1. Participants and Eligibility: The Bass Federation of Kansas (TBFKS) tournaments are held for the benefit of TBFKS members. Tournaments are open only to TBFKS members in “good standing”. TBFKS members in “good standing” have up to date annual membership with The BASS Federation (TBF) {National} and TBFKS. Annual membership dues cover the time period of 1 Jan-31 Dec. All membership dues should be paid at the beginning of the calendar year for a member to be in “good standing”. All membership dues will be paid to TBFKS (mail in or paypal, see https://tbfks.com for details). To be eligible to participate in TBFKS national semifinal qualifying tournament, members must be in “good standing” no later than 14 days prior to the scheduled tournament date.
  2. Sportsmanship: Each contestant is expected to follow high standards of sportsmanship, courtesy, safety and conservation. Maximum courtesy must be practiced at all times, especially with regard to boating and fishing in the vicinity of non-contestants who may be on tournament waters. Any act of a participant, which reflects unfavorably upon TBFKS, or its efforts to promote fisheries conservation and clean waters shall be reason for disqualification. No alcoholic beverages or illegal substances shall be allowed in a participant’s boat during official practice periods or tournament hours. Communication devices such as cell phones are not allowed to be used during tournament hours except in case of emergency.
  3. Rules: Every contestant shall comply with all applicable federal, state, local, and lake laws and regulations. The tournament rules are explained below and the interpretation of these rules shall be left exclusively to the tournament committee. The decisions of the tournament committee shall be final in all matters.
  4. Tournament Committee: The tournament committee shall consist of TBFKS tournament director, TBFKS president and three members of TBFKS as selected by the tournament director.
  5. Entry Forms and Fees: A properly completed and signed entry form and entry fee of $200.00 per boater and $100.00 per co-angler must be received 14 days prior to the tournament date. If using the online payment option, an additional administrative fee will be charged to cover PAYPAL fees. The tournament director reserves the right to refuse late entries. Refund of entry fees will be made only in case of verifiable emergencies and with proper and immediate notification of the tournament director.
  6. Guaranteed Boater and Co-angler: To guarantee an opportunity to participate in TBFKS national semifinal qualifying tournament, a boater’s entry must be accompanied by a co-angler’s entry. Guaranteed boaters and co-anglers will be assured the opportunity to participate.
    Both entry fees must accompany the entry form and be received together in accordance with rule 5. In a case of one of the guaranteed anglers having a verifiable emergency or mechanical breakdown that prevents them from participating in one or both days of the tournament, the other angler is responsible for finding another eligible TBFKS member in accordance with rule 1 to fill the vacated position or both guaranteed participants will be disqualified for that competition day/days affected. Boaters and co-anglers can register to participate individually without guarantee. Non-guaranteed boaters and co-anglers will be linked by the tournament director based on the date of paid entry received. In the case of an unequal number of non-guaranteed boaters and non-guaranteed co-anglers there is no assurance of participation.
  7. Registration: Each contestant must check-in at the pre-tournament meeting at the time and place prescribed on the schedule of events. Failure to check-in at the pre-tournament meeting may result in disqualification of the participants’ first day’s catch. Disqualification will be at the discretion of the tournament committee. It shall be each participant’s responsibility to check the schedule of events for the pre-tournament meeting time and location.
  8. Safety: Safe boating and fishing practices must be observed at all times by all tournament participants. Each participant is required to wear a United States Coast Guard (USCG) approved life preserver. Such preserver must be worn anytime the combustion engine is operating. The preserver must be strapped, snapped or zippered securely and maintained in that condition until the contestant reaches his fishing location and the combustion engine is shut-off. Extra gas containers of any kind are prohibited. Violation of this rule shall be reason for disqualification.
  9. Boat and Motor: Each boat must have a USCG horsepower (HP) rating plate attached to the boat by the manufacture. The engine HP must not exceed the rating specified on that plate. All boats must be equipped with some type of operational ignition kill devise. This ignition kill device must be attached to the driver’s body any time the combustion engine is operating. Any boat fourteen feet or more in length is acceptable for tournament use. Boats equipped with “stick steering” are not acceptable. A small motor, gas or electric may be used for slow maneuvering. Trolling as a method of fishing is prohibited.
  10. Basic Boat Equipment and Pre-launch Checks: All boats must have a properly functioning live-well system with an operable sufficient aeration system capable of keeping two limits of fish alive and healthy. Each boat’s live-well will be inspected prior to the start of each tournament day. Every boat must have all required USCG safety equipment. All boats will have the proper operable safety equipment onboard to include lifejackets, a throw cushion, engine kill switch, running lights, bilge pumps, and noise making devise e.g. horn, whistle, or bell. All boaters must make available to their co-anglers a seat for the back deck. The tournament director, or his designated
    appointee, shall have the sole responsibility for determining whether safety features are satisfactory. All state boating regulations apply to the entrants for the state in which TBFKS national semifinal qualifying tournament is held.
  11. Tackle and Equipment: Only artificial lures may be used. No “live bait” or “prepared bait” will be permitted except for pork strips, rinds, etc. Only bait-casting, spin-casting or spinning rods (eight foot maximum length from butt of handle to rod tip) may be used. All other types are prohibited. Only one rod and reel is permitted to be in use at any given time. All fish must be caught live in a conventional sporting manner.
  12. Boat Operation and Expenses: Boaters have full control of the boat operation and waters to be fished. Any participant who, in the judgment of the tournament committee, operate the boat in such a manner as to unfairly handicap his fishing partner shall be disqualified. Co-anglers must fish from the rear deck or seating area of the boat and boaters must fish from the front deck. The guaranteed co-angler who registers with the guaranteed boater and non-guaranteed co-anglers who are linked to a non-guaranteed boater by the tournament director shall share the cost of gas and oil for the tournament and practice period as agreed upon. Co-anglers should not pay boat operating expenses to the boater they are paired with each tournament day.
  13. Pre-tournament Practice and Off Limits: There will be no official off-limits period prior to the tournament dates. The official practice window begins at sunrise seven days prior to the tournament date. During the official practice window contestants cannot be on the water with anyone other than another paid TBFKS national semifinal qualifier competitor.
  14. Permitted Fishing Locations: Fishing is permitted anywhere within the tournament waters except within 50 feet of another contestant’s boat which is anchored (by line and weight or mechanical anchor with the trolling motor in the up and stored position). No such anchored boat shall permit selected contestants to fish within the 50 feet circle claimed by him, to the exclusion of any other contestant. All fishing must be done from the boat, participants cannot leave the boat to access waters or land a fish. Trailering of boats during tournament hours, prior to official check-in is prohibited. Paired anglers must remain together at all times, in sight of each other and each other’s catch, (except for bathroom breaks, boat loading, and tournament committee members preparing for weigh-in) in order for their catch of that day to be counted in the tournament.
  15. Official Checkpoint: There shall be only one official point for check-out in the morning and check-in that afternoon, and this point shall be announced at the pre-tournament meeting. At the time of check-out, all contestants and their boats must be in full compliance with all rules set forth by the tournament committee. At check-in, all
    boats and participants shall identify themselves by means of the boat numbers and proceed immediately to the designated weigh-in area. All contestants must check-in with the designated tournament official as prescribed in the pre-tournament meeting. Paired anglers must stay together until weigh-in of their catch is completed. Upon arriving at the weigh-in station, any and all fish brought to the weigh master bump station, shall become the property of the weigh master. Tying up, caging, or seeding fish under any circumstances shall result in immediate disqualification and permanent banning from any and all future TBFKS sponsored tournaments.
  16. Penalties: For each legal dead bass presented to weigh master, the competitor shall be penalized eight ounces. Any bass (not of legal size) presented to weigh master will result in loss of that fish plus a one pound penalty. Dead fish cannot be weighed for Big Bass. The tournament director and his designated appointees shall have sole authority for assessing dead and short fish penalties. Contestants who are not at the official check-in point as prescribed in rule 14 shall be penalized at the rate of one pound per minute to be deducted from the total weight of their catch, starting with their big bass weight. After 15 minutes, the participants shall lose all weight for that day’s catch. There shall be no excuses for tardiness, and in no case shall a contestant be allowed to make up lost time. All fishing must cease upon check-in.
  17. Tiebreakers: The tournament committee will resolve all ties. Tournament big bass will break tournament final total weight ties. If still tied, total number of legal bass weighed during the tournament will break final total weight ties. Daily heaviest total weight will break daily big bass ties. If still tied, total number of legal bass weighed daily will break daily big bass ties. In both cases, if still tied, a coin toss will be the final tiebreaker.
  18. Pairing of participants: Two participants will be assigned to each boat. Announcement of tournament day one pairings will be made at the pre-tournament meeting. It shall be the responsibility of each partner to appear at a mutually agreed upon location with sufficient time remaining to check out at the official checkpoint and start on time. Tournament officials are not responsible for finding missing partners. A minimum of thirty minutes is required for preparation to depart to the check-out point. The tournament director, at his discretion, may reassign partners prior to take-off. Day two pairings will be the guaranteed boater/co-angler as submitted on the entry form or the tournament director linked non-guaranteed boater/co-angler. (Note: Participants will be randomly paired on day one with no regard to race, color, creed or sex.)
  19. Insurance: Boaters must carry a copy of their boat insurance, showing $300,000 liability and the expiration date (on their person or in their boat) to be presented upon request of a tournament official. If no proof of valid insurance is provided, payouts and final standings will be provincial until proof of insurance is presented to
    the tournament director. If proof of insurance is invalid at the time of winning/placing, the boater forfeits all monies and their TBF national semifinal tournament qualifying position.
  20. Qualifying System: The method to determine TBFKS representatives at TBF national semifinal tournament shall be as follows: TBFKS national semifinals qualifier will be a multiple day tournament consisting of at least two eight hour fishing windows. The tournament director will have the discretion to shorten the fishing day based on safety related concerns. Five fish of legal size will be counted per person per tournament day for a total of ten fish maximum weight over the two day qualifying event. Weights for each day will be combined and the top heaviest boater and top heaviest co-angler weight from each of the four TBFKS regional clubs (NE, SE, SW, and NW) will qualify for TBF national semifinal tournament. Additional TBF national semifinal tournament qualifications will be awarded based on remaining participants’ heaviest total weight for both boaters and co-anglers. The total number of additional TBF national semifinal tournament qualifying positions awarded will be a minimum of six boaters and six co-anglers or 10% of the total number of participants in TBFKS national semifinal qualifying tournament whichever is greater. The Student Angler Federation (SAF) Kansas state high school tournament champions qualify to participate in TBF national semifinals tournament as co-anglers. As required, alternates/replacements for TBF national semifinal tournament will be selected by the next heaviest boater’s and next heaviest co-angler’s total weight from the remaining participants in TBFKS national semifinal qualifying tournament.
  21. Payouts: TBFKS national semifinal qualifying tournament will be 100% payback. TBFKS will withhold the total number of TBF national semifinal tournament boater qualifying positions (see rule 20) and the total number of TBF national semifinal tournament co-angler qualifying positions (see rule 20) entry fees from TBFKS national semifinals qualifying tournament entry proceeds. Total remaining boater entry fees will be divided by total number of TBF national semifinal tournament boater qualifying positions and paid equally to TBF national semifinal tournament participant boaters. Total remaining co-angler entry fees will be divided by total number of TBF national semifinal tournament co-angler qualifying positions and paid equally to TBF national semifinal tournament participant co-anglers. TBFKS will pay TBF national semifinals tournament entry fees for TBF national semifinals tournament participants (boaters and co-anglers). TBFKS members will be 100% liable for all other associated expenses with their participation in TBF national semifinal tournament.
  22. Protests: None of the above rules shall prohibit a properly designated tournament official from approaching or boarding any participant’s boat at any time during tournament competition. All protests or observed rules violations must be submitted to the tournament director, in writing within 15 minutes of the daily “official scales closed” time. Decisions on all protests and rules
    violations will be made as soon as all available evidence can be gathered and examined. All tournament committee decisions are final.