• 2007 Ranger Owners Tournament Series entry fees
• 2007 Ranger Owners Tournament Series rules

2007 Ranger Owners Tournament Series entry fees

2007 Ranger Owners Tournament Series rules

1. Rule changes

• These rules will remain unchanged during the year 2007. Interpretation of these rules will be left exclusively to the tournament director. Decisions of the tournament director are final in all matters and are not subject to appeal. Protests must be made in writing within 30 minutes of the official check-in time of the final flight of each tournament day.

2. Participation

• Participation is open to tournament members of FLW Outdoors. Any person entering a tournament under the age of majority must also have the signature of their parent or legal guardian in the provided space on the entry form. The boater must be a registered owner of a Ranger boat and a 2007 Ranger Owners Group member. Teams must compete out of the boater's qualified Ranger boat. Anglers who fish any 2006 or 2007 Wal-Mart FLW Tour, Bassmaster Elite Series or Wal-Mart FLW Series event in the Pro Division are not eligible. All contestants must have in their possession a valid fishing license.
• Entries for the 2007 season will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis beginning at 8 a.m. Central time, Dec. 12, 2006. Entries may be made by phone at (270) 252-1000 and must be accompanied by a $200 entry fee per team (per event), to be received by April 3, 2007, for the Kerr Lake tournament and May 1, 2007, for The Table Rock Lake tournament.
• Late entries may be accepted. Late entries must be accompanied by a $50 nonrefundable service charge and submitted no later than 7 p.m. local time (time at the tournament site) the day before the tournament. Entry fees may be transferred or refunded provided FLW Outdoors is notified by 5 p.m. Central time on the Tuesday prior to the start of the tournament (FLW Outdoors business hours are 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Central time). Entry fees will not be transferred or refunded after Tuesday of tournament week. There will be a $10 service charge for each refund of an entry fee.

Partner substitution
In the event a boater's partner cannot participate in a tournament, the boater may substitute their partner. The boater must give notice to FLW Outdoors prior to the entry deadline date.

3. Pretournament practice

• There will be no official practice period or off-limits period prior to the pretournament meeting for all qualifying tournaments. No contestant may be on tournament waters for the purpose of locating bass or potential fishing waters after the start of the pretournament meeting except during tournament hours. The purchasing of information or the hiring of services will not be permitted after the entry deadline for each qualifying tournament.

4. Registration and pretournament meeting

• At least one team member must register in person at the designated site during the official registration hours of noon to 5 p.m. local time the day before the tournament. It is mandatory that at least one team member attend the pretournament meeting that will be held at 6 p.m. local time the day before the tournament. Being late for registration will result in a $50 late fee. If at least one team member is not present for the pretournament meeting, the team will forfeit their entry fee and will not be entered in the tournament.

5. Safety

• Safe boating must be observed at all times. Each contestant is required to wear a fastened U.S. Coast Guard approved personal flotation device anytime the combustion engine is in operation from boat check until weigh-in. All boats must be equipped with an emergency ignition shut-off device that must be securely attached to the driver's body whenever the combustion engine is in operation. At the discretion of the tournament director tournament days may be shortened, postponed or canceled due to unsafe weather or water conditions.

6. Sportsmanship

• All contestants are required to follow high standards of sportsmanship, courtesy and conservation and to conduct themselves in a manner that will be a credit to themselves, to FLW Outdoors, FLW Outdoors' sponsors, the sport of fishing and FLW Outdoors' efforts to promote the sport. Examples of conduct not complying with those standards include, but are not limited to, the following:
  • Violation of, or failure to comply with, any of the official rules for the 2007 Ranger Owners Tournament Championship Series.
  • Consumption and/or possession of alcoholic beverages or any kind of mind-altering substance during registration, the pretournament meeting or during tournament hours extending through the weigh-in procedure.
  • Abuse of, or addiction to, mind-altering substances.
  • Conviction of a felony within the past 36 months.
  • Suspension/disqualification from any tournament or fishing organization.
  • Any other words, conduct or actions reflecting unfavorably upon efforts to promote safety, sportsmanship, fair competition and compliance with tournament rules, or which fail to comply with the standards set forth in the first sentence of paragraph 6.
• In case of any conduct not complying with the standards, FLW Outdoors 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 to disqualify a contestant.

7. Communication

• During tournament hours contestants may not obtain or receive assistance from noncompetitors, follow a noncompetitor's boat or participate in the practice of "hole sitting" or the placing of markers by anyone. The use of mobile communication devices, including, but not limited to, cellular phones, marine radios, walkie-talkies, CBs, etc., during tournament hours is strictly prohibited except in an emergency (severe weather, etc.).

8. Boat and horsepower regulations

• All boats must be propeller driven, a minimum of 17 feet in length and have a rear deck.
• All boats must be equipped with wheel steering; no other steering device will be permitted.
• No barges or similar cumbersome crafts will be permitted.
• Each boat must have all required U.S. Coast Guard safety equipment.
• Boats must contain a properly aerated livewell space to maintain alive a limit catch of bass.
• Maximum horsepower for all outboards used in tournament competition will be 300 horsepower, not to exceed the horsepower capacity set forth on the "Maximum Capacities" placard described below.
• Each boat must have a clearly legible "Maximum Capacities" (or comparably titled) placard that includes a maximum horsepower rating affixed to the boat by the manufacturer.
• The horsepower of the outboard engine must not exceed the maximum horsepower capacity specified on this placard or the 300 horsepower maximum set by FLW Outdoors.
• By signing the entry form, each contestant agrees to submit their boat and/or motor to an inspection by FLW Outdoors personnel. Falsifying information on entry forms or altering the horsepower numbers on the motor or rating placard will be cause for disqualification from the tournament and may result in ineligibility to compete in future FLW Outdoors events.
• Fishing platforms must be factory installed equipment. No portable platforms may be used in tournament competition.
• Fuel may be carried only in factory-installed (built-in) fuel tanks. Any additional fuel used during the tournament day must be purchased from a retail facility open to the public.

9. Permitted fishing methods

• All bass must be caught alive in a conventional sporting manner.
• Only artificial lures may be used, with the exception of pork trailers.
• Only one fishing rod per contestant may be used at a time.
• Trolling as a method of fishing is prohibited.

10. Permitted fishing locations

• Contestants may fish anywhere on tournament waters available to the public and accessible by boat, except areas designated as "off limits" or "no fishing" by local, state, or federal officials or within 50 yards of a competitor's boat that was first anchored (an anchored boat is a boat held in a stable position by a line attached to a weight with the trolling motor in the up position).
• All angling must be conducted from the boat. At no time may a contestant leave the boat to land a fish or to make the boat more accessible to fishing waters.
• Contestants must leave and return to the official checkpoint by boat.
• The boat must remain in the tournament waters during the tournament day.
• No tournament boat may be loaded on the trailer before the weigh-in except with the permission of the tournament director.
• In the event of equipment failure or an emergency, there will be only two permitted methods of returning to the official check-in:
1. by both partners remaining in their boat and being towed by water, or
2. by one partner entering the boat of another tournament contestant.

Under these two conditions, the contestants' catches may be counted without a penalty (except for late penalties, dead-fish penalties or other penalties pertaining to other tournament rules). Teams that elect to return to the official check-in by any other means than cited above will forfeit their day's catch to that point in time of the tournament day.

• Any team returning to the check-in point will be eligible to restart and resume competition under the supervision of the tournament director or his designated tournament official. It is the sole responsibility of contestants to locate the tournament director to request a restart.
• If a team must violate any part of this rule due to an emergency or for any other reason their catch for that day will not be counted.

11. Official checkpoints

• There will be only one official checkpoint for boat check in the morning and one official check-in point in the afternoon. Failure to go through boat check and checkout in the morning or failure to check in at the check-in point will result in disqualification. All fishing must cease upon check-in. Smoking is not allowed in weigh-in lines.

12. Late penalty

• Teams that are not at the official check-in area at the appointed time will be penalized 1 pound per minute deducted from the total weight including any weight to be counted toward a big bass award. Any team more than 15 minutes late will lose credit for that day's weight.

13. Live fish

• Every effort must be made to keep bass alive through the use of a properly aerated livewell. FLW Outdoors recommends the use of Rejuvenade that promotes the healthy return of bass to their natural habitat. Eight ounces will be deducted from the total weight for each dead bass presented for weigh-in.

14. Scoring

• Scoring will be determined by the pounds and ounces of each contestant's catch during the tournament.
• Only largemouth, spotted, redeye and smallmouth bass are accepted species.
• The limit will be five unless the state or lake limit is less than five; in which case the state or lake limit will prevail. Teams possessing more than the tournament limit will have their catch for that day disqualified.
• The official length limit for bass is 12 inches unless the state or lake limit is more than 12 inches; in which case the state or lake limit will prevail. Bass presented for weigh-in that fail to measure the prescribed length limit will be penalized at the rate of 1 pound for each nonlegal bass presented.
• Each team's catch must be presented in an official weigh-in bag.
• The first- and second-place team from each tournament in 2007 will receive berths into the $2 million Forrest Wood Cup in Hot Springs, Ark., Aug. 2-5, 2007. Team captains (boaters) will advance to the Forrest Wood Cup as pros and their partners will advance as co-anglers.

15. Ties

• Ties for first and second places will be broken by:
1. number of fish,
2. number of live fish,
3. coin toss.
• For all other places ties will remain tied and any prize money will be evenly split among those tied.

16. Tournament hours and format

• Each regional tournament and the Stratos Owners' Championship will be a two-day tournament. In the event weather conditions force the cancellation of a day, the tournament will become a one-day tournament.
• In the event weather conditions mandate, and at the discretion of the tournament director, tournament waters may be restricted.
• No refunds will be allowed because of either of the above limitations.
• Each tournament uses a team format.
• Smoking is not allowed in weigh-in lines in all tournaments.

17. Logo usage

• During all days of competition, no boat logos, patches or decals other than Ranger may be worn or displayed during the tournament hours extending through the weigh-in. Anglers who qualify for the Forrest Wood Cup must exclusively wear clothing supplied by Ranger during the entire event.

18. Polygraph

• Each contestant agrees to submit, by their signature on the official tournament entry form, to a polygraph examination and abide by its conclusion. Failure to pass the examination will result in disqualification. Polygraphs will be used at FLW Outdoors' sole discretion and the determination of the meaning of the results will be made solely by FLW Outdoors.

19. Insurance

• Liability insurance, with coverage in reasonable amounts, is required of all contestants in the Ranger Owners Tournament Championship Series.

20. Captions

• The captions at the beginning of each paragraph are intended to facilitate convenience in referring to the various rules. The captions are not part of the substance of the paragraph and should not be used in construction of any paragraph or of this overall set of rules.