Selkirk Walleye Championship Rules

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Partner Name:*
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$500 Entry fee. Check one:*
By agreeing, I acknowledge that my name, likeness, and performance in connection with the Selkirk Walleye Championship may be used to promote, publicize, or otherwise report on the results. I acknowledge that I have read the rules of the SWC and fully understand them. I acknowledge that the SWC is not liable for any death, injury, damage, fire, theft or loss that may result prior to, during or after the tournament howsoever caused.*
2022 Kickerfish Selkirk Walleye Championship

Rules

Format and eligibility

  • Two-person team heaviest two-day accumulated bag tournament.
  • All competitors must possess and have on their person a valid Manitoba Fishing License or Treaty Card.
  • All competitors are equal and will abide by Manitoba Sportfishing regulations and specifically all rules put in place for the Selkirk Walleye Championship.
  • At minimum one team member must be eighteen (18) years of age or over. Youth competitors will be permitted with written consent from a parent/guardian.

Entry

  • $500 per team entry fee.
  • Boat numbers/starting order will be assigned as entries are received and paid. Official notification of such via email from Tournament Directors will be sent once funds are received.
  • Entries will continue to be received until the online rules meeting on September 30 at 8:15pm on Facebook Live.

Logistics

  • The date of the event will be Saturday October 1 and Sunday October 2, 2022
  • Tournament fishing hours will be from 8:00am to 4:00pm. All times are based on GPS.
  • In the case of fifty (50) or more boats entered in the competition, the field will be divided in half as needed to form two separate flights. Tournament hours will change as follows:

Flight 1 – 8:00am to 4:00pm

Flight 2 – 8:15am to 4:15pm

–      Take-off will be a number ordered trickle start called out over a public address system.  Boats taking off before being called will be disqualified.  Boats missing their call must wait until all boats in the field (or their flight if applicable) have taken off before leaving.

  • The competition will take place on the Red River from Lockport Dam to the south and up to but not north of the mouths of the river at Lake Winnipeg. All other water accessible via boat from take-off at Selkirk Park is in bounds for the tournament.
  • Pre-fishing will cease at 4:00pm on Friday, September 30, 2022. No boat shall travel tournament waters or actively fish after this time until take-off time the following morning. Persons travelling to and from accommodations/property on the river after pre-fishing has ceased must only do so for the purpose of commuting and not to actively locate fish or conditions.
  • Boat inspections at the Selkirk Park boat launch will commence at 6:30am.
  • Online rules meeting will take place on Friday September 30, 2022 at 8:15pm on Facebook via Facebook Live. Mandatory attendance from at least one team member is required by logging in to the broadcast and leaving a comment with your team member names and boat number.

Boat Inspection

  • Tournament volunteers will conduct boat inspections at the launch prior to each boat entering the water and will flag and record each boat as completed.
  • Failure to have boat recorded as inspected before taking off will result in disqualification.
  • Volunteers will check for: appropriate Personal Floatation Device for each team member; ensuring livewells are empty; properly affixed boat number cowl stickers.

Boats and equipment

  • Only motorized watercraft with a working livewell (aerated covered container to retain live fish) are permitted to be used in the competition. Pontoons, canoes, houseboats, kayaks and other similar personal or cumbersome watercraft are not permitted.
  • Tournament Directors reserve the right to refuse entry or disallow use of any boat, motor, or equipment deemed unsafe, unsuitable, or contravening of tournament rules.
  • Use of underwater cameras are prohibited during tournament hours.
  • Competitor boats must not come into contact with any other boats on the water whether they be other competitors or not. The passing of items from one boat to another will result in disqualification.
  • Boats will be respectful and sportsmanlike in regards to other competitors and property on tournament waters. A twenty (20) foot radius shall be respected between boats during the competition.
  • The use of livewell water treatment chemicals which are legally available in Manitoba is permitted.
  • Marine radios, cellphones, and other communication devices are to be declared at inspection and are only to be used in the case of an emergency during tournament hours. Electronic boat to boat communication is prohibited during tournament hours.

Safety

  • Competitors are not permitted to consume alcohol directly before and during tournament hours.
  • Competitors are required to wear approved Personal Floatation Devices whenever the boat is on plane or travelling beyond trolling or drifting speed.
  • Emergency contact number will be provided during online rules meeting.
  • All teams must adhere to safe boating practices while participating in the tournament.
  • For the purpose of accounting the safe return of all competitors, all boats are required to check-in at the conclusion of tournament hours regardless if they intend to weigh-in a bag or not. Failure to do so may affect further participation in this event in the following year.
  • Competitors are strictly not permitted to step ashore/off their boat at any time during tournament hours other than at Selkirk Park boat launch. In the case of lightning or other severe dangerous weather, competitors can seek safety at the nearest shoreline as necessary.

Fishing

  • Only fish caught by angling hook and line in a normal manner will be permitted for inclusion in bag limit.
  • Competitors are permitted to use only one (1) line in the water per person at a time.
  • Only walleye, sauger, and saugeye (hereafter designated as ‘fish’) are permitted for inclusion in team bag limit. All other species caught must be released safely back to the water immediately.
  • Team bag limit shall be defined as five (5) fish maximum. At no time shall there be more than five (5) fish in the boat other than situations of determining fish to cull. Any number of eligible fish less than five (5) in a team bag are also eligible to be brought for weigh-in.
  • Daily team limit of two (2) fish measuring 55cm or more.
  • Tournament team limit of (2) fish measuring 70cm or more.
  • Fish shall not be altered or purposefully deformed in any way.
  • All care for the well-being of any/all fish caught during the tournament shall be of the utmost priority of each competitor. During fishing, the return of ‘un-releasable’ fish back into the water may result in disqualification.
  • The use of sonar (fish/depth finders) is permitted including ‘Live’ technology. The use of underwater cameras is not permitted during tournament hours (after pre-fishing period ends).

Weigh-in

  • The weigh-in scale will be located at the Selkirk Park boat launch and will be officiated by the Official Weighmaster.
  • Boats must return to the Selkirk Park boat launch area and receive a weigh-in order tag from the Check-in Boat on or before their respective check-in time. Late boats will be penalized half a pound (8oz) per minute up to 5 minutes, beyond which they will not be eligible to weigh-in that day’s bag (disqualification).
  • The Official ‘Judge Ruler’ provided by the Tournament Directors will be the sole measuring device used to determine length at weigh-in. Teams may ensure that their own respective measuring devices correlate accurately with the Official Ruler on the morning before take-off.
  • Fish will be measured with the back of the fish away from the Weighmaster, mouth closed, and tail pinched to the width of the Official Judge Ruler and witnessed by at least one team member.
  • All measurements and weights declared by the Weighmaster are final.
  • Official Weighmaster recording of team bag weight shall be in pounds and two decimal point fractions. One team member shall witness the reading on the weigh-in scale and agree to its accuracy by signing an official team weigh-in slip.
  • Any bags presented for weigh-in determined by the Official Weighmaster to be in violation of the daily team limit of two (2) fish 55cm or over will result in a disqualification of that day’s weight.
  • Any bags presented for weigh-in determined by the Official Weighmaster to be in violation of the tournament team limit of two (2) fish 70cm or over will result in a disqualification of that day’s weight.
  • Dead or unreleasable fish will not be eligible for weigh-in but will still count towards that respective team’s daily bag limit. Dead fish will be determined as any fish not deemed capable of recovery.
  • Stressed fish will be determined in the livewell by a designated Dock Official who will also give the go-ahead to proceed to weigh-in. Each stressed fish will be penalized by half a pound (8oz) from the total team bag weight. Stressed fish will be determined as any fish not swimming upright at the time of inspection by the Dock Official.
  • Fish shall be brought to the weigh-in scale in provided bags filled with water and supported with a landing net.
  • In the unlikely event that a fish is dropped/mishandled by the Weighmaster and deemed dead or stressed, the team shall not be penalized on their official bag weight.
  • The scale will be open for weigh-in of full/partial bags, or individual fish beginning at 9:00am. This can assist with unnecessarily keeping weighable fish in the livewell all day reducing stress on the fish.
  • Courtesy measurements will be available at the boat launch mooring dock beginning at 9am up to 3pm.

Awards

  • The Main Prize Pool will be awarded based on highest total team bag weight with the top weight winning first place. Prize placing spots will descend to the tenth (10th) best finishing team for a field at or beyond twenty (20) teams.
  • All prize placing spots in the Main Prize Pool will be cash awards broken down by proportional percentage of the prize pot.
  • The Daily Top 5 Prize Pool will be awarded based on the highest team bag weight each day descending to the five (5) highest finishing teams. Each team may only win this award once during the tournament. The Day 2 Top 5 awards will descend to the five (5) highest finishing teams who are still eligible to win the award.
  • All prize placing spots in the Daily Top 5 Prize Pool will be cash awards of the same exact value. The prize pot will be divided evenly to make ten (10) equal cash awards.
  • The Big Fish Prize Pool will be a total of two (2) awards going to the team(s) who weigh the heaviest fish each day. The prize pot will be divided into two (2) equal cash awards.
  • Prizes will be awarded on a team basis and must be accepted as awarded.
  • The Tournament Directors reserve the right to adjust the stated prize structure accordingly in relation to the actual size of the total field of entrants.

Other

  • Each team must register for the tournament by filling out the entry form online at kickerfish.ca
  • Upon filling out the entry/waiver form, competitors are permitting the use of their name and image on all media coverage relating to the promotion and reporting of the Selkirk Walleye Championship. Competitors also free the organizers, volunteers, sponsors, and other agents involved in the above named event of any responsibility for death, injury, damage, theft, or related loss as a result of participating in the Selkirk Walleye Championship howsoever caused.
  • Tournament Directors reserve the right to delay, shorten, or cancel the tournament in the case of severe weather or unsafe conditions.
  • Competitors who have been disqualified will not be entitled to a refund of their entry fee.
  • Any protests of contravention of rules must be submitted directly to the Tournament Organizers accompanied with $200 cash before the completion of weigh-ins. Fee will be refunded if allegations are found to be justified and result in a change in the final standings.
  • Cancellations will be accepted up to and including September 23, 2022. The entry fee will be refunded to the Team Captain less a $50 administration fee.  No refunds will be issued after this date.
  • It is the goal of the Tournament Directors to organize a fair and sportsmanlike competitive event, in all cases the ‘spirit of the rule’ will apply.
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