.

Section 3 – Tournament Scoring Regulations

18. At the meeting following each points-tournament, the club will recognize the top 5 team finishers and the “big fish” angler. Team tournament points will be awarded as follows; 50 points for first, 49 points for 2nd, 48 points for 3rd, and so on. One bonus point will be awarded to the individual catching the biggest bass of the tournament. Individual anglers will also receive one bonus point for each fish they catch and weigh-in: largemouth - 5 lbs. and over, smallmouth - 4 lbs. and over, and spots - 3 lbs. and over. Any individual bonus points on big fish will be part of that tournament score. Anglers who fished the tournament and brought no fish to weigh-in will be awarded 10 participation points; yet only if they have paid for that tournament.

19. Through the tournament season, each angler will eventually drop a specified number of their lowest tournament scores; in competition towards ‘angler of the year’ award and top six anglers. The Tournament Committee will decide the number of tournament scores to be dropped at the tournament planning meeting before the following year. If the tournament score for an angler is dropped, any big fish points for that tournament will be retained.

20. Club members will also receive one additional point for each scheduled monthly meeting attended; up to a seven-point maximum. These will be added to the final year-end point totals. Meeting dates and times may be changed under exceptional circumstances. No additional points will be given for attending any other club functions, i.e., committee meetings, or any called or unscheduled events.

21. Each year, the Tournament Committee may elect to have one or more special event tournaments during the tournament season. These special event tournaments are for club members only and are separate and apart from the regularly scheduled AOY points tournaments. Special event tournaments are optional to fish and do not require payment of any tournament fees. No prizes are awarded for tournament placement, nor are any prizes or bonus points awarded for tournament big fish. No bonus points are awarded for individual fish that meet or exceed the weights (by species) as is done for AOY tournaments. Big fish of the year (per species) awards are only qualified during regular AOY tournaments. However, members will receive bonus points based on participation and placement. All anglers participating will receive, at minimum, one point. Bonus points are awarded as follows: 5 points for 1st, 4 points for 2nd, 3 points for 3rd, 2 points for 4th, and 1 point for 5th and all

subsequent places (catch or no catch). Bonus points awarded for special event tournaments are irrevocable and will remain as part of the angler’s total points for the for the tournament season.

22. All paid club members who have fished at least 6 regular-season tournaments are eligible to fish the end of year Classic. The Classic will not be scored in a team format. Rather, each angler will receive an individual score based on the weight of their respective catch. Tournament points will be awarded as follows; 50 points for first, 49 points for 2nd, 48 points for 3rd, and so on. Like other regular season tournaments, the classic score is also subject to be dropped as a low score, if applicable. The Tournament Committee will determine the Classic tournament lake, date, and time at the initial tournament schedule meeting. All tournament rules apply for the Classic, except there will be a 5-day off limits rule prior to the tournament date. Section 4 – Club Awards and Recognition 23. The final year-end point totals will determine the team of the year, top six club anglers, and angler of the year. Any ties will be broken and decided by year-end weight total. Ties for other positions will be recognized but awarded based on total year-end weight. 24. An end of the year banquet will be held to recognize the team of the year, angler of the year, top 6 anglers, big fish of the year, and Classic winner. Lastly, the club officers will vote and present the annual STAR award to a club member who has stood-out that year in service to and/or representation of the TCBA. Prizes may also be given out by random drawing, dependent upon prize donations. 25. In addition to any trophies, the angler of the year and top 6 anglers will each receive another prize award. These prizes are usually in the form of gift cards, but the club officers may elect to choose other kinds of prizes in lieu of gift cards as circumstances may indicate.