MINNESOTA TOURNAMENT TRAIL
RULES AND REGULATIONS


RULE CHANGES

These rules will remain unchanged. Interpretation of these rules shall be left exclusively to the tournament director. The decision of the tournament director shall be final in all matters. Failure to comply with any rule may result in disqualification. All rules have "loop holes"; contestants are reminded that the spirit of the rule will prevail in all judgement cases.

AGE LIMIT

Contestants under 18 years of age must have the signature of his/her parent or legal guardian on the entry form, as well as the contestant's signature.

ELIGIBILITY

All participants must be current members of the Minnesota Tournament Trail. Tournament officials reserve the right to refund any entry fee, if it shall choose, for any reason not to accept the application for membership.

SAFETY

Safe boating must be observed at all times. Each contestant must wear a Coast Guard approved personal floatation device at all times when the combustion engine is operating above trolling speed. The floatation device must be fastened securely and the safety-stop switch attached.

BOAT REQUIREMENTS

All boats must meet Coast Guard and State requirements. Motors may not exceed BIA rating established by the manufacturer. All boats must have an aerated livewell large enough to sustain the limit of fish in releasable condition. Boats are limited to 1 auxiliary fuel tank (capacity not to exceed 7 gallons). Fuel tank must also meet Coast Guard standards and be securely fastened to the boat. All boats are required to carry a minimum of $100,000 of liability insurance.

SPORTSMANSHIP

All contestants are expected to follow high standards of safety, conservation, and sportsmanship. No alcoholic beverages or non-prescription drugs are allowed in the boat at any time.

PARTNER SUBSTITUTION

Each team must declare a Captain and Partner. Substitution is allowed and the substitute must be a member of the Minnesota Tournament Trail. The substitute does not receive points. Substitutes can not be a member of another team to accumulate points, unless prior approval from the MTT is given. Any substitute fishing the Championship must have fished a prior event with said team.

TIES

In case of a tie, positions shall be determined by combining the awards and dividing them equally among the contestants.

ENTRY FEES

100 BOAT MAXIMUM (unless otherwise stated). The entry fee is $220.00 for all one-day events and $260.00 for all two-day double point events. This includes $10 Big Fish pot (100% payback), $20 to the Championship purse and a $10 Operational fee. To avoid late fees,of $20, all entries must be received 7 days prior to the event. Entries from January 1 - January 30, must be accompanied with 5-one day event entries. Starting January 31, single events entries will be accepted.

TOURNAMENT ENTRIES/CANCELLATIONS

Tournament entries are based on a first received, first entered basis. A $50 processing fee for transfers will be assessed.

MEMBERSHIP

All anglers must be members of the Minnesota Tournament trail. The membership fee is $30. Membership includes a subscription to Midwest Outdoors Magazine (official publication of the MTT), a membership card, patch and decal. ($5 of each membership fee will go th the Championship purse) Family membership is $50 (spouses and/or children under the age of 18). Family memberships will receive 1 subscription to Midwest Outdoors.

BOAT INSPECTION

There will be mandatory boat inspection prior to every tournament start. All teams are subject to inspection anytime during tournament hours.

RULES AND BAG LIMITS

All fish must be caught live and in a manner consistent to rules and regulations governing said body of water. All rules regarding species to be weighed, bag limits, and minimum size, will be determined by each individual event. Teams will receive rules regarding said event with entry confirmation. Rules will also be posted on the web site for individual events. No boat may come in contact with another boat during tournament hours. Contestants may not pass or receive information, tackle or bait from any other boat during tournament hours. Contestants may not have another boat hold or reserve fishing locations.

WEIGH-IN

Teams must come to the official weigh-in site by water. Weigh-in slips must be signed by one partner to verify weight. Teams must check in by official check-in time or be disqualified for the day. Boats within line of sight and off plane at official time are considered on time. You must check-in whether weighing fish or not.

REGISTRATION AND RULES MEETING

Set times for registration and rules meetings will be determined by the tournament director and posted as such.

WEATHER CONDITIONS

Tournament officials will only begin tournaments during acceptable weather conditions. It is solely the responsibility of the contestants to be aware of changing weather conditions. If conditions change during tournament hours to unsafe conditions, the contestants are permitted to seek safe shelter until weather conditions pass. Cellular phones, CBs or marine radios are allowed for emergencies only.

PROTESTS

The protest must be in writing and accompanied by a $500.00 check made out to Minnesota Tournament Trail. The protest must be handed to the tournament director within 15 minutes after the scales have closed. The burden of proof will be on the team filing the protest. If necessary, the tournament officials will investigate the protest and employ a polygraph test. If the protest is found invalid, the Minnesota Tournament Trail will cash the $500.00 check, and the team filing the protest will be financially responsible for all costs incurred. If the protest is valid, the disqualified team will be responsible for all costs incurred and the $500.00 fee will be returned to the filing team. All decisions by the tournament officials will be final and without recourse. Protest deemed frivolous will be dealt with in a severe manner. Only tournament contestants can file a protest.

POLYGRAPH-VOICE STRESS TEST/RANDOM OBSERVER

All contestants by signing the entry form agree to submit to a polygraph-voice stress test and the possibility of having a random observer placed in their boat during competition days. Polygraph-voice stress tests will be administered to either or both contestants within a period not to exceed 21 days after completion of event. Prize money and awards will be held pending results of the polygraph-voice stress test. Failure to submit to polygraph-voice stress test will result in immediate disqualification from current and all future Minnesota Tournament Trail events.

The above rules are not all inclusive in regards to sportsmanship and ethical behavior. The Minnesota Tournament Trail reserves the right to interpret and enforce rule violations not covered above at their discretion.

POINT STRUCTURE

One-day events will be worth a total of 500 points. Finishing positions will be awarded in 2 point decreasing increments. Teams not weighing fish will be awarded 100 points for participating. Two-day events will be worth a total of 1000 points with 5 point decreasing increments. Teams not weighing fish at two-day events will receive 200 show points. To be eligible to fish a two-day event, a team must have competed in at least one - one-day event.

Team of the Year will be based on points received at the top five one-day events and one two-day event plus points received during the Championship.

Championship points will be based on 1000 points with 5 point decreasing increments. 200 points will be awarded to competing teams not weighing fish.

For special awards and team of the Year, only points accumulated with the same partner will be used.

$2000.00 will be awarded to the Team of the Year.



CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFICATIONS

Top 75 teams by points and any team competing in 5 one-day events and one two-day event, will be invited to the Championship. The Championship will be held September 18-19, 2008 at Lake of the Woods. (Tournament headquarters: Border View Lodge 1-800-776-3474)