These are the Preliminary 2012 WTC Tournament Rules

Please see "Order of Events" for a more detailed explanation of what will happen on the Friday & Saturday of the tournament

1 - General Rules

Registration opens January 15th, 2012

A complete set of final rules will be handed out during registration just before the Captains Meeting on the Friday before the tournament.

Teams are competing to catch the five heaviest albacore tuna during tournament hours. 

It is the sole responsibility of the participating captain, crew and angler(s) to obtain a copy, read, know, understand and abide by the tournament rules, including, but not limited to, any final instructions that may be announced during the Captains Meeting.  Rules are subject to change.  By entering the event all participants agree to accept the rules of the tournament and accept all decisions made by the Board of The Washington Tuna Classic. 

It is the sole responsibility of the captain and crew to obtain and possess all required licenses and or permits to fish in the tournament.

No team, during fishing hours, may be involved in the handing off or receiving of anything from another vessel whether that vessel is entered in the tournament or not, this excludes bait receivers.  In the event of an emergency in which the personal safety of someone or property is at risk this rule does not apply and any action necessary can be taken to protect or preserve life or property.

Contestants agree to conduct themselves with honor and integrity at all times. Breaches of integrity will result in ejection and forfeiture of prizes.

Any and all disputes, protests, claims both in writing and verbal arising out of, or in relation to any event associated with the WTC shall be decided by the Board and shall be final and binding.

By vote of the Board, rules may be changed as necessary and all decisions will be final.

2 - Captains Meeting

One registered team member MUST attend the Captains Meeting for registration and be present for the safety briefing.  It is recommended that the captain and all crew members attend the Captains Meeting.  If they do not attend, they automatically accept and agree to be bound by the instructions given at the meeting. All anglers including the Captain must sign and return a Liability Waiver prior to participating in the event. 

The official event starting time will be confirmed, and or changed at the Captains Meeting.  The location of the start/finish line can be found on the Captains Card given out during registration and will also be confirmed and or changed at the Captains Meeting.  Each team must be across the pre-determined finish line by 5:00pm.  The WTC Board reserves the right to change and or cancel the starting time and or ending time, if in its opinion, there is a possible threat of safety due to weather, ocean conditions or anything they deem too dangerous to have teams compete safely in the WTC Event. 

The official VHF frequency will be confirmed, and or determined at the Captains Meeting. It is recommended that all teams monitor the USCG, (on VHF ch16), frequency as well as any Event specific frequency that will assure the best means of safety from other sport and commercial vessels. 

3 - Team Entry

Tournament Non-Business Entry includes:

Banquet Meal Tickets (qty 4)

Captains Bucket* (qty 1) various items include vendor gifts, snacks, bottled water, event rules and instructions, etc.

Event T-Shirts* (qty 4) If you have 5 or 6 team members, you will be charged $30 each for Meal Vouchers and T-shirts for each extra crew member.

Raffle Tickets (qty 5)

* These items are limited to the teams that have paid their $320 entry fee at least 21 days prior to the event.  Those teams that enter and or pay late, may or may not have these items made available to them.

Tournament Business Team Sponsorship Entry Includes:

All of the Non-Business Sponsorship items listed above*

Shirts and meals for up to six Crew

Reserved, up front seating at the Event Banquet

Preferred Business Sponsorship signage rates at the Event Tent site during the Event weekend

Registrations must be in seven (7) days prior to the event or a late registration fee of $100 will be assessed.  This will include teams that have signed up, but not have paid the $320 registration fee yet.

No team is considered officially "registered" until their $320 team entry fee has been collected by the WTC, via mail-in payment, or paid through our website.

4 - Team Rules

A team consists of four (4) anglers, but you may have six (6) anglers on the boat fishing.  Wounded Warriors are exempt from this rule.  You may have as many Wounded Warriors as you may safely transport in addition to your six angler team.  Charter captains and crew along with non-fishing media members are also exempt from crew/angler count with advance WTC approval.

Each team must fly the 2012 WTC Tournament Flag so as to be visible from another boat or a land based check in station or check point.

Any team tournament vessel/boat or crew changes must be finalized with WTC Staff no later than the end of the Captains Meeting.

5 - Prizes, Side Pots & Payouts

Cash Rewards are based on the following:

Heaviest 5 fish.........$1,500

2nd Heaviest 5 fish....$750

3rd Heaviest 5 fish.....$500

Side pots are the following:

Double Down Jackpot  (entry $300 per team)  95% of the pot total will be paid out to those who elect to participate in this pot at the same ratio of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place main event prizes.  If there is a tie, the main pot tie-breaker rule will be applied.

Largest Fish Jackpot (entry $100 per team)  50% of the pot total will be paid out for the heaviest fish, that will also include the below described pelagic fish, not just albacore.  If entered in the Largest Fish Jackpot and your entry in this pot is a pelagic, you may retain said fish after WTC Staff inspection that will include a thorough physical inspection that may include the cleaning of said fish to insure quality control. 

In case of a tie in the Largest Fish Jackpot, the tiebreaker will be the first fish weighed according to the official scorekeeper at the weigh in station.

Pelagic Jackpot (entry is $100 per team)  50% of the pot total will be paid out to the team weighing the heaviest Pelagic if entered in this pot.  A Pelagic is defined as Blue Fin Tuna, Big Eye Tuna, Yellow Fin Tuna, Yellow-tail Jack, Opah, Marlin or Swordfish.  NO SHARKS!  If entered in the Pelagic Pot, any pelagic fish caught may be entered as part of your catch for the five fish weight pot purpose, but you may retain the fish once weighed if desired. 

The Pelagic Pot is also a rolling jackpot with unpaid winnings cycling forward.  Any pelagic fish weighed for tournament purposes will be subject to inspection and possible cleaning by WTC Staff to insure quality control. 

In case of a tie, the Largest Fish tie-breaker rule will be applied.

Most Fish Donated Jackpot (entry is $100 per team)  95% of the pot total will be paid to the Team that donates the most total fish to the event.  In case of a tie, the Largest Fish tie-breaker rule will be applied.

Pee Wee Jackpot (entry is $50 per team)  50% of the pot total will be paid out.  Your Pee Wee entry does not count towards your five tournament fish unless you want it to.  In case of a tie, the Largest Fish tie-breaker rule will be applied.

Prize payouts will be made via certified mail after all fish have passed inspection by our processor 5-7 days after the event.

All winners will be required to fill out IRS Form W-9, request for taxpayer ID, if your prize exceeds a value of $600.  You will be required to present a photo ID at the time of turning in the W-9 to verify said information before leaving the event site the day of the WTC Main Event.

One additional drawing ticket will be provided for each extra fish turned in. Extra drawing ticket vouchers will be distributed at the fish drop off area on Float 6 after said fish are counted and turned over to WTC officials.  You can exchange this voucher for extra fish tickets at the banquet.

The drawing will be held at the awards banquet and prizes will be given away by drawn tickets.  You must be present to win.

6 - Returning to Port & Fish Check In

All teams must be across the pre-determined finish line and must check in via the pre-assigned VHF frequency at or before 5:00pm.

No team may check in unless they have crossed the finish line.  MMSI GPS transmissions may be required to confirm said location at time of check-in.

Any team that either does not check in or does not cross the finish line before 5:00pm will not qualify for the cash pots, but may still donate their fish to the WTC and earn extra drawing tickets for each fish turned in, as long as they have dropped off their fish by the end of the boardwalk weigh-in.

Each team weighing in fish must have the Team Captain or a Team Representative sign the official Boardwalk Weigh-In Scorecard.  Failure to sign the official Boardwalk Weigh-in Scorecard will result in team disqualification.  There are no exceptions.

Fish must be whole, but fully bled and no warmer than 50 degrees internal temp upon arrival to the boardwalk weigh-in area. The fish will be weighed to the two hundredths of a pound, (.02 .04 .06 etc.).  All fish must be tagged with an official WTC band that identifies each team's fish for quality tracking purposes.  Fish ID Bands will be provided to competing teams at dockside upon return for the weigh-in by WTC Staff.  It is the sole responsibility of each team to properly attach the Fish ID Band to each of their tournament fish being entered for weigh-in purposes while their fish are in their boat or just dockside from their boat.  Any fish arriving to the boardwalk weigh-in area without a Fish ID Band will be disqualified and seized by WTC Staff and will not be returned until the next day if the team still wants the DQ'd fish back.

Three of the five teams entered fish will be weighed at the boardwalk weigh in area.  These fish will be chosen by the Team Captain or Team Rep that accompanies their fish to the boardwalk weigh in area.  The other two fish will be placed in an iced tote to be weighed during the live weigh-in at the Event Banquet later that evening.  All iced down fish will be thoroughly rinsed with water prior to the final weigh-in to insure an accurate weight is established for the final weigh-in total.  Any team weighing less than five fish will have all the fish they are entering weighed at the boardwalk weigh-in. 

All weighed fish will become the property of the WTC and Northwest Harvest, unless there is a provision in the rules to allow the retention of said fish. (Pelagic Pot Fish)

Any fish determined to not have been bled or iced properly at the boardwalk weigh-in area, will be disqualified from the official team weight, and no substitutions will be allowed.  Any fish deemed to have been modified with anything foreign introduced, will lead to Team disqualification and forfeiture of all prizes and or awards.  This also includes post event inspections done by our fish processor to insure quality and attempts of any tampering.

In the event that two or more teams aggregate weight are the same the winner will be determined by the heaviest single fish from each team. In the event there is still a tie the second heaviest fish will then be used, than the third and so on.

7 - Food Drive

Anyone can bring 15lbs of non-perishable food to donate in exchange for drawing tickets.  Tickets will be provided at the rate of one ticket per 15lbs of donated food.  This food will be donated to local food banks.

There is no limit to the amount of donated food you may exchange for drawing tickets.

8 - Fishing Equipment and IGFA rules and information

All teams are required to catch all fish by rod and reel.  NO HAND LINES. 

All teams shall be required to fish following the IGFA rules described on their website or handbook.  The IGFA website can be found at:  WWW.IGFA.ORG

IGFA Tournament Information:  The 2012 WTC team that is nominated to represent the WTC at next year's IGFA Tournament is responsible for paying their own entry, transportation, permits and other fees related to participating in the IGFA Tournament.

WTC IGFA Nomination Process:  The winning team of the 2012 WTC has first right of refusal to represent and attend the next IGFA Tournament.  In case the winning team chooses to not exercise this option, the second place team shall be given the right to attend the IGFA Tournament.  If the second place team chooses to not attend the next IGFA Tournament, the right shall than be given to the third place team.  If the third place team chooses to not exercise this option, there shall be no WTC team representative at the next IGFA Tournament.

9 - Fishing Event Cancellation

Cancellations...If the event does not fish due to rough ocean conditions the WTC committee will make the announcement after the 3:00pm NOAA update on Friday prior to the fishing portion of the event.  Team participation is by captains' choice.  Each team member is responsible for their choice to fish the event or not due to weather or any other concerns.

If the main fishing event is canceled due to weather, the banquet will still happen as will the raffles and prizes. We will have other contests arranged for the prizes.

10 - Extra Event Shirt Info.

Additional event t-shirts can be purchased for any team and family members desired.  To insure your extra team and family members get the shirts they want, you should be sure to include your extra shirt orders in your team sign-up/registration.  The deadline for ordering extra event shirts is July 25, 2012.

All printing orders will be placed fourteen (14) days prior to the event. Only registrations placed before the order date will be guaranteed complementary shirts. Additional shirts, long sleeves and hoodies can be pre ordered when registering.

11 - Misc.

We will announce any changes to our programs using our website and or e-mails sent to team captains.