FAN 2010 Schedule

Date	Lake
January 30	Stillhouse
February 27	Buchanan
March 27	LBJ
April 24	Travis
May 22	Belton

Contact FAN

info@faithanglernetwork.com
2800 E. Whitestone Blvd. #120
Cedar Park, TX 78613

Faith Angler Network Mission

To provide wholesome, family oriented, Christ-centered events to our community, and to share the life-changing reality of Jesus Christ through competitive and professionally run bass tournaments and other venues as God allows.

2010 Tournament Trail Rules

PARTICIPANTS AND ELIGIBILITY

Open to all individuals, male and female except as noted below. Those under 18 years of age may participate with written permission from a parent or guardian.
Professional anglers are not eligible to fish Faith Angler Network Tournament Trail (known as FAN Tournament Trail). Professional anglers are defined as any angler that has entered more than one bass tournament that required an entry fee greater than $2,000 in the six months prior to the date of the FAN Tournament being entered.
Full or family membership in the Faith Angler Network Tournament Trail is required to fish any tournament and each member must be a member in good standing. (No membership required for a legal substitute, as described in rule 16, fishing one tournament as a sub.)
Faith Angler Network Tournament Trail reserves the right to reject any entries which are not in the best interest of the organization.
Full membership is $30.00 per person per season. Family Membership is $50.00 per family per season. Memberships are to be submitted to the FAN Director prior to fishing your first tournament. Faith Angler Network Tournament Director are not eligible to compete in tournaments.

ENTRY FEES

Entry fees shall be $150.00 per boat per tournament, which includes Big Fish. Entry fees for tournaments should be mailed to the Tournament Director and must be postmarked no later than the Friday 8 days prior the Tournament.
All entries received after the entry deadline will be assessed a $10.00 Late Fee!
Online registration and full payment will not incur a late fee until the Thursday evening before the Saturday of the tournament.
ABSOLUTELY NO ENTRIES WILL BE ACCEPTED THE MORNING OF THE TOURNAMENT! All entries paid on Friday night are on a cash only basis and will incur a $10 late fee.
There will be a $25.00 fee charged on all checks returned for insufficient funds.
Winners are responsible for any and all taxes on any moneys or prizes won.

Bonus Sidepot

The Bonus Sidepot program is designed to increase tournament payout for those who wish to compete for a higher purse. This is an OPTIONAL program with 100% payback of a $25 per team entry, in a 50%; 30%; 20% split, which will be paid to the three highest finishing teams who elect to enter, by paying the $25 per team entry fee.

Prize Payout

Prize money will be awarded following the weigh in at each tournament. One place will be paid out per five teams entered. Two places will be paid for big bass. 1st place and 2nd place big bass can not be won by the same team.

Off Limits Periods

THE TOURNAMENT WATERS SHALL BE OFF-LIMITS FROM 12:01 A.M. THE MONDAY PRECEDING THE TOURNAMENT UNTIL SAFE LIGHT ON FRIDAY.
Friday will be an official practice day. The official practice closes at 5:30 pm to allow all teams time to make it to the Friday night pre-tournament meeting. The tournament waters will remain off limits from 5:30 pm Friday until blast-off.
TEAMS MAY NOT SOLICIT/RECEIVE INFORMATION (OTHER THAN FROM PUBLICLY AVAILABLE SOURCES) FROM ANYONE WHO HAS BEEN ON THE TOURNAMENT WATERS DURING THE OFF-LIMITS PERIOD. Teams may not have the assistance of any non-competitor for the purpose of locating or catching fish on the official practice day(s) or the competition day(s).
The use of electronic communication devices for the purpose of sharing fishing information during tournament hours is prohibited.
Any competitor found guilty of violating the off limits period will have their catch disqualified and face a disciplinary hearing before being allowed to fish any more on the Trail.

Tournmanet Hours

Tournament hours will be from safe light to 3:00 p.m. We reserve the right to assign flights and change hours if necessary.

Launch Sequence / Info

Starting positions will be determined by a random computer drawing of all participants just before the closing of the Friday night meeting.
Trailering is not allowed: All boats must leave the official check point by boat in the order designated at registration. Contestants may launch their boat at a ramp other than the designated take-off location, but all contestants must come through the official check point location and leave to fish in their predetermined launch flight/position. In the event of severe weather alternate take-off instructions will be given at the registration site, at the sole discretion of the Tournament Director.

Safety

Safe boating conduct must be observed at all times. Each competitor is required to wear a Coast Guard approved life vest, securely fastened, at all times while the boat is being propelled by the combustion engine. A kill switch must be fastened to the driver anytime the combustion engine is propelling the boat. Failure to do so is grounds for disqualification of the offending team’s catch.
Each boat must have all required U.S. Coast Guard safety equipment.
Maximum horsepower for all outboards used in tournament competition may not exceed the horsepower limitations as set by the U. S. Coast Guard in such vessel. Falsifying information on entry forms or altering the horsepower numbers on the motor or rating plate to conceal such limitations will be cause for disqualification from the tournament.
Running lights must be operational and turned on at the blast-off of each tournament.
Each competitors boat must be equipped with a livewell system capable of keeping a tournament limit of bass alive.
Tournament days may be shortened, canceled, or otherwise modified due to unsafe weather or any conditions that would endanger the safety of the competitors at the Tournament Director’s sole and absolute discretion.
Competitors are allowed to leave the boat and seek shelter in bad weather. No fishing may occur during this shelter seeking situation.

Sportsmanship and Conduct

It is the intent to uphold the reputation of FAN Tournament Trail as such anglers are required to follow high standards of sportsmanship, courtesy, safety and conservation. Examples of conduct not complying with those standards include, but are not limited to, the following:
Consumption and/or possession of alcoholic beverages or any mind-altering substance during tournament hours extending through the weigh-in procedure. This includes being under the influence of above mentioned beverages or illegal substances (prescribed medications taken per doctor’s instructions are excluded).
Conviction of a felony within the past 36 months.
Actions or words which reflect unfavorably upon efforts to promote safety, sportsmanship, and fair competition.
Chemical substance abuse or addiction.
No team may fish within 50 yards of any other boat which is anchored with the trolling motor up and no team may fish within 25 yards of another boat without the other boater’s permission. This permission must be granted to all boats if given so as to not exclude particular boats and include others.
No hole sitting by a competitor or non-competitor to aid a tournament participant is allowed.
Disqualification from FAN tournaments or other fishing organizations that resulted from unexplained rule violations that result in a contestant’s honesty, integrity, character, and qualifications for entry into a FAN event is under the sole and absolute discretion of the Tournament Director.
Upon review of the circumstances of a Sportsmanship or Conduct issue by tournament director, FAN, and the Tournament Director shall have the right to refuse any application, or to deny a confirmed application, by returning the entry fee of a previously accepted application, or disqualifying a contestant. FAN reserves the right to place an official observer in a contestant's boat at any time during competition hours.

Tournament Fishing and Tackle Methods

All participants are required to abide by all state and federal laws and game regulations.
Only artificial baits may be used.
No live or cut bait is permitted (pork baits are permitted).
All bass must be caught alive in a legal and sporting manner. No snagging.
Each competitor may only use 1 rod at a time. No more than 1 line in the water at a time per angler. Trolling with the combustion motor is not permitted.
No competitor may leave the boat to land or catch fish.
All fish presented at weigh-in must have been caught by a member of the team. No switching or sharing of fish with other teams. Such a violation will result in immediate disqualification.

Scoring

A limit of 5 bass (largemouth, smallmouth, redeye, spotted bass) may be weighed in.
Minimum lengths will be set at the discretion of the Tournament Director but at no time will be less than 14 inches.
Lengths will be measured with mouth closed on a "Pro-Rule" ruler.
A short fish brought to the scales will not be weighed and not counted towards a team’s fish weight and will result in a 1 pound penalty.
Dead fish will be penalized .5 (1/2) pound including off Big Bass weight. Every effort must be made to keep bass alive through the use of a properly aerated live well and proper handling of fish. The use of chemical live well additives to promote the healthy release of bass are recommended.
The dead fish penalty will also apply to any fish weighed as a Big Fish if that fish is dead.
No culling of dead fish is allowed
No team may have more than the tournament limit (5 bass) in the livewell at any time during the tournament except during the short timeframe of executing a cull of a fish. That cull of a fish must be done immediately.

Emergencies

Competitors shall remain with their partners in the boat at all times during the tournament, except in the event of sickness or brief excursions for "nature calling", severe storm or other such hazard.
Competitors may leave the boat to dislodge it, but only to return the boat in the direction it came from. Leaving the boat to advance it is not permitted. (In falling water conditions, a team may leave the boat to advance it only to return from water they accessed without leaving the boat.)
If for any reason either or both team members decide to leave the tournament waters early, both members shall bear full responsibility for notifying a tournament official.
If one team member leaves the water early, he/she may not return and resume fishing. However, his/her partner may continue fishing for the remainder of the tournament hours.
In case of a breakdown, one partner may return with fish by another tournament boat or a FAN Staff Boat while the other partner is permitted to stay with the disabled boat.
In the event of an accident or other similar emergency, competitors should call 911 first, then notify tournament officials.

Weigh-In Procedures

Weigh-in will be on a first come first serve basis. Once fish have been presented to a Tournament Official to be weighed-in, all fish become the property of the FAN and no additional fish may be brought to the scales.
Bags will be limited in order to avoid a bottleneck at the weigh-in tanks.
Teams not weighing any fish are still required to check in with tournament officials in order to account for all teams.
Once a team member has checked in or left the boat for the purpose of checking in, neither team member may fish or continue fishing.
Scales will close 20 minutes after the last flight is due in. Due to certain weigh-in locations this time may be lengthened or shortened at the Tournament Director’s sole and absolute discretion. It is the angler’s responsibility to verify the official scale closing time and to be in the weigh-in line by such time.
Competitors who are not checked in by the check in deadline will be penalized at a rate of 1 pound per minute, up to 15 minutes at which time their catch will be disqualified. The contestants will retain their participation points for their yearly total. Late penalties will be deducted from “Big Fish“ weight as well as total weight.

Change of Partners & Use of Subs

Partner changes are allowed at any time during the season but that shall constitute a new team and new points accruals.
A participant may fish solo in as many tournaments as become necessary and retain all points for that team.
The following may serve as a substitute in a tournament at any time while still retaining all points: Grandparent, Parent, Spouse, Sibling, Child, Grandchild, or any father/mother in-law. Any youth 17 years old or younger may also serve as a legal substitute.
Adult/Junior teams and Male/Female teams must substitute with same sex or Adult/Junior level as the person being subsituted for and following the substitute rules in the bullet directly above this one.
That legal substitute may serve as a sub in as many tournaments as needed, however, before serving as a sub for a second time, he/she must become a full member or family member as applicable.
A substitute may not fish alone.
In Multiple day events a team may use any combination of original partners and legal subs to have two anglers in the boat each day.
One team member must always be one of the original partners. At least one of the original team members must compete in the tournament for the team to recieve tournament points.
Any person who qualifies as a legal sub may fish with a member on the Official Practice day at any time. No other substitutions will be allowed.

Protest and Polygraph Test

Any protest must be submitted in writing to the Tournament Director within 15 minutes of the close of the weigh-in. The FAN Tournament Trail reserves the right to give a polygraph test to any participant at any time. This test does not have to be administered on site and may be set up by the Tournament Director at his discretion. All participants agree to abide by the results of any polygraph test administered. In the event of a protest and an off-site polygraph test the Tournament Director will have the option of mailing all the checks to the teams in the money pending the outcome of the polygraph.

Championship Points

The team having the highest cumulative points total at the end of the scheduled season will be declared the FAN-CTTT Anglers of the Year. All ties in the cumulative year end standings will be broken by season cumulative net weight. The winning team at each tournament will receive 150 points, 2nd place149 points, 3rd place 148 points and so on. In the event of a tie in a tournament both teams will receive the points for the place they are tied and the subsequent place will remain vacant. (example: A tie for 3rd place would result in both 3rd place teams receiving 148 points. The next team behind them would be the 5th place team and would receive 146 points.) Teams not weighing any fish will receive 10 less point than the last place team(s) with fish. Paying an entry fee but not actually competing does not count as one of the three tournaments required to be eligible to qualify for the Championship Tournament. Furthermore, all teams who attend the Friday night Pre-Tournament meeting (whether entered in the tournament or not) will receive an additional 25 points, which will be applied to the teams cumulative point total for the year.

Championship Qualifications

The Championship will be a two day event (Friday/Saturday) with a $150 entry fee. The Anglers of the Year, the Highest Finishing Male/Female, and Adult Junior Teams by means of points will receive a free entry to the Championship Tournament. The Top 30 teams in year end points who have competed in at least 3 events will qualify for the Championship Tournament, and all teams who enter and compete in all five qualifying events in during the regular scheduled season will automatically qualify for Championship Tournament.

Liability Insurance

All members must carry a minimum of $100,000 of liability insurance on any boat they might use during any FAN Tournament. Failure to do so, or reporting of false information will result in disqualification of catch. Participants must include the company name and either the policy number or the name of the agent binding the coverage on the entry form for each tournament and keep proof of insurance on board boat at all times.

Rules Interpretation

Interpretation of these rules will be left to the Division Director. Infractions of any rule may result in disqualification of catch.