General Rules A team shall consist of one to six team members with one team member designated as the Team Captain. A maximum of six people are allowed on board during Tournament fishing hours. A grid map will be provided to all team captains. Tournament Control shall be notified immediately when a fish is hooked-up and then immediately when it has been boated. The team must report within 10 minutes of hook-up the approximate location according to the grid map. Tournament Control may request Lat/Long position of any tournament boat at any time. Any fish hooked prior to "Stop Fishing" time may be played until lost or boated if Tournament Control has been notified, and has acknowledged such notification, at time of hook-up. All fish must be weighed on the day caught at the official weigh-in station in Avalon Harbor. There is a weigh-in deadline time of 7:00pm and 5:00pm respectively. If you are late, it is still mandatory that we weigh any fish you have on board to determine if any penalty may accrue to the team for an undersized fish. A team is considered back inside the harbor when their vessel breaks the line between the red and green harbor entrance lights. Team Captains will be responsible for all correspondence and payments to Catalina Classic Inc. and the distribution of all prize money to their team members. It is also their responsibility to insure that all team members follow all Tournament Rules and Regulations. Any misrepresentation on the team's signed entry form, signed release affidavit, signed weighmaster certificate or violation of any Tournament rule will be cause for disqualification and forfeiture of any prize money and merchandise won in the tournament. Decisions by the Tournament's Rules Committee regarding Tournament Rules and Regulations or interpretation shall be final. Any disputes arising between the Tournament and a team captain or any of his team members may be settled by binding arbitration at the sole discretion of the Tournament's rules committee. Without exception, once boated a fish is required to be weighed; once a marlin is brought into the boat's cockpit, it shall be deemed boated. Failure to weigh a boated fish will result in tournament disqualification and forfeiture of any previous claimed prizes and daily jackpots. It is the team's responsibility to remove a weighed fish from the scale area and take it back on board their vessel after the weighing and measuring process has been completed. The Tournament has no facilities to clean and process a weighed fish. Each team captain represents that he or she will comply and will not dump the carcass after filleting or chunking the fish within one mile of Avalon Harbor. Tournament boats shall be required to have a VHF radio with channel 71 for communication purposes. Radio silence must be observed, unless there is an emergency or a hookup, during the last 30 minutes prior to stop fishing. Radio communications between tournament boats will be permitted, but not on channel 71. All boats must fly the official Tournament flag during the Tournament. Helicopters, fixed wing aircraft and a marine biologist may be utilized by Tournament Officials to aid in the enforcement of all Tournament Rules. Special Rules If there are insufficient numbers of marlin weighed to claim the Four Tournament Cash Prizes, the unclaimed cash prizes will be added to the claimed prizes on a pro-rata basis. If no qualifying marlin is weighed during the Tournament, or if weather causes a cancellation, the Tournament will be extended to include Wednesday the 24th of September. One day of fishing will constitute a Tournament. If no qualifying Daily Jackpot fish are weighed-in during the Tournament, all respective Daily Jackpot entry fees will be refunded less the 15% tournament share, which shall be considered earned by the Tournament. If after Wednesday, there are any unclaimed Tournament First through Fourth place cash prizes, they will be added to and carried forward to next year's respective cash prizes. If after Wednesday, there are any unclaimed Daily Jackpot Cash Prizes, the respective Daily Jackpot entry fees will be refunded less the 15% tournament share, which shall be considered earned by the Tournament. Earliest time released will be used as the tiebreaker for any teams tied for any prizes to be awarded for any "released fish" Tournament prizes or awards. Tackle IGFA Rules will apply in the Tournament unless specifically modified in this document or in writing by the rules committee. Copies of IGFA rules can be obtained by calling 714-258-0445 and requesting a copy be mailed. They will also be available at registration on September 23rd. Rods and reels must be used, leaders are limited to 30 feet overall length. Double line may be used, but the combined length of double line and leader must not exceed 40 feet. There is no restriction on the breaking strength of a leader or double line material. The use of firearms, harpoons, or entangling devices is prohibited. Fishing line must not exceed 80-pound breaking strength as designated on the manufacturers spool label. The use of tournament grade line is not required. Artificial lures with skirts or trailing material shall not have more than two single hooks attached to the line or leader and must conform to IGFA rules. For live or dead bait fishing, no more than two single hooks may be used and must conform to IGFA rules. Both must be firmly imbedded in or securely attached to the bait. The use of spotter planes or spotter boats is not allowed. Non team member deckhands or mates can handle all equipment and tackle but they can not set the hook or engage the drag on a fish and then hand the rod off to a team member. Any fish hooked while a deckhand or mate, who are not team members, is bringing in or letting out a line is a non-qualifying catch. A fish that is hooked by more than one line is disqualified. The rod, reel, line, lure and leader with hook must be presented to the Tournament Judges, for inspection at the scales. Disqualification The following acts or situations will disqualify a team or its catch: 1. Fishing outside the designated grid area will disqualify all fish caught that day. 2. Fishing before "Start Fishing" or after "Stop Fishing" will disqualify a team. 3. Any foreign substances found inside the fish (example: lead weights, ice, etc.). 4. Mutilation of the fish by propellers or sharks will disqualify the fish. 5. Boats that habitually abuse FCC regulations or Tournament Regulations regarding radio communications are subject to disqualification. Illegal radio or electronic gear found on a team's boat will be grounds for immediate disqualification. Teams caught communicating in any manner with spotter planes or commercial boats during tournament fishing hours will be disqualified. The use of profanity on the radio is strictly prohibited. 6. Only team members shall participate. Any fish boated with non-team member assistance will be disqualified. The use of firearms is strictly prohibited. 7. Any boated fish not weighed will disqualify a team. 8. Boats are not allowed to come in contact with or pass anything to another vessel during fishing hours unless given permission by tournament control. 9. Any other act not in strict compliance with the rules or intent set forth herein. Rule Changes and Protest Policy Any amendments or additions to the tournament rules will be distributed at registration on September 21st. If there is any disagreement, controversy or necessary clarification of any tournament rule or result thereof, the final irrevocable decision will be made by the Tournament Rules Committee. The violation of any Tournament rule may result in the automatic disqualification of both the angler and the team unless otherwise noted. All competitors' protests, if any, must be submitted in writing by a team captain, on the same day that the situation generating the protest occurred, to one of the Tournament Directors by 7:30pm. Any protests on the last day of fishing must be received by 5:30pm. Protest regarding weight of a fish must be made before the fish is removed from the scales. The protesting team must submit a $500 cash deposit with their written protest. Deposits will not be returned for protest subsequently determined to be without merit or substance. It is expressly understood that these protest rules relate to team protests and do not limit the time the Tournament has to enforce tournament rules and regulations. Any misrepresentation on the team's signed entry form, signed release affidavit or signed weighmaster certificate discovered at a later date by the Tournament will be cause for disqualification, forfeiture and the return of any prize money and merchandise won in the tournament. The Tournament reserves the right to pursue such misrepresentations without regard to any time limit that all Tournament team's protests are bound by. Polygraph Policy At the sole discretion of the Tournament, all team captains, team members and observers may be required to take a polygraph test administered by the Tournament's independent polygraph contractor. All team captains, and their team members, agree to be bound by this provision and to abide by the results thereof. Boat Inspections All tournament boats are subject to inspection at any time. Release Jackpot Camera Policy Each team entered in the Optional Daily Release Jackpots is required to provide their own video camera to be used to document catches and releases during this year's tournament. The Tournament will have equipment available on site to play back a team's videotapes. Each team is required to have available at least two video cassettes for use during the event. A set of sealed instructions will be issued to each team entered in the Optional Daily Release Jackpots. All teams must follow the instructions included in their package in order for their catches and releases to qualify. It is the team captain's responsibility to make sure his team's camera and video cassettes are returned to the appropriate tournament official. Camera Policy Each team will be provided with an official tournament disposable camera to be used to photograph and document team catches and releases. We strongly recommend (not mandatory) that all teams also have on-board a video camera to use as a back up and to supplement the documentation of a teams catch. All teams must follow all camera instructions given by Tournament Control in order for their catches and releases to qualify. It is the team captain's responsibility to make sure his or her team's camera and release affidavit is returned to the appropriate tournament official on the pier at the weigh station by 7:30 PM and 5:30 PM each day respectively.